Overview
- The Kassenärztliche Vereinigung Hessen has publicly suggested drastically reducing the number of local pharmacies and replacing many with drugstore dispensing points, doctor dispensing, expanded online mail-order and regional pharmacies with 24‑hour delivery.
- As a concrete idea, the doctors’ association proposed one regional pharmacy per 250,000 people supported by a round‑the‑clock delivery service as a way to lower costs.
- The Hessian Apothekerverband sharply rejected the proposal, saying it treats pharmacies as mere package distributors and ignores core clinical tasks such as prescription checks, interaction and side‑effect detection, patient counselling and individualized compounding.
- There were about 1,270 pharmacies in Hesse at the end of 2025, a baseline critics cite to warn that consolidation could weaken local access and drug‑safety services that cannot be replicated by parcel logistics.
- The dispute is an active part of broader health‑reform talks, has not produced any regulatory changes, and would require legal permission for doctor dispensing and new delivery systems if authorities pursue the proposal.