You are a pharmacist in Münsterland, is the job still fun?
I still enjoy it. We pharmacists are a freelance medical profession and do not run a business that sells sweaters. Our customers need help, they are more vulnerable than others. Being there for these people in direct contact is a great source of meaning for me. I see many patients again and again, this is not anonymous care.
Aren't pharmacies just like any other business? One gets the impression that they are selling more and more cosmetics, shampoos and food.
This is deceptive. 84 percent of sales and most of the profit come from prescription drugs. Only 8 percent of revenue comes from non-prescription medications. Another 8 percent are part of the secondary range, which we call free choice because the customer can take the goods off the shelves themselves. This immediately stands out, which is why you think it's so important. But the ratio of sales to earnings is very low.
Despite the famous pharmacy prices?
Pharmacy prices are an old story. Our main business is prescription medicines at government-set prices. We have already lost a lot of over-the-counter medicines, especially to foreign senders.
Are these mail order pharmacies?
A distinction must be made: Strict requirements are imposed on pharmacies in Germany, including German mail-order pharmacies. Foreign shippers are something different, for example high-bay warehouses in the Netherlands on the border with Germany. They only supply German customers, which is why they have more lax controls in the Netherlands. The German authorities also have no control over the companies. These providers are not controlled at all – and are still allowed to care for millions of German patients. From our point of view, this is a huge problem.
Many pharmacies in this country are giving up.
Unfortunately yes, one closes every 16 hours. Last year, 559 locations closed; we now still have around 17,500 in Germany. It is often said that there are three or four pharmacies on one street. Of course, this happens in metropolitan areas with many doctors. But the white spots on the map are increasing. At 21 pharmacies per 100,000 inhabitants, the density of pharmacies is a third lower than the EU average. Things get worse as soon as patients can no longer receive care close to home. This danger exists if local pharmacies continue to bleed dry. There are already a number of zip code districts nationwide without a single pharmacy.
The decline is surprising. An average pharmacy generated around 3.2 million euros in sales in 2022, with pre-tax profits amounting to 163,000 euros.
Sales rise more slowly than costs, so operating profit has been falling for years. The published average data is deceptive: not even two thirds of self-employed colleagues achieve an operating result of more than 75,000 euros per year. 11 percent of pharmacies already have a loss, another 15 percent have a result of less than 50,000 euros. Things are better off in the public service: the gross salary of an employed hospital pharmacist without a management position is 75,000 to 106,000 euros per year. The perception that pharmacists earn a fortune in public pharmacies is fundamentally false. Our expenses for staff, rent, energy and everything else have increased significantly, but our basic fee has not increased in twenty years.
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