There are fewer and fewer pharmacies in Germany. Since the beginning of the year, 384 pharmacies have had to close. Patients have to be prepared for long journeys.
There are fewer and fewer pharmacies available for patients. At the end of September there were still 17,187 pharmacies nationwide. This was the result of a survey by the Federal Association of German Pharmacists Associations (ABDA). Since the beginning of the year there have been 384 fewer, which corresponds to a percentage decrease of 2.2 percent. In 2023 there were still 17,571 pharmacies including branch pharmacies in Germany. For comparison: in 2010 there were 21,441.
According to the data, the decline was also steeper in the first nine months of this year. Last year the loss from January to the end of September was 335 business locations. It is also said that there were 285 fewer pharmacies during the same period in 2022.
Rising personnel and material costs
The reasons for the decline in pharmacies include rising personnel and material costs such as rising rents. In addition, delivery bottlenecks and the shortage of skilled workers had a negative impact on pharmacies.
Since many pharmacists choose a career in industry or hospitals, problems also arise when owners are looking for successors. The needs of customers have also changed, and they are increasingly using online services.
Fewer and fewer new pharmacies
According to ABDA, the number of new openings is also declining. There were only 36 new openings in the first three quarters of 2024, compared to 48 in the same period last year and 46 in 2022.
There were 559 closures and 62 new openings last year. On average, 21 pharmacies served around 100,000 residents in Germany last year. The EU average was 32 last year.
Supply is deteriorating
The federal association ABDA is therefore calling on politicians to stop the ever-accelerating decline: “Every pharmacy that has to close worsens the care for patients because the distance to the next pharmacy then becomes longer,” said President Gabriele Regina Overwiening.
Pharmacies soon without pharmacists?
The President also commented on the pharmacy reform planned by Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach. What doesn't achieve the goal is gutting the pharmacy, which is supposed to function without pharmacists. “The pharmacy fee, which has been stagnating for eleven years, must be immediately adjusted to overall economic development,” demanded Overwiening.
Lauterbach intends, among other things, to make it easier to set up new pharmacies. Currently, only licensed pharmacists are allowed to set up shop – with up to three branches, which must be in close proximity to the main branch. To date, there must always be at least one licensed pharmacist on site.
The minister wants pharmaceutical technical assistants (PTA) to be able to replace pharmacists.
