Experts Warn Against German Pharmacy Reform Plans

The German Association of Pharmacists (ABDA) has voiced significant concerns regarding the proposed pharmacy reforms by Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach. Two commissioned expert opinions have now scrutinized the legal and economic viability of these reform plans.

Professor Udo Di Fabio, a constitutional law expert and former judge at the Federal Constitutional Court, concluded in his legal assessment that the proposed "pharmacy without a pharmacist" model would infringe upon fundamental rights. He stated that the state has a constitutional duty to protect citizens' lives and health, and personal oversight of medication dispensing by a qualified pharmacist is crucial. Di Fabio argues that any legislative step away from this model must be evaluated as an encroachment on fundamental rights in terms of suitability and necessity.

Economist Professor Georg Götz, in his assessment, determined that the ministry's planned redistribution of pharmacy remuneration – specifically, reducing the variable surcharge while increasing the fixed component – would not significantly improve the supply of medicines to the population. Götz's analysis suggests that these measures would not lead to substantial profit increases for pharmacies with weak earnings and are insufficient to halt the decline in the number of pharmacies. Additional funds are needed to reverse the negative economic trend, according to his findings.

ABDA maintains that both expert opinions validate their long-standing warnings that the ministry's proposals would compromise patient care and service quality. ABDA President Gabriele Regina Overwiening and DAV Chairman Dr. Hans-Peter Hubmann have criticized the plans as a "smokescreen" that will not save pharmacies and will ultimately lead to greater distances for patients to reach their nearest pharmacy and a thinning of pharmaceutical care.