the Federal Minister of health, Jens Spahn (CDU) has announced after a two-hour session on the meeting of the members of the Federal Union of German associations of Pharmacists, Berlin measures for the pharmacies in the area in front of the competition from the Internet should be protected. He wants to limit the discount systems from abroad and at the same time, the services offered by the local pharmacies widen.
Hendrik Wieduwilt
editor of the economy in Berlin, is responsible for “law and taxes”.
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pharmacies brace themselves for years against competition from the Internet. In the coalition agreement, the government parties had promised a “commitment to prohibition of mail order sales of prescription drugs”. However, the European court of justice has limited the permissible actions that the policy can protect the pharmacies.
The court decided, in the autumn of the year 2016, that foreign shipping would not hold pharmacies to the drug price regulation. It was to enforce the “Europe legally imponderable” a dispatch prohibition to trade, dampened Spahn, now the expectations of the pharmacist. Nevertheless, he wanted to limit the “Wild West” in the field of medicines bonuses.
The Minister says, with a ceiling of 2.50 euros per pack, the Europe, were in compliance with legal requirements and at the same time, foreign verse would change the “clear rules”. If the share of medication sales reach the limit of 5 percent, then the need to restrict the Bonus, because the area would be more difficult for coverage of drugs otherwise. Night and emergency services should be better rewarded.
Spahn also wants pharmacies to get paid for additional pharmaceutical services, such as medication analysis. For dispensing of strong painkillers, the pharmacists should get more money. Vertices of the Ministry of health with these measures should have the procedure in January in a legislation, said Spahn.
