- The number of pharmacies in Bavaria is falling - criticism of reform plan
The State Chamber of Pharmacists warns in view of Berlin's reform plans about a further decline in the number of pharmacies. The proven and secure medication supply for patients through local pharmacies would be shaken to its core, the chamber criticized.
Bavaria has already lost more than 500 pharmacies in the past ten years, around a hundred of which were lost last year alone. Currently, there are still 2,741 pharmacies, the lowest number since 1979 - and the trend is still declining. Now, Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) wants to introduce an pharmacy reform law that would accelerate this negative development, according to the criticism.
"By allowing pure medication dispensing points without a personally present pharmacist, the term 'pharmacy' is being emptied of its meaning," said Chamber President Thomas Benkert after a conversation with Health Minister Judith Gerlach (CSU) and the chairman of the Bavarian Pharmacists' Association, Hans-Peter Hubmann.
A qualitatively inferior medication supply would be established, for example in patient counseling for those who need a large number of medications or in the preparation of individual recipes, such as for children, as well as in the dispensing of strong painkillers, often for cancer patients, said Benkert. Hubmann called for adequate remuneration for the supply of prescribed medications.
"Video pharmacies without a present pharmacist cannot be the only idea to ensure comprehensive coverage in the future," said Gerlach. "This poses a great threat to the secure, local, and around-the-clock medication supply for people, especially in rural regions." She called on the federal government to revise the bill in coordination with pharmacists and the states.
The SPD, with Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach at its helm, is facing criticism for proposing a pharmacy reform law that could accelerate the decline in pharmacies, as noted by the State Chamber of Pharmacists and Bavarian Pharmacists' Association. The SPD's reform could potentially lead to the establishment of qualitatively inferior medication supply, as pointed out by Thomas Benkert, the President of the State Chamber of Pharmacists.
