Page 2: "Mail order destroys the foundations of local pharmacies"

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This and other online offers are a thorn in the side of German pharmacies' professional representatives. "By cherry-picking, this mail-order business is systematically destroying the basis for the orderly supply of medicines to the population," warns Thomas Preis, President of the German Pharmacists' Association (ABDA). Around a quarter of sales of non-prescription medicines are made via foreign mail order companies. Online prices are often lower than the purchase prices of German pharmacies.

Although online providers have been in the red for 20 years, they have been able to compensate for this with outside and venture capital. "There is 'financial fair play' in soccer. There is little evidence of this in the German healthcare system. Retailers of T-shirts and other bric-a-brac are protected by our politicians from platforms such as Temu and Shein, and pharmacies have been left out in the cold for years. This can't go on," says Preis angrily.

Pharmacists call for stricter laws

At a meeting of the Chamber Assembly of the North Rhine Chamber of Pharmacists, a "Resolution to strengthen consumer protection and drug safety in the digital healthcare system" has now been adopted. It includes five demands:

1. Prohibition of the supply of prescriptions that are obviously only based on a questionnaire.
2. Inclusion of further active ingredients in the list of medicines that may not be sent to prevent misuse.
3. Violations should be punishable under criminal law, no longer as administrative offenses (as is already the case with misleading advertising for food).
4. The Federal Network Agency should be allowed to shut down illegal websites.
5. Platforms that provide health-related services should have to register.

Meanwhile, chambers of pharmacists are taking legal action against unwelcome competition. The North Rhine Chamber of Pharmacists, for example, is focusing on foreign providers and platforms that make direct contact between patients and doctors superfluous and "provide lifestyle medicines by questionnaire".

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