Just before the first Bundestag debate on the pharmacy reform, Health Minister Nina Warken of the CDU dismissed criticism from medical associations.
She told RTL and ntv that it will not be politics or pharmacies alone deciding which illnesses allow medication to be dispensed without a prescription. Instead, a joint committee of doctors and pharmacists will establish guidelines. “We should discuss this more calmly within our professional groups and view ourselves more as a team” she added.
The minister assured that the current law on over‑the‑counter medicines will remain unchanged. Doctors had protested that pharmacies are not adequately qualified to assess illnesses and therefore should not dispense prescription‑free drugs as the law currently permits.
Warken promised that citizens would see early results of the reform later this year. Patients could then obtain medication without a prescription for uncomplicated acute illnesses, and pharmacies would also offer vaccinations such as those against tick‑borne encephalitis (FSME) or tetanus.
