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January 10, 2007
Dutch Foot in German Pharmacy Door
by Michael Martell
DocMorris manages to step into the German pharmacy market
The Dutch online and dispatch pharmacy DocMorris met some difficulties and also needed some legal finesse to get a foot into the door of the German pharmacy market. But the start has been made: Recently, the first pharmacy under the DocMorris Logo was given green lights for selling OTC medicines in St. Wendel in the West of Germany. 500 further stores are going to follow within the next three years.
The way to elude the German pharmacy legislation seems very easy. The owner of the pharmacy in St. Wendel is a certified pharmacist in Germany and is, according to German law, allowed to lead a pharmacy. Being a pharmacist is a necessary prerequisite, because it is not permitted that, for example, a foreign finance company buys in approbated specialists and opens a pharmacy store in Germany.
For the patient, the legal regulations seem uninteresting, because they certainly pay less for the OTC medicines which they can buy under the DocMorris Logo. In terms of discount, DocMorris could already disburse approximately 25 million Euro to its customers. The Federal German Pharmacist Association, in contrast, is afraid of negative effects on patient care in Germany. Is the DocMorris pharmacy in St. Wendel also the beginning of the end for the fixed price regulations regarding RX-Medications? Or do German patients even have to fear a dramatic decline in the level of health care?
If you want to read more about the DocMorris coup click here:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901061002-1538600,00.html
http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/76654
Posted by michael_martell at January 10, 2007 10:17 AM
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