Experts Advocate for New Pharmacy Prevention Tasks
According to Diabetes Zeitung, experts support expanding the role of pharmacies in preventing diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Economic viability requires good organization and adequate compensation.
In a feature in Diabetes Zeitung, the two new spokespersons for the Commission Pharmacists in Diabetology (BAK/DDG), diabetologist Dr. Ralf-Uwe Häußler and Professor Stephan Scherneck, assess the proposed pharmacy reform. Both experts welcome the planned stronger involvement of pharmacies in the early detection and prevention of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes through new pharmaceutical services.
Schernck highlights pharmacies as a low-threshold point of contact for all health-related questions. He notes that for services like vaccinations, pharmacy target groups are typically patients without acute illnesses or those less motivated to consult a doctor preventively. Regarding the economic viability of pharmaceutical services, Häußler stated, "This is only given if all processes are well-structured and adequate remuneration is paid."
Häußler generally views the dispensing of prescription medication without a prescription positively, seeing it as a sensible reduction in bureaucracy that could improve continuity of care, provided the procedure is limited to urgent cases. However, Scherneck rejects the idea of pharmacies without a pharmacist, stating that "branch pharmacies and representation by pharmacy technicians (PTA) are not suitable instruments to secure the future of local pharmacies." Instead, he calls for an expansion of study places in pharmacy and human medicine.