Invest in pharmacies instead of health kiosks

14.09.2022 15:57

Gabriele Regina Overwiening sharply criticizes the planned health kiosks. The President of the ABDA - Federal Association of German Pharmacists' Associations, said on the occasion of the opening of the German Pharmacists' Day: "The remuneration of local pharmacies has been on the decline for years. Almost at the same time, politicians announced a willingness to invest 750 million euros per year in the construction of so-called health kiosks, in which people would receive health care and social care.

Instead of investing so much money in establishing a superfluous parallel structure, it would be wiser to strengthen existing, low-threshold structures such as pharmacies. I share the assessment of the medical profession here: Setting up health kiosks will burn money that is urgently needed in the existing structure!”

Overwiening also referred to the extraordinary cost efficiency of the pharmacies: “The pharmacies only account for 1.9 percent of the total expenditure of the statutory health insurance companies. In 2005, this share was just over 2.8 percent. Further cuts, as provided for in the Statutory Health Insurance Financial Stabilization Act, are therefore neither appropriate nor feasible.”