The number of pharmacies is falling for the fourth year in a row

12.02.2013 10:01

The number of pharmacies in Germany is falling for the fourth year in a row, reaching its lowest level since 1994. At the end of 2012, there were exactly 20,921 pharmacies. With -317 pharmacies (2012), the rate of decline has increased even further over the past four years from -54 (2009) to -107 (2010) to -203 (2011). The last year to date with a number of pharmacies of less than 21,000 was 1994, when there were 20,903 pharmacies operating nationwide. This is the result of the latest calculations by the ABDA – Federal Association of German Pharmacists Associations based on the pharmacy operating licenses reported by the state pharmacist associations.

“More and more pharmacies are fighting for their survival,” says ABDA President Friedemann Schmidt. “The minimal increase in the fixed fee since the beginning of the year is a step in the right direction, but it is still far from sufficient. The long-promised emergency service allowance, which is intended to support rural pharmacies with their many night and weekend operations, must finally reach the pharmacies. The amount of the compulsory deduction for the current year has not yet been determined." Schmidt continues: "Politicians and health insurance companies should listen to patients, commit to the local pharmacy and follow up on this declaration of intent with action."

The decline of -317 pharmacies in 2012 results from the difference between +184 new openings and -501 closings. According to this, six pharmacies close – net – every week; So every working day a pharmacy permanently closes its doors.