On May 22, 2026, the Bundestag passed the pharmacy development law (Apothekenversorgung-Weiterentwicklungsgesetz, or ApoVWG). The law gives pharmacies in Germany new healthcare powers. This includes administering vaccines and taking blood samples. It also focuses heavily on keeping rural pharmacy networks alive.
Why is Germany reforming its pharmacies?
Germany has been losing pharmacies for years. Rural areas have been hit hardest. The ApoVWG is the government’s response to this national concern. This law seeks to:
- Strengthen pharmacies financially
- Give pharmacies new clinical tasks
- Reduce the bureaucratic burden that makes the job unattractive
#1 New clinical services at your pharmacy
German pharmacies can now offer an expanded range of health services:
- Vaccinations: Pharmacies can now administer all vaccines that are not live vaccines. This includes tetanus and FSME (tick-borne encephalitis). Vaccinations can be performed not only by pharmacists but also by pharmacy technicians, pharmacy engineers, and pharmacy interns. They must complete the required medical training before being allowed to administer vaccines.
- Rapid tests: Pharmacies can test for certain pathogens.
- Blood draws: Pharmacies can now perform venous blood draws on adults for diagnostic purposes.
- New pharmaceutical services (pharmazeutische Dienstleistungen, pDL): Pharmacies can offer prevention and early detection services for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, as well as smoking cessation counselling.
These services are designed to reduce pressure on GP practices and give you faster access to routine health checks without needing an appointment with a doctor.
#2 Special cases for obtaining prescription medicines without a prescription
The law creates a new pathway for pharmacies to dispense certain prescription-only medicines without a current prescription in two situations:
- For patients on ongoing long-term medication (Dauermedikation) who need a refill before their next doctor’s appointment. These patients’ therapies can not be delayed until their next doctor’s appointment.
- For acute, uncomplicated conditions that can be safely treated without a doctor’s diagnosis.
The Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte, BfArM) will publish a list of the eligible conditions within one year. The Health Ministry can then implement the list by regulatory ordinance.
NOTE: This prescription-free dispensing route does not exist as of writing. BfArM has up to one year to compile the list of eligible conditions. Until that ordinance is in force, the current rules apply.
#3 Changes that protect rural pharmacies
The law focuses particularly on rural areas where pharmacy closures have left some residents without local access to medicines. It covers:
- The on-call service flat rate (Notdienstpauschale) is nearly doubled to keep rural pharmacies viable.
- A new subsidy for partial on-call services (Teilnotdienste).
- It becomes easier to open branch pharmacies (Zweigapotheken) in rural areas. However, a branch licence can only be granted as an extension of an existing nearby pharmacy’s licence. It is not possible to open a standalone pharmacy under new ownership.
- Experienced PTAs are allowed to run a rural pharmacy temporarily alone. This will help ensure that the medicine supply is maintained when a pharmacist is absent.
#4 Raise the fee for prescription-only medicine
The coalition agreement includes a plan to raise the pharmacy package fee (Apothekenpackungsfixum) from the current rate to €9.50 per prescription-only medicine. This is the fee pharmacies receive per item dispensed under statutory health insurance (gesetzliche Krankenversicherung, GKV).
NOTE: The €9.50 fee is not part of the ApoVWG itself. It requires a separate regulatory ordinance (Rechtsverordnung). The Federal Health Ministry is still coordinating this with the Federal Economics Ministry.
In addition to these measures, ApoVWG introduces several other reforms. These include:
- Nullretaxationen (full clawbacks): Health insurers can no longer reject a pharmacy’s entire reimbursement claim on purely formal grounds when the pharmacy dispensed a medically equivalent product. This has been a major source of financial risk for pharmacies.
- Pharmacies are allowed to dispense an available medicine in stock when a rebate-contracted medicine is not available.
- The management of a branch or subsidiary pharmacy can now be shared between two people. This allows more flexible working arrangements.
- Biosimilars (off-patent biological medicines) are temporarily excluded from exclusive rebate contracts to strengthen production security in Germany and Europe.
