Overview

• Twelve pharmacies have closed in Thuringia so far this year and only one new outlet has opened, leaving the state with 478 dispensaries compared with 557 a decade ago.
• A currently closed pharmacy is set to reopen under new ownership in mid-August, marking the lone opening amid ongoing shutdowns.
• Stefan Fink, chair of the Thuringian Pharmacists’ Association, says a ten-year freeze on dispensing fees has left pharmacies unable to absorb rising costs.
• The association highlights a severe shortage of qualified pharmacists as a key driver of the continuing decline in pharmacy numbers.
• Pharmacists are urging lawmakers to cut bureaucracy, raise honorariums and fund a new pharmaceutical institute at Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena to bolster the future workforce.