Good morning!!😃🌸☀️So my question for you is: Which pharmacy style do you prefer? What do you see as the pros and cons of how it's done in each country?
Dana I live in United State in Connecticut and when going to my Pharmacy I ask question about my over the counter and prescription by the doctor and I never feel rushed at all. My pharmacy is rite aid and I also go to the Pharmacy at my Hospital at Yale New Haven Hospital. I have spent up 45 min talking to the Pharmacist this past Thursday for 45 min about a medication that I have to inject and another medication that is in a liquid. Never rushed. I am not sure what Pharmacy you been to in the United States but most of the Pharmacy here in my area in Connecticut is like the one you find in Germany, and I prefer the German style Pharmacy
I would say there is nothing wrong with making pain medication not omnipresent. Of course you should consult a professional before possibly mixing ibuprofen with something else. There is no such thing as an inherently harmless drug. Even aspirin can kill you if you catch a freak interaction with something unforeseen. Especially pain medication can be highly addictive and the USA are currently suffering a Heroin crisis due to the over-prescription of legal opioids. Because Heroin is plain cheaper and more accessible once your prescription runs out and you find yourself hooked. So everything that emphasises the serious nature of taking drugs for any reason is a good thing in my book.
I guess, that depends on the specific pharmacy - the pharmacy (I live in GER) I usually buy my meds from display the most common prescription free meds with prices (different alternatives next to each other), and the pharmacists usually offer you cheaper generic alternatives (i.e. Ibuprophen from a generic producer) if possible. But I do know a lot of pharmacies that have rows of drawers behind the counters where ALL the meds are stored in and you only can compare things like sun blockers or vitamins in the shop area.
Oh, and if you want various offers for a purpose, just ask them to give you an overview of what they have and what it costs before they go grab something. Or just ask ask their most cost-efficient offer. They are learned people. They can manage complex requests.
but Not everyone who takes opioids is an addict I am seen by a neurosurgeon and a pain management doctor... I have 2 neck surgeries and 1 major mid to lower lumbar spine surgery and require pain medications. So tired of people lumping those with heroin and illegal drug use with people like me who had debilitating pain and can barely even get out of bed to go to the bathroom.
I am a Pharmacist (ich bin Apotheker) here in the US. As a profession, I think many of us here in the US would prefer the German system where one is given the time and expected to speak more with patients. Here in the states, the demands of the chain stores often won't allow much time to do so. As a pharmacist and traveler in Germany, one of my favorite things to do is visit my fellow pharmacists at their pharmacies and talk shop in my B1German. They are always so courteous and kind.
Personally I prefer the German System because I think medication is not something to be messed with. Furthermore from my own experience pharmacists often offer you a cheaper Option as well.
the main reason is to protect the interests of the pharmacists. in many issues regarding work and sale germany still has strong 'guild-like interest groups' protecting their members. :)
I work in a pharmacy in Germany and the "american way" of buying medicine sounds so awful to me. Medicines are no candy. To me that's very irresponsible. To the price-thing: the most pharmacys don't label the medicines with prices, because we (of cause) want to sell what actually brings us money but also because the most of the "cheap" versions do have a different way of working, like the original medicine start working in 10min and will work for about 5-6h, the cheap version oft don't work as good. And unfortunately many ppl want to save money which is not a bad thing at all but in my eyes medicine should not be a thing to save money, health is so important... to me it is actually a shame that ppl don't want to invest in their health, it's not like we sell rubbish :( But if one of my customers want something cheaper or I actually know that the generic drug works as good as the original one, I do recommend and sell it, of cause. And we DO know, whats on the market, all pharmacys in Germany have a special computer program which shows every single medicine in Germany and even many from the international market and also if they are available or not. Feeling like having offered the same thing is a common thing, because we all do trainings, the most do 2 in one year where we learn new medicines and new ways to cure diseases, so we do recommend the medicine that is still the best option for you. But you can always ask for something else like "Are there different active ingredients, that could also work good in my case" or "I already know this one but I would like to take something different", I always want my costumer happy and if they ask for something different I love to advise something different for him/her, so he/she leaves my pharmacy with the perfect medicine fitting the disease. And the thing with the prescription: I worked in a few different pharmacy's and in everyone it was totally fine to order your meds by phone. Often the doctor's office fax the prescription and the delivery man of the pharmacy gets them later that day. Just ask you doctor if the could do this for you. That's a common thing. :) Sorry for the long post and I hope my English is okay. ^^ Have a good day.
Lordi Awa, Fine post. Thanks. In the USofA we expect a certain level of education exists so that average adults can read dosing limitations and follow them. For example the instructions might be: No more than 3 pills at one time, allow 4 hours between each 3 pill dose, no more than 12 pills per 24 hours. Stop taking after 5 days and consult a doctor if symptoms remain. If we had better sick leave and health care insurance policies might tolerate medical drug policy being more pharmacist oriented.
found your post very interesting! Now that you mention it- of course it makes sense. I always thought the main reason for branded meds being more expensive is that they do all the research and have to fund it whereas knock offs just copy stuff, but it might work as well. If i knew this, if my pharmacist tells me: "Sure, you can buy this painkiller for half the price, but it only works half as long" i wouldn't even think about it and buy the more expensive one. I always thought that if something says: ibuprofen 400, it will work the same, no matter the brand.
Hello, I study pharmacy and I would like to work in Germany as a pharmacist, can you tell me are salries decent to live a good life?Is easy for foreigns to get a job in Germany as a pharmacist?
I like it the way it is in Germany because I just feel safer when the decision as to which medication I take is in the hands of a professional who really knows what they're doing, you know?
my friend's wife actually is a pharmacist. and yes: they know a lot but there's also another pro with the German system. when she scans multiple items for the same customer and some medicine interacts in an undesirable way she'll get an automatic Warning on her screen and will warn the customer and maybe there's even an alternative/better combination of medicine so she can suggest that
I lived in the US for 1 year and I hated their systhem yes sure I could pick up as much Painkillers as I would like, but once when I was really sick it took them forever to even find the presciption in the back I had to wait over 40 minutes for it and I was the only Cusstomer there, while In germany it takes them about a minute to find something in the back and they usually have more knowledge and dont need to look up everything on the computer
It depends where you go at many pharmacies the doc or you can call in a prescription and it is already filled and waiting in a bin when you get there. You can often times just go to the drive-through to drop a prescription off and come back later for it.
Craig Christensen if you are super sick coming from the doctor you don't want to wait forever for your medicine when all you want to do is lie in bed and sleep
Not only prescriptions. Wanted something like Vomex, but because I tried different medication before and nothing helped as good as Vomex, I wanted something with the same agent. So I looked the agent up in the internet (dimenhydrinate) and even with this information it took the guy 10 minutes to figure out Dramamine would be fitting
Hey Dana, Ich bin Pharmaziestudent und stand deshalb schon mal hinterm Handverkaufstisch/?Counter? In der Apotheke. Wir haben da ähnlich wie google ein Kassenprogramm, das uns so ziemlich alles anzeigt. Preis, Lieferbarkeit, haben wir es da, Beipackzettel. Wenn ein Kunde öfters da ist und z.b. ne Kunde karte hat, geben wir meist raus, was der Kunde schon hatte. Die Erfahrung zeigt, dass der Kunde das besser findet. Wenn du einen Vergleich von Produkten lieber anhand der Verpackung machst kannst du bestimmt deinem Gegenüber auch danach fragen. Es gibt nämlich auch Kunden, die kommen rein und sagen:" Meine Freundin hat mir gesagt sie hätte gerne Aspirin in so ner roten Verpackung, da ist irgendwie ein Hezr drauf" Ist immer ein lustiges Ratespiel :) Meist bieten wir ein günstiges Produkt an, aber wenn der Kunde schon von sich aus sagt, ich hätte gerne das und das von der und der Firma, dann geben wir das auch so raus. Auch gibt es in Deutschland Arzneimittel nur Over the Counter, weil es eine Beratungspflicht gibt. Damit diese Beratung nicht von vorne schon beeinflusst und der Kunde festgelegt ist, gibt es keine Ware in der Freiwahl. Rezeptfreie Arzneimittel werden auch OTC-Artikel Also over the Counter genannt :) Liebe Grüße Mach weiter so tolle Videos
So if you can buy non-prescription medication like ibuprofen at the gas station --- doesn't that make them seem harmless and downplays that there are often serious risks with prolonged intake or overdosing? Won't people buy those pills without much thought if they are treated like vitamins and the like?
No. because any mature adult can read the instructions on the bottle/box. Having a pharmacist as the mandatory "middle man"even for simple over-the-counter medicines doesn't automatically stop the person from overdosing on that meds. You can buy any meds from the apoteke, and if the person still decides the consume the whole box of pills, there is still nothing the pharmacist could do. It the end, it's still all about self accountability.
In Australia, there are pharmacists who "control" the sale of some over the counter medicines but you can choose a lot of the medicines and quite a few are sold at supermarkets. All gatekeepers whether doctors or pharmacists are pretty ineffective at protecting people from themselves other than discouraging some druggies.
Ich finde es spannend, das Dana und auch einige in den Kommentaren davon berichten in der Apotheke immer die gleichen und teuersten Dinge angeboten zu bekommen. Ich hab genau die gegenteilige Erfahrung gemacht. Ich werde fast immer auf eine günstige Alternative oder ein besonderes Angebot hingewiesen. Und wenn ich nicht genau weiß, was ich brauche und mich beraten lasse, werden mir meistens mind. zwei Produkte vorgestellt, Preise genannt, vor und Nachteile erklärt und dann wäge ich ab, welches Produkt mir mehr zusagt. Auch in dieser Situation hab ich schon oft gehört "Es ist fast das gleiche, nur, dass A etwas praktischer ist, weil... ob Ihnen das die vier Euro mehr wert sind, dürfen Sie entscheiden." Ich komme ursprünglich vom Land, habe dann in einer nicht ganz so großen Stadt studiert und lebe jetzt in einer Großstadt. Habe bisher überall die gleiche Erfahrung gemacht.
So kenne ich das auch. Man kann auch direkt sagen, dass man gern ein günstiges Präparat haben möchte. Der Apotheker wird einen deswegen nicht anspringen.
Always feel free to ask us, if there are cheaper options. I don't know how it's handled in other pharmacys, but it costs me two clicks to browse all my price options. :-) Well and for the prescription thing: We are forced by law only to give out prescripted medication in exchange for an original prescription. Makes stuff really busy sometimes. I hate hearing "I'm such a good customer and I'm aaaaalways just buying here. Can't you give me my pills and I will bring the prescription later?" I'm not allowed to do so... if anyone finds out we get into big problems... and I really like to work at that place. Even if the people can get really annoying. :-)
Xeliah Sunfire people really do that? Wow. You would think, people living in Germany know, that the BTM is really strict. Also just because one is a customer for years, doesn't mean he can't be addicted to certain medication. So the law does make sense.
LaMiriabelle yeah they do that more than often. And they even get mad, if we don't give them what they want. We have our orders and try to figure out the best way to help them, by calling the doctors or showing them where to go to get an emergency prescription, but sometimes they just want what they want. Well, I like the job mevertheless. :)
Xeliah Sunfire | I think she means that it's difficult to ask for something else if you don't know what's available. Maybe she's not just looking for something cheaper, but only for a cheaper option IF it has this and that in it, but not if it contains something else. Or you might be willing to pay more for one brand, but not for another brand. Or something might be cheaper per pill, but more to spend in that moment. That's why people like browsing. Although personally, the only medication I ever use is paracetamol and hay fever tablets. Nothing else.
Eleonore Bon Sure and that's okay. I just just wanted to point out, that for us it's only a few clicks to find out what's inside, what the effects, and side-effects are, wether there is for example lactose in the pills, or not, and what brands are available, and whats the price. At least where I work we like to help out whereever we can. :D
Xeliah Sunfire | Of course! But sometimes you want to compare yourself. I'm terrible with listening for example. In restaurants I always hate when they list all the specials that are not on the menu. I want to read it. I suppose some people might have that at the pharmacy too.
Wer eine Alternative zu etwas sucht, egal ob wegen Preis oder NW, Verträglichkeit etc, bitte einfach fragen. Das ist gar kein Problem, muss auch nicht unangenehm sein, das machen wir mehrfach täglich und es lässt sich fast immer sehr schnell eine Lösung finden. Das kein lokales Geschäft preislich mit dem Internet konkurrieren kann, egal welcher Branche, ist denke ich jedem ganz klar. Erst Recht wenn deutlich mehr Anforderungen, Auflagen und Aufgaben erfüllt werden müssen als im Versandhandel. Ob der Arzt ein Rezept ausstellt und an eine Apotheke schickt, liegt allein am Arzt. Wichtig dabei ist zu wissen das der Patient eine Apotheke benennen muss, der Arzt darf gesetzlich nicht mit einzelnen Apotheken oder Sanitätshäusern zusammenarbeiten, wodurch das einen hohen Aufwand ergibt wenn alles woanders hin soll. In Notfällen oder bei Heimbewohnern bzw chronisch kranken Patienten die schlecht die Wohnung verlassen können, kommt das sehr oft vor, die Sachen werden dann auch oft geliefert und der Patient muss gar nicht vorbeikommen. Der Hauptgrund dafür dass das so gehandhabt wird bei freiverkäuflichen AM, ist die Reduktion von falscher Anwendung und von Risiken die mit der Selbstmedikation einhergehen. Wer weiß was er haben möchte und sich damit bereits auskennt, wird auch nicht grundlos "zwangsberaten" und ist in 2 Minuten wieder draußen. Ausnahme stellt sich dar wenn gleichzeitig Sachen gekauft werden die problematisch sind, sich nicht vertragen oder sich gegensätzlich ausschließen, das wird dann kurz abgeklärt und wenn nötig aufgeklärt/beraten. Dafür sind wir nunmal da. Bei Bedenken oder Problemen dürfen (teilw. müssen) wir übrigens auch alles verweigern was nicht ärztlich verschrieben ist (entgegen der oft landläufigen Meinung). Neben brühwarmen Empfehlungen von Frisör, Klempner, Nachbran o.ä. ist die Werbung oft problematisch und etwas das zu Fehlern führt. Häufiges Beispiel ist zB Omeprazol das gegen Sodbrennen gekauft wird. Für über 95% der Personen die es kaufen möchten leider das falsche Mittel und hat nicht annähernd die Wirkung hat die erwartet wird, sondern bringt zusätzlich nur Nebenwirkungen. Davon gefolgt sind Komplikationen mit bestehenden Erkrankungen oder Arzneimitteln die man regulär nimmt oder unerkannt von diesen ausgelöst wurden. Kommt täglich vor, verständliche Beispiele wären sowas wie Husten durch Herzmedikamente statt einer vermeintlichen Erkältung, die Pille + Johanniskraut, Schilddrüsenhormone + X, Kopfschmerzen durch Schmerztabletten, Aspirin für Kinder, Kalium trotz Herz- o. Entwässerungsmittel etc Der immense Gebrauch von Aspirin gehört übrigens zu den häufigsten Todesursachen in den USA, aus dem Grund wird das hier nie die Apothekenpflicht verlassen.
According to tv and movies all prescription medication in the US comes in orange plastic bottles, while in Germany everything (except some cremes) comes in company packaging.
They do come in orange plastic bottles a lot. They do have dosage labels, warning labels, and a printout of the possible side effects and such. The pharmasist will also tell you what to look out for and how much to take (even though it says on the label).
I wish drug advertisements were illegal in the US! Most Americans *hate* all the drug commercials, and we see a TON of them! At the end of every prescription drug ad on TV it says, "Ask your doctor about _insert drug name here_." Most of us realize that our doctors should be the ones using their education and experience to give us only the medications we truly need.
When I ask my pharmacist here in Germany for a cheaper option, they always tell me, and if they're not sure, they check their computer. They can also tell me if the cheaper option is just as good or more like snake oil. If you don't have a medical or pharmaceutical degree, I wouldn't trust your browsing. Also, picking up the prescription from the doctor's office means you can then go to any pharmacy you want to. I myself have rarely had to wait in line at a pharmacy, since there's one on almost every corner and they all seem to have about ten people serving customers.
Personally I think you left out one big difference between US and Germany (but correct me if I'm misinformed, please!): in the US they are allowed to run advertisments on prescription drugs that patients are supposed to ask their doctor for, which is prohibited in Germany - you can advertise over-the-counter products, but nothing that needs prescribing. About the pharmacies: I think both systems have pros and cons. If I were to build a new system, I'd have a browsing area with empty packages of all the medication you can buy without prescription like in a store, so you can read the packaging and compare the price, but you'd have to go pick the actual filled real product up at a counter with a pharmaciest, who you could then talk to, to see, if you picked the right product for your problem and who'd make sure, it's not interacting with anything else you take, give you instructions how to use it, answer your question and also make yure you're not willy-nilly just buying something too strong/ignoring serious symptoms.
You are correct about prescription advertising in the USA. The ads are annoying and most everyone hates them. They are especially prevalent during news programs or programs targeted toward older people. You can ask your doctor about the medicines, but it is still up to the doctor and/or pharmacist to decide whether they are appropriate for your medical conditions. If the doctor doesn't think that medicine is right for you, they won't write the prescription, no matter what the commercial ad says.
At my pharmacy (in Germany), the pharmacists are really helpful and give me lots of options. They look up the medication on their computer and tell me the price - even suggest cheaper options if available. I think that is really good 😊
This past summer, I had the worst allergy attacks while in Munich. Stood in line at the Apoteke -- "Ich brauche etwas für Allergien". Got the German version of Zyrtec, which was plainly packaged (with Braille, which I though was cool), and honestly worked better than any over the counter allergy medicine I've tried in the US. I honestly like German way of handling it better
Possibly this is a bit too serious but did your research show a difference in suicide by self-poisoning with none narcotic painkillers between Germany and the USA? Does the ease of getting something for a headache outweigh protecting the desperate from making an impulsive but seriously harmful act?
Indeed, not least US gun laws. Recording of suicide is also a difficult and notorious unreliable set of statistics. Anyway the point of my question was to suggest a reason behind the differences.
Eleonore Bon "It's less" is a bit understated, isn't it? The United States accounts for approximately one quarter of the estimated number of drug-related deaths worldwide, including overdose deaths, which continue to rise. Mostly driven by opioids, overdose deaths in the united States more than tripled during the period 1999-2015. Would be only ok if the US had 1/4 of the world population but is far away from that.
So it said, although one has to be careful as the data is far from complete and cross country data often does not do a true like for like comparison. Regardless in both Germany and the USA prescription drugs are controlled. It may be the higher level of control over non-prescription meds in Germany suggests something about the culture regarding medication and the 'authoritive' role of doctors in health care.In regard to the prescription of opiod pain killers, which really does seem to be a serious problem in the US the question is - Is it easier for Germany doctors, in practice, to refuse the pressure from patients for a prescription than in the US where, it appears, doctors readily give in to patient pressure to prescribe? Is this simply a result of the commercial nature of US health care, where a patient can go to another doctor and pay for his opinion or is it part of supposed German culture where the opinion of experts, like doctors, is highly respected.
With the contact between the doctor and the pharmacies, that depends quite alot on the doctor. We have something called an "'Ärztehaus" here (a doctor-house) where alot of different doctors of several fields found together to share the same vacilicy to cut costs and to make it easier for the patients. Intigrated to the Ärztehaus is also a pharmacy. If the doctor have green-lighted medication for you that need regular refills, you can just sent the Ärztehaus a E-Mail (they have a special E-mail adress for perscription-requests) and you can ask if they could hand them over to the pharmacy. They do that regularly, and even for rather heavy drugs. My mom had two accidents within the last year and needs opioids (as other pain-medication nearly killed her during the last hospital stay), and even with such percriptions, it works perfectly.
In Germany you can get a 'Dauerrezept' so one that is valid for a year and gives you unlimited refills. Usually when you have an allergy, the doctor just sends a new prescription to the pharmacy every year. I was in the US and got sick. I felt pretty helpless, because the pharmacists available didn't wanted to help at all. And me not being familiar with the products over there as well as me being on medication constantly for health reasons, and wondering about how they go together... Well.. It took me a good 2 hours to be sure I found the right thing. Now I only travel to the US with a good ton of pills that I know and help with most things that could happen.
There are no more "Dauerrezepts". Prescriptions are valid for half a year, will be paid by the public health ensurance for a month after being issued (after that period, it has to be paid entirely by the patients), it can be split (e.g. a supply for 3 months can be split into three single months), but you cannot get more than the prescribed quantaty.
I'd say here in the Netherlands, we have the best of both worlds. We can buy vitamins and supplements pretty much anywhere, like in supermarkets and health stores. Non-prescription drugs can be had in supermarkets, drogisterijen and apotheken but prescription drugs only in an apotheek. You can get brandless Ibuprofen in pretty much any supermarket for instance. And while you do need an initial prescription from a doctor or specialist, which they e-mail nowadays so the pharmacist can actually read them.. written prescriptions are a no-no here, you can, at any time, call your physicist or specialist for a repeat prescription
The big advantage of german pharmacies is, that you never get a Medication without advise and consulting a pharmacist. So if you have a only a flew, its most unlikely you consult a doctor, but go directly to the pharmacy. There the pharmacist will help you to find the right medication based on your symptoms. And for the medication you can get without a perscription, there is sometimes some danger behind it too, so you'll be always advised in Germany.
I was astonished when I found out that it's possible to get medication "on the go" in many countries, the US being very liberal. When I came down with a mild cold and a strong headache I quickly learned to appreciate the American system, because I was in no shape to deal with a pharmacist in English. Since then I started buying painkillers and other commonly needed meds while I'm in the US so that I don't need to go to pharmacies at home, except for perscriptions. I think none of the systems deter abuse, if you're intent on overdosing on something you can do it no matter what it takes to get the pills. As I never got perscription medication in the US I don't know how much information you get with that, but in Europe you have an extensive package insert detailing when and how to take the meds, which effects and side effects to expect, which other meds this product doesn't go with and so on. This insert has prevented me from taking some medication I was perscribed, because it didn't got with other stuff I had to take or the effect wasn't as I was promised by the doctor. Having a pharmacist handing you a bottle or package of pills doesn't absolve you from reading the information and making your own decisions.
I have the same experience that my GP prescribed me some cold medicine which weren't allowed with my other medicine, which my GP should have known. I found out only by reading the description. The pharmacist also didn't ask me about other medication. Pffff.
In the US the pharmacist will not fill a prescription from the doctor if you are on medications that don't work with the new prescription. That's why it's important for us to only go to one pharmacy for our prescriptions. The pharmacist will then call the doctor's office to tell them about the harmful drug interaction conflict and ask for a different prescription, perhaps making a recommendation to the doctor because this is their area of expertise. Pharmacists are very helpful here and they will recommend the right over the counter medication that won't interact badly with the other prescription medications we may be taking.
??? I never had a problem to get cold medicine and something against headache from a German pharmacy. Plus, basic painkillers and stuff against the symptoms of a cold is something which belongs into every household. I usually avoid taking pills against headaches, so when I need them, it is pretty much an emergency.
Swanpride, the problem being that English isn't my first language and when you feel really bad it's hard to express yourself in another language, especially if it requires vocabulary you don't usually use. I had a similar experience in Turkey, but it turned out that the pharmacist knew my language. Such a relief, I was really having a horrible time!
I go to the Apotheke and tell them what I want and add a "the cheapest you got". You can also ask for prices before purchasing. They look it up in their computer. I don't pay more money just because there is a certain name on it. At the end, the medication is the same.
Pharmacy style is the same as Germany. But we do have an online system. I take a lot of pills. I can call my dr in the morning and have my pills in the afternoon ready to be picked up or delivered at my front door! (The netherlands)
We also have online pharmacies, the biggest one is Doc Morris and I think they are from the Netherlands. But they aren't uncontroversial in Germany, because a normal pharmacy here has to be run by at least an actual Pharmacist and has to provide emergency coverage at night or on weekends which online pharmacies don't have to do.
betaich These night services are ridiculously overpriced. I understand, that they take a little bit more, than the regular price. But l bought there Ibuprofen once and almost payed double the regular price. And the were the cheap ones.
betaich Online pharmacies in Germany also do need to be run by a pharmacist and they need to comply to the same legal standards; Usually, they're run by a pharmacist who either is already running a physical pharmacy store or who just received their approbation and doesn't have the money to invest into a physical store. Yet there are a few key differences: in some areas (smaller cities or villages), there is only one pharmacy - which is legally required to provide emergency services "24x7x365", while in other areas, the emergency services are rotated between various pharmacies in the same city - but "pure" online pharmacies only do send out parcels and don't provide any emergency services at all. Postal delivery proabably goes wrong with medications who require to be kept cool, and so people restrain themselves from ordering such prescriptions online - and accordingly, the online pharmacist can reduce their fridge size and packaging materials. Some doctors (e.g. dermatologists) also tend to prescribe medications who are not available in a pre-packaged form and need to be actually produced by the pharmacist, which takes much more manual work; as most online-pharmacies only do let the customer select from a (large) range of pre-packaged products, it is not always that obvious how to "order such a medication, so people simply don't do it - and accordingly, the pharmacist does save that manual labor. So from some point of view, online pharmacies are cherry-picking from the "full-range pharmacist services" and can settle on more "standardized" services - and yes, this may certainly be correct. However, any attempts to change this have also been counter-lobbied by pharmacies. As an example, an online pharmacy tried to set foot in villages who happened to be too small to economically keep up a physical pharmacy; so they did install a combination of "Skype booth", payment terminal and an automated medication dispenser. Obviously, this would've enabled a more economic "emergency service", but this approach has also been legally attacked by lobby organizations (by nit-picking on specific wording and interpretations of legal requirements who were written with a physical store in mind, where the pharmacist would "hand" the medication over to the customer).
A difference I've noticed is that you get you drugs filled in little containers by the pharmacist, in germany you get prepacked containers wicht filled by the manufacturer
The Dutch system is a bit of a mix between American and German style. Certain medicine, like lighter pain killers and allergy pills can be purchased at grocery stores without a prescription. For prescription medicine you need an apotheek, just like in Germany. However, for a refill of medicine I've been taking for a longer time, like my asthma medicine, I log in to my doctors online portal, fill out a refill form and pick up the medicine at the apotheek the next day. A big issue you didn't address in this video is medicine prices. In my experience (in the online cancer community) drug prices in the US are ridiculously high compared what we pay for the same stuff (even same brand) in The Netherlands.
Regarding getting refills for medicine your regularily get, you might want to try to phone the doctor's office and ask them to prepare a prescription for your refill. Usually it does work with your "Hausarzt". You will still have to pick it up at his office but usually it should be a matter of going to office, briefly talking to one of the assistants and picking up the prescription.
Hey Dana, I as a German can give you the hint, that you shouldn't ask the pharmacist for a medication but for an *active agent* you need for e.g. specific illness situations! After you asked THAT, you can just ask the pharmacist for the cheapest medication with this agent and you are done :)
Hi Dana, if you want to check out the prices of all non-presciption meds available in your Apotheke in Germany, you can usually find what's available and at what cost by going to an online pharmacy like DocMorris (others are available) and then either buy what you've decided on right there or go to your local pharmacy quoting the name of the medicine or, even better, the Pharmazentralnummer (PZN) of the exact packaging you're after. At a "real" Apotheke in town I also often ask for the cheapest medicine with the active drug I'm after, as there are often "Generika" (e.g. Ratiopharm or STADA) available for sometimes way less than half the price of the brand product which they run expensive adverts on television for. Hope this is useful to you, keep up the good vids.
You can also ask your doctor to mail you the prescription (physical snail mail). As far as I know, electronic prescriptions are not yet implemented, so the pharmacy needs the physical piece of paper to verify the doctor's signature and, in case of publicly insured patients, get their money back from the insurance.
What I like in the US is I the pharmacies are open a lot longer and even 24/7 and Apoteken close at 6 so if you get a headache at 8pm you either have to beg your neighbor or sit it out until the next morning. Also I wish they had the gel filled headache pills in Germany as they act so much faster.
if I'm not sure, what I need or want, I always do my research at home in an "online Apotheke" first. it's much easier to find the cheapest medication this way :) and if you don't need something asap, it's better to order it online, since the prices in an "online Apotheke" are usually significantly lower than in an offline one.
Concerning your last point about having to go to the doctor to get your prescribtion. It is possible if the doctor knows you and your illness well to just phone your doctor, tell him you need a refill and then just have the doctors assistant give it to you, without having to personally see the doctor. You still need to go to his practice, but you don't have to be examined again etc.
so if your doctor calls the pharmacy for the refill, you have to go to that specific pharmacy for the refill Also, the idea that the average person knows what is the better choice for them even for non-prescription drugs is pretty bizarr
What is bizarre about people choosing which over the counter medicines to buy? if a person has been using a particular medication for years for a particular issue and they know what brand or formulation works best for them, why shouldn't they buy it? OTC drugs in the USA aren't controlled and dangerous substances. They're the everyday medicines in most people's homes, nothing exotic.
Well, there is corruption as well. The doctor often sends the patient to a specific "partner" pharmacy and gets rewarded afterwards. Although the patient has the free choice.
There isn't such a thing as a non dangerous medical substance. You just don't know about a interdependency (I hope that's the right word for Wechselwirkung) with your OTC medication and a prescripted on. Those things can actually end up fatal. Side effects can happen more often and be more severe if you combine different drugs. Even if their are all OTC drugs.
joanne smith It's always better to have someone who knows the very specific side effects, even for medication that someone has used often and is usually problem. I used to take just normal Aspirin for headaches and so on, until i was once randomly asked if i had asthma. I do and then was told that Aspirin (ASA) can cause asthma seizures, even if it has not before. And it's not just about the presription free medication but the possible combinations of prescripted and prescription free medication. As it has been said, there is no such thing as a non dangerous medicine/medical substance.
A big problem is, that even persciption free medication is dangerous. I work as a nurse in germany and I see a lot people with overdose. People die by overdose Ibuprifen or Paracetamol. And about the price: you can ask how much it is, they can check it before they go and get it for you :)
In the UK pharmacies often pickup printed prescriptions from local family doctors every day or two. The surgery records which pharmacy is your preferred/regular location & sorts scripts for the pharmacies to pickup. The pharmacy then has time to prepare & pack them for collection/delivery. Great for people with regular prescriptions or when I've emailed a repeat prescription request to my doctor a few days before I run out. Also in the UK for the last couple of years or so there are electronic prescriptions, a kind of closed email system just for sending prescriptions from doctors to pharmacies. The pharmacy prints the prescription & fulfils it for collection, can be ready in 15 minutes or so. It is imperfect as if the pharmacyy is busy they may not look for those emailed prescriptions until you call in & ask. Very handy for me recently, had a blood test & family doctor phoned a couple of days later to give me results & tell me she was sending an electronic prescription to my local pharmacy.
In Austria it's basically the same as in Germany and so is it in Italy, even if in Italy there are these para-pharmacies, which (as far as I know) are more similar to the US, but only for medicines without prescription, but I don't know that much because they are new so I'm not an expert. I like the "European" style, because when I'm sick I always prefer asking someone who's expert and can suggest me what it's better for me even if it's not such a big deal. I mean: I have a flu (so nothing tragic), but I don't know what is best for me, then I can ask... and they are surely more expert than Google
I've lived in both Australia & the UK & can say that in both countries, the medication system is more similar to Germany than the USA - which has a much wider range of medications available without a prescription & without a pharmacist's advice. In both countries (UK & Australia), only a very limited range of basic, non-prescription medications/drugs are available at supermarkets & general stores. All other medications must be obtained from a chemist/pharmacy & some are only available from "behind the counter" & after the pharmacist or pharmacy assistant has provided you with advice about how to correctly use the product/medication. Personally, I think this is a good thing, because when the pharmacist or pharmacy assistant explains to you how to correctly use the medication, people are less likely to make mistakes with the products.
In South Africa its very similar to what you describe for Germany. Supermarkets will have a pharmacy section, but there are very few things that one can buy there directly off the shelf, mostly junk, although Ibuprofen, paracetamol and aspirin are typically available as well. Larger supermarkets will have an in store dispensary in the pharmacy section with two sections, one for prescriptions and one for non-prescription regulated medicines. Actual pharmacies have the same setup, junk directly off the shelf, dispensary for prescriptions and dispensary for regulated non-prescription.
Hey Dana, awesome video! I have two things to note tho: first, most German pharmacies I have gone to have a computer system where you can look stuff up. So you can just tell them "Hey I want some Ibuprofen with the cheapest price". If you get your medication, there will be a number on it (called the PZN) and with this number you can order the same medication for the same price in any german pharmacy and get it within a 24 hour window tops. Plus there are some websites out there that let you browse all medications along with their PZN 🙂 And as for the refills, I guess this depends on where in Germany you live, but most doctors here in central Germany you can just call and you can either just pop by to pick up your new prescription or they will send it to you. My local pharmacy even has a little box outside where you throw the prescription in and they will deliver it to you free of charge (although that is probably rare nowadays)!
For refills you actually can just call your doctor on the phone and ask him to send your prescription to a certain pharmacy. I did that often this year.
in austria you get a discount for medication if the doctor prescribed them, however i could buy them "on my own" for the normal price. in case of my allergy medication, i can buy both prescribed items for ~5,65 each, or 6,xx and 32,xx(!) respectively.
One big difference between German and US Pharmacies might be, that a pharmacist in Germany has to have studied pharmacy at a university (a 5-year masters degree). Afterwards he/she has to be able not only to provide professional counsel, but to actually produce medicine with the correct dosage and pharmaceutical form.
Amadrath that sounds just like the education US pharmacists go through. And our pharmacy technicians, assistants, also have to go through training and then take a test to be certified.
I didn't want to offend the US pharmacists. But from what I get, pharmacists in the United States work rather in hospitals or companies, while the people working in drugstores are basically the same as working in grocery stores, while in Germany you have to be a pharmacist to be able to work in a drugstore (Apotheke). But I have no hard evidence to support that assumption. So please feel free to correct me, if I'm wrong.
Drugstores in the US typically have at least one pharmicist working at all times. The people walking around the store are merely store associates, and you should not be asking them questions about the medications. If you have quesions, you have to walk to the pharmacy counter and ask one of the pharmacy technicians if you can speak with the pharmicist. The pharmicist can then answer any questions you may have. Our pharmicists are required to have 8-year doctoral degrees (PharmD, otherwise called Doctor of Pharmacy). Even our grocery stores and supercenters (such as WalMart and Target) have pharmacy counters with a pharmicist who is able to answer questions.
In this case the only difference between German and US pharmacies is really, that you are able to pick your (non-prescription) medicine from a shelf in the US, while you have to go to the counter (and often wait in line) in Germany.
If you want to browse through everything that's available (prescription-free) you can always use one of the many online pharmacies. You can also buy your stuff there; most of the time it's way cheaper than in a physical pharmacy.
Another big difference is that the medecin is free in some cases. When you're younger than 12 years you don't have to pay for your medicin at all (except the ones you can by at drug stores). When you are older than 12, but still not 18 you don't have to pay for medicin if you have a prescription.
Germany. Children under 12 are free for both Rx and OTC if prescribed by a physician, 12-18 Rx is free, OTC has to be paid (Green prescription sheet which is like a private prescription), over 18 you pay 5-10€ for Rx as well, except you have an exemption.
Another thing about why in Germany, the system is to get the medicin by the pharmacist. First, my step-syster is a pharmacist and thus, I heard a few things from that direction. Aone to work at a German pharmacy, you have to go through quite an vocational education, and here, you also intensivly learn cross-reaction between alot of medication. Even prescription free drugs can, if taken in the wrong combination, cause damage to the body. So, the pharmacist should (the good one really do that) look out for these reactions during your order. If you are a regular in the pharmacy, you also often have registered yourself in the pharmacy, so that the pharmacist also has a history of drugs you use and can ponit out problems that might arrise there.
Pharmacies in Brazil work pretty much the same as in Germany. I like this idea of talking to someone before getting a medicine, this can prevent mistakes when someone is not sure about what to take. I have a question about pharmacies in Germany: is it easy to find an open pharmacy in the middle of night or on sundays, for example?
For the Sundays and the late hours, there is usually a group of pharmacies working together and one of them is covering the time - nowadays you can look up in the net which one is open. For the middle of the night, there are special pharmacies which work more like a pick-up. Less a shop and more some hole in the wall where you explain per intercom what you need and then get it without direct interaction. That is naturally done for protection, if there were actual shops open they might get targeted by drug dealers.
In the countryside you might have to drive a bit, but in bigger cities you normally find a pharmacy which has emergency service within the next 5 km. Just go to any pharmacy and there is a schedule on the door which pharmacy has emergency right now with its address and phone number. If you don't know how to get there, just ring them up. And maybe you tell them what you need, so everything is prepared on your arrival.
Going to a pharmacy outside of regular opening hours usually costs 2,50Euro per visit (if you pick up 1 thing or 3 things - doesn't matter). They want to deter people that don't have an emergency from going to the apotheke at non-regular hours. But in theory there's always an apotheke open that is sort of reachable (difficult for the countryside)
I don't know about Florida, but here in California a doctor can also phone in a brand new prescription or fax one directly to the pharmacy. Even more convenient in some cases is having one's prescription medication mailed directly to them. My medical insurance actually requires me to use an on line pharmacy and to have any regular medication that I use mailed directly to me. That on-line pharmacy is also willing to do the job of contacting my doctor directly in case there are any updates or questions. I am required to see my doctor regularly for scheduled check-ups and tests to keep my meds current, but the "pharmacy" part is quite easy!
Honestly, I still don't see the point of comparing all the options I might have. I don't know if it's a good idea to treat buying medicine like grocery shopping. Every type of food is digested more or less the same, whereas pharmaceuticals can interact with each other, everybody tolerates them differently, etc. It makes sense to enforce a kind of consulting or briefing.
Dear Dana, there is one diffrence in prescription style betwenn germany and america, and thus in pharmacies: in germany the doctor writes a prescription for a specific brand and he can only chose betwen one to three sizes of packages and often a very limited amount of dossages er pill. And while the general health care contracts wants the pharmacies then to sell the cheapest possible generic unless there is a note of the doctor that it has to be the specific brand, private contracts and contracs that cover cases of occupational diseases forces the pharmacy to hand out the brand perscripted, a method that often leads to an unnessecary rip of those inssurances. Also this method in many cases cause huge amounts of left over pills in germanys closets, as the standard packaging often does not fit the needs of individual therapy lengths. In America the doctor can write down the active substance name, the dossage per pill and the number per pills nesscecary (up to a maximum number afaik?) and the pharmacy fills them up for you. And for your problem that they always bring you the expensive medicine, there is one thing to know: there is one thing in germany called the "Rote Liste" a complete List of all active substances and the medicines featuring them, every pharmacy has this in two versions: book and pc version. Make them work for their money, tell them what kind of medicine you need, or what your symptomes are, then ask if there are alternativs BEFOR they go an fetvh the first that comes to their mind, ask for pros and cons of diffrent alternatives they offer, including the price (they can look up the price in their pc at their counter, and finally ask for the cheapest generic (dt. "Generikum"). In Germany the only allowed difference between generics is the vehicle substance and coloration, thus as long as there are no allergies or intolerances the cheapest is as good for you as the most expensive. So they can do the browsing for you, AND they have to do it for you by law, a pharmacist can loose his license if he refuse to answer your questions in detail. But they will only do so if they cannot get away with the fast way which earns them the most money (get the best known brand, which is the most expensive most of the time, and rely on the effect of advertisements and that the customer will recognize the brand and thus pay without further questioning). I like the American way of filling packs of pills for each patient individually better, than the German "on size fits all" method as this methode produces tons of leftover pills, and often tons of aditional packaging. I am not a fan of the possibility of getting pain killer etc. freely almost everywere, though. As the risks of those are extremly underrated by this and through the German method at least at one point there is one who tells you, that there is a risk in taking those pills and you should ratzer go see a doctor instead of just numbing your symptomes. Medicine is not the same as clothes, cosmetics or food and should not be treated as such, as the range from helpful to toxic often is small.
You can always ask the pharmacist to look for the cheapest / a cheaper option instead. I'm a student, thus not a lot of money available and I told them I needed strong painkillers but as cheap as possible and they checked. They don't mind and usually they just sell the option that's the most used which is convenient, as it's on the top of the shelf, like easy accessable.
In Germany every Pharmacist has to have some college degree in medicine or pharmacy. Is it like that in the US too? I think it's very important to always have an educated person in front of you when you buy something, since they can see problems in your order, for example if you take 2 medicines that are dangerous as a combo, the doctor might only know about 1 of both that you take.
Pharmacists in the US are already overworked as it is, which is a huge problem as it can lead to mistakes. If they had to deal with every single person who had a headache or muscle ache just to sell them ibuprofen or acetominophen, it would be a complete nightmare. I'll stick with current system where I only have to deal with pharmacy staff for restricted medications, thanks.
It's not right as a pharmacist i am telling u guys are talking about ibuprofen as it candy yes it's safe to a point but it's a drug and it can affect alot of other drugs there's something called enzyme inducers and inhibitor drugs affects other drugs it's a complicated thing even after 5 or 6 years of study we need 2 or more years of practice to figure it all out together it's not that easy
Danna you should really talk to the pharmacist. You really don't need to do your research on your own. If you go there and ask the same question again and again, they will offer you the same again and again. You can always ask them for advice and alternatives. They know it or they will look it up for you. Sometimes they ask you to meet a doctor, especially when some diagnosis is required they can or may not perform but otherwise they will help you. You can always ask for a cheaper option. Some all in one combination of the active substances is typically the first thing you get offered because it is a convenient solution. Sometimes you can save 50% buying the pain medication and other active substance separately. About the refill, if you need a regular subscription, ask your doctor about it.
Also prescription medicines in Germany aren't labelled with instructions. You get given verbal instructions by the pharmacy staff or they scribble something on the box. I'm in the UK and everything is labelled with instructions and specific warnings as well as the name and address of the pharmacy in case of dispensing errors.
I used to take my meds with a cup of cocoa until a pharmacist at the refill told me: "and of course no milk before and after, preferably no food at all for an hour, always at the same time" ... the doctor didn't tell me any of this. The pharmacist was shocked. She then very kindly explained to me why these meds needed this diet and it made so much sense, which changed my behavior. I also got tons of help when I have any kind of (non-threatening) trouble with my infant and it was very reassuring to have a trained, highly educated professional recommend options. Once I know what works, I kind of prefer buying without human interaction though...
I think you have to go to your doctor for a new perscription in germany, because atleast a part of the costs is usualy payed by your insurance. So for the pharmacistto get his money he needs the perscription to have the paperwork to send in. But htat is only my theory, could be wrong. If you want to know about more options for non-perscription-medicine, you can always ask the pharmacist. For example saying you want the off-brand ones or you want brand-ones, but the cheapest option they have available at your pharmacie. I don'tknow how it is in the US, but in Germany, if you go to to the same pharmacie for the most times, they sometimes even keep better track of certain matters with your medication. I have to take perscriped medication and my doctor got the firms mixed up one time, so my pjarmacist told me, that in this special case you should not change the producing firm, for it yould have sideeffects, so he gave me the once I had all the times before. Sorry for the some how clumsy description, I hope, I got my point along ^^
I found weird in the US how they give your medication not in the original package ( box or else) but in some orange pill bottle. I feel this can increase the chance of human error or even contamination of the medication. ...
I don't think that pharmacies have 30-day or single course of XYZ prescription to hand in most instances. The suppliers send huge containers with 300+ pills for each pharmacy to count out for each prescription. Space, time, cost saving. Which since pharmaceutical companies in the US are charging huge mark ups on medication anyway I'm not surprised. The training that pharmacists and technicians go through prevents errors though, one person prepares, then someone else checks, and finally someone signs off. Well that's the hope!
In the US, pharmaceutical companies can also advertise prescription medicine. That's not allowed in most of Europe. Whenever I watch tv in the US, the commercials seem like a constant stream of illnesses that need to be cured!
In Ireland you can also get normal painkillers in supermarkets, no problem. In Hungary, as far as I;ve seen you need to go to the pharmacy for painkiller aswell.
If you need a refill and you dont want to physically go to the doctor you can just call them and have them send the prescription to you as a letter. I live in Munich and I do that too.
crazy in the US: I didn't get a ready-made package, the pharmacist counted the antibiotic capsules by hand and put it into a plastic vial. It was not a Hill Billy pharmacy. It was in Miami Beach! Btw we paid 2500 bucks for a 8 min job of a doc at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Hallo Dana,, I have to disagree with you to a certain degree. In the last few years I haven't entcountered a pharmacy, where the Pharmacist couldn't look up in their computer whitch alternatives/generica are available und what would be the price for which Package size. But you have to ask from the start for a cheaper alternative. The other thing is my experience with refill medicine. Yes, I still need a new perscription from my doctor but I don't really have to visit him. If I haven't time for an appointment I can phone my doctors office and they will send me a new perscription per mail. Well, my doctor wants to see me anyways soon, because my perscription last for three month and my doctor wants to check on me each quartal to ask for sideeffects and how I feel. I think that is a good thing if you take medication for a long period. Bye
Well first of all, most pharmacies have a special brand for generics where they get special conditions. It is very much the same as a pub which has its house beer or a jeweler who has his house brands of watches etc. Generally, generics are essentially equivalent, so it doesn't really matter which brand you use. But German health ensuranced thought that it is fraud, and so today it is that pharmacies don't sell their house brands, but the ensurance companies' house brands. And since every ensurance company has a contract with a different brand, the pharmacy either has half a dozen of different essentially the same medicines on stock, which is just silly by economics points of view, or they have to order one package of that specific brand from their retailer every time they get a prescription. It is silly. The best thing is how it was: there is one fix price the ensurance company is paying, and the pharmacy has the free choice from which pharma company they are supplied under which conditions. So there is a pharmacy which has a supply contract with company A and another one which has a contract with company B, but for the public health system, the costs are the same.
If you're getting something and it's too expensive, ask them if they got a generic version (Ein Generikum) with the same active ingredient and dosage. They'll usually offer brand name meds first, because they too have to turn a profit of course, but If there is a generic version and they have it in stock, they'll go get it for you when you request it. Just ask "Haben Sie das auch als preiswerteres Generikum da?"
Every real medication that has a use and operates against something also has counter effects. Also you can always ask the pharmacist for a generic medicine if you don't want to pay extra for the brand stuff. Also the practice with doctors and pharmacies you described from the US is illegal in Germany.
One thing you didn't talk about were the behind-the-counter medications in the US. Basically, any OTC medicine that has pseudoephedrine in it will be held behind the pharmacy counter (I don't think this is different for any US state, but correct me if I'm wrong). These OTC medicines are treated very much like it seems that the German pharmacy works with the exception that American pharmacists will also ask questions to attempt to determine if a person is buying the pseudoephedrine medication for illegal purposes. The level of restrictions for these medications varies across the US, but at a minimum your ID will be checked against a state database to verify that you have not exceeded your limits for a particular period of time (a prescription is required if you need more than you're allowed OTC). To varying practical and legal degrees, purchasing pseudoephedrine products out of town or out of state will be more difficult in the United States than buying other OTC medicines. On that note, other combinations of purchases may prompt questions whether or not medicines are even sold by that retailer. If you're asked questions, a polite, reasonable response is all that is required; try to remember that retailers have an important role that they are legally required to play in preventing drug crimes in the US. Not everyone is subject to suspicion, but everyone is subject to reasonable questions. . For the record, I am neither a legal, nor a medical professional. I have personal experience working the front end of a retail pharmacy. On that note, people (visiting the US or living here) should remember that retail pharmacy employees are restricted in what they can say about medicines by their training and insurance requirements. There were a few times when a customer wanted an OTC recommendation and our pharmacy was closed, so I would offer the phone number of a location in our chain whose pharmacy would be open because your typical front end employees of a US retail pharmacy cannot make recommendations. While working in East Tennessee, this usually meant just calling a store in Middle Tennessee; thus calling from Eastern time into Central time.
It may be trivial but I feel more comfortable buying my medication somewhere where I'm asked if I know how to use it correctly. Even if it's just Iboprofen (which is the only med I need). So "merchant behind the counter" it is for me.
Having moved from the US to Sweden, the only thing I do kind of miss is being able to buy cold medicine and things at later hours since American stores are usually open late.
Dana with all respect you have no clue about most medicines. A German Apotheker, the person who runs the apothecary has studied for 4 years, has spend a practical year and has passed several different state exams. And he or she will suggest a cheaper alternative for you. The ladies working there are pharmaceutical-technical-assistants who also have spent at least 2 and a half years medical education. Most of it in the lab. I doubt you can teach them anything about drugs they possibly do not know already. Today many people do self-diagnostics via the internet and then run to the Apotheke to try to get the drug they read about without consulting a doctor. Also, the remark that they do not know about everything is hilarious, because they sure know more than Jane Q. Normal.
Petra Meyer Lobby Bestandswahrer gequatsche!! Ich habe noch nie oder zumindest bei 90 % irgend eine Nachfrage bekommen wenn ich die Standards Paracetamol IBU Voltarensalben usw gekauft habe. Das deutsche Apothekensystem wird von 70% der Apotheker ordentlich zum Kasse machen benutzt Wenn sogar in Luxemburg Dolodobendan Strepselis günstiger alsbei uns ist, sollte das zum nachdenken anregen.
montanus777 Solange man von diesen Gesetzen gut leben kann :) Für Verschreibungspflichtige Medikamente hat alles seinen Sinn da braucht es auch Apotheker - dort wird ja auch zwischen Geldgeber Und Lieferant direkt verhandelt. Aber bei IBU Und Co she ich da kein vernünftigen Grund
Another big difference between pharmacies in the US and the rest of the world is difference in the cost of prescription drugs. Some drugs, made by the same companies, are sold in the US at huge price difference. I'm talking 10 or 20 times as expensive for the same drug.
yeah the pricing thing is true. there are usually a bunch of similar medicin that do more or less the same for range of different prices. they wont always offer you the cheapest unless you ask for the cheapest or unless you know exactly what you want. but on the other side as you said, those people have usually a huge amount of knowledge about everything. if you feel sick or have any other issues, you can just go in explain your situation and you will leave 10 minutes later with stuff that helps.
necrionos here in Canada at least we have basically the same system as the US on this, but the pharmacists are highly educated and knowledgeable. They do often have assistants though.
It would be nice in Germany if the pharmacy would allow you to look at the information on the packaging - detailing the symptoms treated, side effects, and price on sample packaging without actual product in it. In my state (Mississippi) many allergy medicines are kept behind the counter but the package information is displayed on the shelves so that the shopper can compare the medicines. When you decide which medicine suits you best you go to the counter and ask for it.
Typically, modern Apotheken have a computer inventory system, so you can ask for prices and alternatives before they ring you up. Though, in case of allergy medication I learned to ask for the cheap ones by name
Pharmacies here in France are the same as in Germany, although now there are some médications available that's not behind the counter in some pharmacies (those who have the space available for that to be possible).
My pharmacist usually just asks which brand I want (like Bayer, Ratiopharm etc) if there are more options. They always tell me if one of them is more expensive (usually they are the same price) and they can just check the price of the product on their screen if I am unsure ^^. Also if it is a prescripted medicine it can be more expensive but usually you can send your prescription "note" to your health insurance and they will give you the money back.
The pharmacists in Germany are specialist who are also supposed to detect possible problems by taking different medication which might cause unwanted and really bad side effects. Additionally, even with non-prescription medication, people can easily damage their health, poison themselves, misuse them, etc etc ... That's the main reason why in Germany you can't just pick the stuff in a store like milk or butter.
Pharmacists in the US have to be licensed and go to school to get their degree. Any store that offers a prescription refill is required to have a board certified pharmacist on staff in the US, so that honestly is not an issue in comparison to German pharmacies as they are both trained in their field
Good to know :D but so far I've noticed one pharmacy here in Germany which us actually different:D It's called "easy Apotheke" and it's located in Frechen. It's much bigger than other german pharmacies and you can take the medicine you don't need a prescription for by yourself and just go to the pharmacist to pay. The other pharmacists still walk around the store to help people if they need. You should definitely check it out next time you're in Bergheim :D
Last month I crashed my bike into a wall in Germany. My poor momma was so worried about her student daughter. I am glad SHE survived hahaha I got a first hand look at German healthcare. I liked how I was treated so much more in Germany than in the USA. I love the USA but we really could do better. Oh well, while I am at Uni for the next year in Germany I will be sure to crash into as many walls as possible so I get even more German health care. Um, does anyone think there is a problem with my plan? hahaha
There are some medications that are harder to obtain in the United States, depending on the specific state. Example: pseudoephedrine. Especially elderly people seem to find a great person to speak to in the pharmacy, when it comes to many health-related issue. Personally, as a younger person, I prefer to browse things myself and only ask questions if I want to. There are several other differences. E.g. the packaging. German pharmacists do not "fill" something. They mainly hand over pre-packaged medication. And there are no white-label mail-order pharmacies which send out medication branded according to the specific payor (health plan or PBM).
In Estonia when I need a refill, I call my doctor who writes an e-prescription online, then I go to any pharmacy I want, present my ID and the pharmacist gets the e-prescription from the system and knows what drug I must get. So I do not have to go physically to the doctor.
France has pretty much the same system as in Germany. Differences: Some of the products vary. For example in Germany you get a more "special" toothpaste called meridol in the supermarket. In france you only get it in the pharmacy. Second difference: The amount of pharmacies in France is insane. If you just follow the main street of any given town you will come across a pharmacy every couple of hundred metres. I am living near the edge of a town and within the range of 1km I already have 5 pharmacies. In Paris you get about 15+ pharmacies within a radius of 1km, which is pretty insane.
I think The Netherlands is in between Germany and the USA. We do have free availbality of stuff like vitamins, strepsils/strepfen (for strep throat, and only strep), and a bunch of painkillers. The painkillers only below a certain dosage though. I for example use 500mg Naproxen sometimes, this had to be perscribed, but 200mg and under, we can get in the grocery store. Then you have anti acids, against heartburn you can get freely too, but I believe they do want to switch it up so that only certain ones can be bought without prescription, because people don't know when to use them and how. But every kind of med can be gotten in an apotheek (usually linked to a GP or a hospital) as well. Those people can advise you on what to take, what medicins have interactions and just in general if there are better options. These are also the only places you can get your prescription drugs. We also have drugstore type stores where you can buy self care products, the same pain killers as in the supermarket, stomach medication and products like lense fluid for when you use contact lenses. People working there are supposed to know more then average, but a lot of the time don't. I am just for good medication control, because overuse or misuse of meds is just very close by and not very healthy, nor smart. I was stunned the first time I was watching Extreme Couponing and someone bought sleep pills in the grocery store. Why would that be possible? I think for those kinds of meds a doctor should check you first and maybe look at possible causes of your insomnia instead of people just buying sleep pills with their groceries...
In Germany Apotheken only can be run by pharmacists. So corporations are left out and the competition shall be mitigated in this way in order to safeguard public health. That is why pharmacists have all the time to answer any question. ^_^ "Forced" doctor visits to get a prolonged medication are meant to safeguard public health aswell. The intention is to adapt medication as well as possible in order to avoid addictions or pharmaceutical errors. Maybe you could do a video about comparing healthcare systems in general. It might be a bit risky, but afterall it's very interesting how this topic is perceived in Germany and the US in comparison.
You could ask your doctor (if you trust each other) to fax the prescription to your usual pharmacy. Just call the doc and ask for this. I don't know how possible that is though since doctors are paid by some complicated mechanism (and writing a prescription is work) and they generally do want to check if your dosage is still fine every so often.
In Germany theres also the possibility of getting your "personalized" medics. For example my grandmother gets her "own" lotion that has to be made by the pharmacist.
My Standard Pharmacy is alsways kind. They tell me all the options, explain how they are different and flat out tell me if the generic version is the same as the more expensive one, or why not. Also they always look up what my insurance would pay and what not. I always feel like I got really good service and paid just as much as I needed to. I would not want to miss that and stand in front of the options in the grocery store, all sick and worked up, not knowing what wil help me. I kind of ove being born in Germany. Even though most Germans are not very proud of Germany, I am happy about our countries archivements and feel lucky about being German.
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Good morning!!😃🌸☀️So my question for you is: Which pharmacy style do you prefer? What do you see as the pros and cons of how it's done in each country?
Dana I live in United State in Connecticut and when going to my Pharmacy I ask question about my over the counter and prescription by the doctor and I never feel rushed at all. My pharmacy is rite aid and I also go to the Pharmacy at my Hospital at Yale New Haven Hospital. I have spent up 45 min talking to the Pharmacist this past Thursday for 45 min about a medication that I have to inject and another medication that is in a liquid. Never rushed. I am not sure what Pharmacy you been to in the United States but most of the Pharmacy here in my area in Connecticut is like the one you find in Germany, and I prefer the German style Pharmacy
I would say there is nothing wrong with making pain medication not omnipresent. Of course you should consult a professional before possibly mixing ibuprofen with something else. There is no such thing as an inherently harmless drug. Even aspirin can kill you if you catch a freak interaction with something unforeseen.
Especially pain medication can be highly addictive and the USA are currently suffering a Heroin crisis due to the over-prescription of legal opioids. Because Heroin is plain cheaper and more accessible once your prescription runs out and you find yourself hooked.
So everything that emphasises the serious nature of taking drugs for any reason is a good thing in my book.
I guess, that depends on the specific pharmacy - the pharmacy (I live in GER) I usually buy my meds from display the most common prescription free meds with prices (different alternatives next to each other), and the pharmacists usually offer you cheaper generic alternatives (i.e. Ibuprophen from a generic producer) if possible. But I do know a lot of pharmacies that have rows of drawers behind the counters where ALL the meds are stored in and you only can compare things like sun blockers or vitamins in the shop area.
Oh, and if you want various offers for a purpose, just ask them to give you an overview of what they have and what it costs before they go grab something. Or just ask ask their most cost-efficient offer. They are learned people. They can manage complex requests.
but Not everyone who takes opioids is an addict I am seen by a neurosurgeon and a pain management doctor... I have 2 neck surgeries and 1 major mid to lower lumbar spine surgery and require pain medications. So tired of people lumping those with heroin and illegal drug use with people like me who had debilitating pain and can barely even get out of bed to go to the bathroom.
I am a Pharmacist (ich bin Apotheker) here in the US. As a profession, I think many of us here in the US would prefer the German system where one is given the time and expected to speak more with patients. Here in the states, the demands of the chain stores often won't allow much time to do so. As a pharmacist and traveler in Germany, one of my favorite things to do is visit my fellow pharmacists at their pharmacies and talk shop in my B1German. They are always so courteous and kind.
how much do you earn in the states compared to germany? and why dont you have the time to talk to patients in the states?
Personally I prefer the German System because I think medication is not something to be messed with.
Furthermore from my own experience pharmacists often offer you a cheaper Option as well.
Simon Leuchtweis yet alcohol is?
The way Germany handles it is to prevent drug abuse, misusage, possible incorrect medication and overdosage, I guess.
Also to prevent bad interaction between different medications.
PỺO's MƎᴻTɐʟ MƎʟTdowɴs
And protecting a money print machine - in near every country medication is cheaper than in Germany
the main reason is to protect the interests of the pharmacists. in many issues regarding work and sale germany still has strong 'guild-like interest groups' protecting their members. :)
PỺO's MƎᴻTɐʟ MƎʟTdowɴs plus effects with other mefication you might take daily.
montanus777 what, like trade unions?
I work in a pharmacy in Germany and the "american way" of buying medicine sounds so awful to me.
Medicines are no candy. To me that's very irresponsible.
To the price-thing: the most pharmacys don't label the medicines with prices, because we (of cause) want to sell what actually brings us money but also because the most of the "cheap" versions do have a different way of working, like the original medicine start working in 10min and will work for about 5-6h, the cheap version oft don't work as good. And unfortunately many ppl want to save money which is not a bad thing at all but in my eyes medicine should not be a thing to save money, health is so important... to me it is actually a shame that ppl don't want to invest in their health, it's not like we sell rubbish :(
But if one of my customers want something cheaper or I actually know that the generic drug works as good as the original one, I do recommend and sell it, of cause. And we DO know, whats on the market, all pharmacys in Germany have a special computer program which shows every single medicine in Germany and even many from the international market and also if they are available or not.
Feeling like having offered the same thing is a common thing, because we all do trainings, the most do 2 in one year where we learn new medicines and new ways to cure diseases, so we do recommend the medicine that is still the best option for you.
But you can always ask for something else like "Are there different active ingredients, that could also work good in my case" or "I already know this one but I would like to take something different", I always want my costumer happy and if they ask for something different I love to advise something different for him/her, so he/she leaves my pharmacy with the perfect medicine fitting the disease.
And the thing with the prescription:
I worked in a few different pharmacy's and in everyone it was totally fine to order your meds by phone.
Often the doctor's office fax the prescription and the delivery man of the pharmacy gets them later that day.
Just ask you doctor if the could do this for you. That's a common thing. :)
Sorry for the long post and I hope my English is okay. ^^
Have a good day.
Lordi Awa, Fine post. Thanks.
In the USofA we expect a certain level of education exists so that average adults can read dosing limitations and follow them. For example the instructions might be:
No more than 3 pills at one time, allow 4 hours between each 3 pill dose, no more than 12 pills per 24 hours. Stop taking after 5 days and consult a doctor if symptoms remain.
If we had better sick leave and health care insurance policies might tolerate medical drug policy being more pharmacist oriented.
Private individuals have a right to be irresponsible with their own bodies if they so wish.
found your post very interesting!
Now that you mention it- of course it makes sense. I always thought the main reason for branded meds being more expensive is that they do all the research and have to fund it whereas knock offs just copy stuff, but it might work as well.
If i knew this, if my pharmacist tells me: "Sure, you can buy this painkiller for half the price, but it only works half as long" i wouldn't even think about it and buy the more expensive one. I always thought that if something says: ibuprofen 400, it will work the same, no matter the brand.
hi, my self kamal from India even I wanted to come to Germany for the pharmacist job
Hello, I study pharmacy and I would like to work in Germany as a pharmacist, can you tell me are salries decent to live a good life?Is easy for foreigns to get a job in Germany as a pharmacist?
I like it the way it is in Germany because I just feel safer when the decision as to which medication I take is in the hands of a professional who really knows what they're doing, you know?
my friend's wife actually is a pharmacist. and yes: they know a lot but there's also another pro with the German system. when she scans multiple items for the same customer and some medicine interacts in an undesirable way she'll get an automatic Warning on her screen and will warn the customer and maybe there's even an alternative/better combination of medicine so she can suggest that
Pharmacist do the exact same think in the USA.
I lived in the US for 1 year and I hated their systhem yes sure I could pick up as much Painkillers as I would like, but once when I was really sick it took them forever to even find the presciption in the back I had to wait over 40 minutes for it and I was the only Cusstomer there, while In germany it takes them about a minute to find something in the back and they usually have more knowledge and dont need to look up everything on the computer
Piki Bear Same here.. 1,5 years in the us and they need quite a long time to hand out prescription meds. Very annoying
It depends where you go at many pharmacies the doc or you can call in a prescription and it is already filled and waiting in a bin when you get there. You can often times just go to the drive-through to drop a prescription off and come back later for it.
Craig Christensen if you are super sick coming from the doctor you don't want to wait forever for your medicine when all you want to do is lie in bed and sleep
Piki Bear right on.
Not only prescriptions. Wanted something like Vomex, but because I tried different medication before and nothing helped as good as Vomex, I wanted something with the same agent. So I looked the agent up in the internet (dimenhydrinate) and even with this information it took the guy 10 minutes to figure out Dramamine would be fitting
Hey Dana,
Ich bin Pharmaziestudent und stand deshalb schon mal hinterm Handverkaufstisch/?Counter? In der Apotheke. Wir haben da ähnlich wie google ein Kassenprogramm, das uns so ziemlich alles anzeigt. Preis, Lieferbarkeit, haben wir es da, Beipackzettel.
Wenn ein Kunde öfters da ist und z.b. ne Kunde karte hat, geben wir meist raus, was der Kunde schon hatte. Die Erfahrung zeigt, dass der Kunde das besser findet. Wenn du einen Vergleich von Produkten lieber anhand der Verpackung machst kannst du bestimmt deinem Gegenüber auch danach fragen. Es gibt nämlich auch Kunden, die kommen rein und sagen:" Meine Freundin hat mir gesagt sie hätte gerne Aspirin in so ner roten Verpackung, da ist irgendwie ein Hezr drauf"
Ist immer ein lustiges Ratespiel :)
Meist bieten wir ein günstiges Produkt an, aber wenn der Kunde schon von sich aus sagt, ich hätte gerne das und das von der und der Firma, dann geben wir das auch so raus.
Auch gibt es in Deutschland Arzneimittel nur Over the Counter, weil es eine Beratungspflicht gibt. Damit diese Beratung nicht von vorne schon beeinflusst und der Kunde festgelegt ist, gibt es keine Ware in der Freiwahl. Rezeptfreie Arzneimittel werden auch OTC-Artikel
Also over the Counter genannt :)
Liebe Grüße
Mach weiter so tolle Videos
So if you can buy non-prescription medication like ibuprofen at the gas station --- doesn't that make them seem harmless and downplays that there are often serious risks with prolonged intake or overdosing? Won't people buy those pills without much thought if they are treated like vitamins and the like?
No. because any mature adult can read the instructions on the bottle/box. Having a pharmacist as the mandatory "middle man"even for simple over-the-counter medicines doesn't automatically stop the person from overdosing on that meds.
You can buy any meds from the apoteke, and if the person still decides the consume the whole box of pills, there is still nothing the pharmacist could do. It the end, it's still all about self accountability.
In Australia, there are pharmacists who "control" the sale of some over the counter medicines but you can choose a lot of the medicines and quite a few are sold at supermarkets. All gatekeepers whether doctors or pharmacists are pretty ineffective at protecting people from themselves other than discouraging some druggies.
That's exactly what my concern is. I think it's probably good that it's more controlled in Germany.
Must be a reason for the vast amount of medication addicts.
IrianGaming medication abuse is a huge problem in the US.
Ich finde es spannend, das Dana und auch einige in den Kommentaren davon berichten in der Apotheke immer die gleichen und teuersten Dinge angeboten zu bekommen. Ich hab genau die gegenteilige Erfahrung gemacht. Ich werde fast immer auf eine günstige Alternative oder ein besonderes Angebot hingewiesen. Und wenn ich nicht genau weiß, was ich brauche und mich beraten lasse, werden mir meistens mind. zwei Produkte vorgestellt, Preise genannt, vor und Nachteile erklärt und dann wäge ich ab, welches Produkt mir mehr zusagt. Auch in dieser Situation hab ich schon oft gehört "Es ist fast das gleiche, nur, dass A etwas praktischer ist, weil... ob Ihnen das die vier Euro mehr wert sind, dürfen Sie entscheiden." Ich komme ursprünglich vom Land, habe dann in einer nicht ganz so großen Stadt studiert und lebe jetzt in einer Großstadt. Habe bisher überall die gleiche Erfahrung gemacht.
So kenne ich das auch. Man kann auch direkt sagen, dass man gern ein günstiges Präparat haben möchte. Der Apotheker wird einen deswegen nicht anspringen.
Always feel free to ask us, if there are cheaper options. I don't know how it's handled in other pharmacys, but it costs me two clicks to browse all my price options. :-)
Well and for the prescription thing: We are forced by law only to give out prescripted medication in exchange for an original prescription. Makes stuff really busy sometimes. I hate hearing "I'm such a good customer and I'm aaaaalways just buying here. Can't you give me my pills and I will bring the prescription later?"
I'm not allowed to do so... if anyone finds out we get into big problems... and I really like to work at that place. Even if the people can get really annoying. :-)
Xeliah Sunfire people really do that? Wow.
You would think, people living in Germany know, that the BTM is really strict. Also just because one is a customer for years, doesn't mean he can't be addicted to certain medication. So the law does make sense.
LaMiriabelle yeah they do that more than often. And they even get mad, if we don't give them what they want.
We have our orders and try to figure out the best way to help them, by calling the doctors or showing them where to go to get an emergency prescription, but sometimes they just want what they want.
Well, I like the job mevertheless. :)
Xeliah Sunfire | I think she means that it's difficult to ask for something else if you don't know what's available. Maybe she's not just looking for something cheaper, but only for a cheaper option IF it has this and that in it, but not if it contains something else. Or you might be willing to pay more for one brand, but not for another brand. Or something might be cheaper per pill, but more to spend in that moment. That's why people like browsing. Although personally, the only medication I ever use is paracetamol and hay fever tablets. Nothing else.
Eleonore Bon Sure and that's okay.
I just just wanted to point out, that for us it's only a few clicks to find out what's inside, what the effects, and side-effects are, wether there is for example lactose in the pills, or not, and what brands are available, and whats the price.
At least where I work we like to help out whereever we can. :D
Xeliah Sunfire | Of course! But sometimes you want to compare yourself. I'm terrible with listening for example. In restaurants I always hate when they list all the specials that are not on the menu. I want to read it. I suppose some people might have that at the pharmacy too.
Wer eine Alternative zu etwas sucht, egal ob wegen Preis oder NW, Verträglichkeit etc, bitte einfach fragen. Das ist gar kein Problem, muss auch nicht unangenehm sein, das machen wir mehrfach täglich und es lässt sich fast immer sehr schnell eine Lösung finden. Das kein lokales Geschäft preislich mit dem Internet konkurrieren kann, egal welcher Branche, ist denke ich jedem ganz klar. Erst Recht wenn deutlich mehr Anforderungen, Auflagen und Aufgaben erfüllt werden müssen als im Versandhandel.
Ob der Arzt ein Rezept ausstellt und an eine Apotheke schickt, liegt allein am Arzt. Wichtig dabei ist zu wissen das der Patient eine Apotheke benennen muss, der Arzt darf gesetzlich nicht mit einzelnen Apotheken oder Sanitätshäusern zusammenarbeiten, wodurch das einen hohen Aufwand ergibt wenn alles woanders hin soll. In Notfällen oder bei Heimbewohnern bzw chronisch kranken Patienten die schlecht die Wohnung verlassen können, kommt das sehr oft vor, die Sachen werden dann auch oft geliefert und der Patient muss gar nicht vorbeikommen.
Der Hauptgrund dafür dass das so gehandhabt wird bei freiverkäuflichen AM, ist die Reduktion von falscher Anwendung und von Risiken die mit der Selbstmedikation einhergehen.
Wer weiß was er haben möchte und sich damit bereits auskennt, wird auch nicht grundlos "zwangsberaten" und ist in 2 Minuten wieder draußen. Ausnahme stellt sich dar wenn gleichzeitig Sachen gekauft werden die problematisch sind, sich nicht vertragen oder sich gegensätzlich ausschließen, das wird dann kurz abgeklärt und wenn nötig aufgeklärt/beraten. Dafür sind wir nunmal da. Bei Bedenken oder Problemen dürfen (teilw. müssen) wir übrigens auch alles verweigern was nicht ärztlich verschrieben ist (entgegen der oft landläufigen Meinung).
Neben brühwarmen Empfehlungen von Frisör, Klempner, Nachbran o.ä. ist die Werbung oft problematisch und etwas das zu Fehlern führt. Häufiges Beispiel ist zB Omeprazol das gegen Sodbrennen gekauft wird. Für über 95% der Personen die es kaufen möchten leider das falsche Mittel und hat nicht annähernd die Wirkung hat die erwartet wird, sondern bringt zusätzlich nur Nebenwirkungen.
Davon gefolgt sind Komplikationen mit bestehenden Erkrankungen oder Arzneimitteln die man regulär nimmt oder unerkannt von diesen ausgelöst wurden. Kommt täglich vor, verständliche Beispiele wären sowas wie Husten durch Herzmedikamente statt einer vermeintlichen Erkältung, die Pille + Johanniskraut, Schilddrüsenhormone + X, Kopfschmerzen durch Schmerztabletten, Aspirin für Kinder, Kalium trotz Herz- o. Entwässerungsmittel etc
Der immense Gebrauch von Aspirin gehört übrigens zu den häufigsten Todesursachen in den USA, aus dem Grund wird das hier nie die Apothekenpflicht verlassen.
According to tv and movies all prescription medication in the US comes in orange plastic bottles, while in Germany everything (except some cremes) comes in company packaging.
They do come in orange plastic bottles a lot. They do have dosage labels, warning labels, and a printout of the possible side effects and such. The pharmasist will also tell you what to look out for and how much to take (even though it says on the label).
...unless it's some heart medication that'll kill you when taken together with some other meds...
The orange/brown colour in the plastic bottle prevents ultraviolet degradations.
Silke | In many countries in Europe, it's illegal to advertise prescription medication. Only over the counter can be advertised.
I wish drug advertisements were illegal in the US! Most Americans *hate* all the drug commercials, and we see a TON of them! At the end of every prescription drug ad on TV it says, "Ask your doctor about _insert drug name here_." Most of us realize that our doctors should be the ones using their education and experience to give us only the medications we truly need.
When I ask my pharmacist here in Germany for a cheaper option, they always tell me, and if they're not sure, they check their computer. They can also tell me if the cheaper option is just as good or more like snake oil. If you don't have a medical or pharmaceutical degree, I wouldn't trust your browsing. Also, picking up the prescription from the doctor's office means you can then go to any pharmacy you want to. I myself have rarely had to wait in line at a pharmacy, since there's one on almost every corner and they all seem to have about ten people serving customers.
Personally I think you left out one big difference between US and Germany (but correct me if I'm misinformed, please!): in the US they are allowed to run advertisments on prescription drugs that patients are supposed to ask their doctor for, which is prohibited in Germany - you can advertise over-the-counter products, but nothing that needs prescribing.
About the pharmacies: I think both systems have pros and cons. If I were to build a new system, I'd have a browsing area with empty packages of all the medication you can buy without prescription like in a store, so you can read the packaging and compare the price, but you'd have to go pick the actual filled real product up at a counter with a pharmaciest, who you could then talk to, to see, if you picked the right product for your problem and who'd make sure, it's not interacting with anything else you take, give you instructions how to use it, answer your question and also make yure you're not willy-nilly just buying something too strong/ignoring serious symptoms.
You are correct about prescription advertising in the USA. The ads are annoying and most everyone hates them. They are especially prevalent during news programs or programs targeted toward older people. You can ask your doctor about the medicines, but it is still up to the doctor and/or pharmacist to decide whether they are appropriate for your medical conditions. If the doctor doesn't think that medicine is right for you, they won't write the prescription, no matter what the commercial ad says.
Yes, in Germany is the "Heilmittelwerbegesetz".
That's a really good idea.
At my pharmacy (in Germany), the pharmacists are really helpful and give me lots of options. They look up the medication on their computer and tell me the price - even suggest cheaper options if available. I think that is really good 😊
This past summer, I had the worst allergy attacks while in Munich. Stood in line at the Apoteke -- "Ich brauche etwas für Allergien".
Got the German version of Zyrtec, which was plainly packaged (with Braille, which I though was cool), and honestly worked better than any over the counter allergy medicine I've tried in the US. I honestly like German way of handling it better
Possibly this is a bit too serious but did your research show a difference in suicide by self-poisoning with none narcotic painkillers between Germany and the USA? Does the ease of getting something for a headache outweigh protecting the desperate from making an impulsive but seriously harmful act?
castellddu that would be interesting
castellddu I
Indeed, not least US gun laws. Recording of suicide is also a difficult and notorious unreliable set of statistics. Anyway the point of my question was to suggest a reason behind the differences.
Eleonore Bon
"It's less" is a bit understated, isn't it? The United States accounts for approximately one quarter of the estimated number of drug-related deaths worldwide, including overdose deaths, which continue to rise. Mostly driven by opioids, overdose deaths in the united States more than tripled during the period 1999-2015. Would be only ok if the US had 1/4 of the world population but is far away from that.
So it said, although one has to be careful as the data is far from complete and cross country data often does not do a true like for like comparison. Regardless in both Germany and the USA prescription drugs are controlled. It may be the higher level of control over non-prescription meds in Germany suggests something about the culture regarding medication and the 'authoritive' role of doctors in health care.In regard to the prescription of opiod pain killers, which really does seem to be a serious problem in the US the question is - Is it easier for Germany doctors, in practice, to refuse the pressure from patients for a prescription than in the US where, it appears, doctors readily give in to patient pressure to prescribe? Is this simply a result of the commercial nature of US health care, where a patient can go to another doctor and pay for his opinion or is it part of supposed German culture where the opinion of experts, like doctors, is highly respected.
With the contact between the doctor and the pharmacies, that depends quite alot on the doctor. We have something called an "'Ärztehaus" here (a doctor-house) where alot of different doctors of several fields found together to share the same vacilicy to cut costs and to make it easier for the patients. Intigrated to the Ärztehaus is also a pharmacy. If the doctor have green-lighted medication for you that need regular refills, you can just sent the Ärztehaus a E-Mail (they have a special E-mail adress for perscription-requests) and you can ask if they could hand them over to the pharmacy. They do that regularly, and even for rather heavy drugs. My mom had two accidents within the last year and needs opioids (as other pain-medication nearly killed her during the last hospital stay), and even with such percriptions, it works perfectly.
In Germany you can get a 'Dauerrezept' so one that is valid for a year and gives you unlimited refills. Usually when you have an allergy, the doctor just sends a new prescription to the pharmacy every year.
I was in the US and got sick. I felt pretty helpless, because the pharmacists available didn't wanted to help at all. And me not being familiar with the products over there as well as me being on medication constantly for health reasons, and wondering about how they go together... Well.. It took me a good 2 hours to be sure I found the right thing. Now I only travel to the US with a good ton of pills that I know and help with most things that could happen.
There are no more "Dauerrezepts". Prescriptions are valid for half a year, will be paid by the public health ensurance for a month after being issued (after that period, it has to be paid entirely by the patients), it can be split (e.g. a supply for 3 months can be split into three single months), but you cannot get more than the prescribed quantaty.
I'd say here in the Netherlands, we have the best of both worlds. We can buy vitamins and supplements pretty much anywhere, like in supermarkets and health stores. Non-prescription drugs can be had in supermarkets, drogisterijen and apotheken but prescription drugs only in an apotheek. You can get brandless Ibuprofen in pretty much any supermarket for instance. And while you do need an initial prescription from a doctor or specialist, which they e-mail nowadays so the pharmacist can actually read them.. written prescriptions are a no-no here, you can, at any time, call your physicist or specialist for a repeat prescription
The big advantage of german pharmacies is, that you never get a Medication without advise and consulting a pharmacist. So if you have a only a flew, its most unlikely you consult a doctor, but go directly to the pharmacy. There the pharmacist will help you to find the right medication based on your symptoms.
And for the medication you can get without a perscription, there is sometimes some danger behind it too, so you'll be always advised in Germany.
I was astonished when I found out that it's possible to get medication "on the go" in many countries, the US being very liberal. When I came down with a mild cold and a strong headache I quickly learned to appreciate the American system, because I was in no shape to deal with a pharmacist in English. Since then I started buying painkillers and other commonly needed meds while I'm in the US so that I don't need to go to pharmacies at home, except for perscriptions.
I think none of the systems deter abuse, if you're intent on overdosing on something you can do it no matter what it takes to get the pills.
As I never got perscription medication in the US I don't know how much information you get with that, but in Europe you have an extensive package insert detailing when and how to take the meds, which effects and side effects to expect, which other meds this product doesn't go with and so on. This insert has prevented me from taking some medication I was perscribed, because it didn't got with other stuff I had to take or the effect wasn't as I was promised by the doctor. Having a pharmacist handing you a bottle or package of pills doesn't absolve you from reading the information and making your own decisions.
I have the same experience that my GP prescribed me some cold medicine which weren't allowed with my other medicine, which my GP should have known. I found out only by reading the description. The pharmacist also didn't ask me about other medication. Pffff.
In the US the pharmacist will not fill a prescription from the doctor if you are on medications that don't work with the new prescription. That's why it's important for us to only go to one pharmacy for our prescriptions. The pharmacist will then call the doctor's office to tell them about the harmful drug interaction conflict and ask for a different prescription, perhaps making a recommendation to the doctor because this is their area of expertise. Pharmacists are very helpful here and they will recommend the right over the counter medication that won't interact badly with the other prescription medications we may be taking.
??? I never had a problem to get cold medicine and something against headache from a German pharmacy. Plus, basic painkillers and stuff against the symptoms of a cold is something which belongs into every household. I usually avoid taking pills against headaches, so when I need them, it is pretty much an emergency.
Swanpride, the problem being that English isn't my first language and when you feel really bad it's hard to express yourself in another language, especially if it requires vocabulary you don't usually use. I had a similar experience in Turkey, but it turned out that the pharmacist knew my language. Such a relief, I was really having a horrible time!
Well, "headache" and "cold" are certainly easily described by gestures, and the names of the one or two market leaders are internationally known
I go to the Apotheke and tell them what I want and add a "the cheapest you got".
You can also ask for prices before purchasing. They look it up in their computer.
I don't pay more money just because there is a certain name on it. At the end, the medication is the same.
Pharmacy style is the same as Germany. But we do have an online system. I take a lot of pills. I can call my dr in the morning and have my pills in the afternoon ready to be picked up or delivered at my front door! (The netherlands)
We also have online pharmacies, the biggest one is Doc Morris and I think they are from the Netherlands. But they aren't uncontroversial in Germany, because a normal pharmacy here has to be run by at least an actual Pharmacist and has to provide emergency coverage at night or on weekends which online pharmacies don't have to do.
betaich These night services are ridiculously overpriced. I understand, that they take a little bit more, than the regular price. But l bought there Ibuprofen once and almost payed double the regular price. And the were the cheap ones.
Ainiewainy in germany you can do the same.
can i ask you where you are from? cause when i used this service i paid the normal price!
betaich Online pharmacies in Germany also do need to be run by a pharmacist and they need to comply to the same legal standards; Usually, they're run by a pharmacist who either is already running a physical pharmacy store or who just received their approbation and doesn't have the money to invest into a physical store. Yet there are a few key differences: in some areas (smaller cities or villages), there is only one pharmacy - which is legally required to provide emergency services "24x7x365", while in other areas, the emergency services are rotated between various pharmacies in the same city - but "pure" online pharmacies only do send out parcels and don't provide any emergency services at all. Postal delivery proabably goes wrong with medications who require to be kept cool, and so people restrain themselves from ordering such prescriptions online - and accordingly, the online pharmacist can reduce their fridge size and packaging materials. Some doctors (e.g. dermatologists) also tend to prescribe medications who are not available in a pre-packaged form and need to be actually produced by the pharmacist, which takes much more manual work; as most online-pharmacies only do let the customer select from a (large) range of pre-packaged products, it is not always that obvious how to "order such a medication, so people simply don't do it - and accordingly, the pharmacist does save that manual labor. So from some point of view, online pharmacies are cherry-picking from the "full-range pharmacist services" and can settle on more "standardized" services - and yes, this may certainly be correct. However, any attempts to change this have also been counter-lobbied by pharmacies. As an example, an online pharmacy tried to set foot in villages who happened to be too small to economically keep up a physical pharmacy; so they did install a combination of "Skype booth", payment terminal and an automated medication dispenser. Obviously, this would've enabled a more economic "emergency service", but this approach has also been legally attacked by lobby organizations (by nit-picking on specific wording and interpretations of legal requirements who were written with a physical store in mind, where the pharmacist would "hand" the medication over to the customer).
A difference I've noticed is that you get you drugs filled in little containers by the pharmacist, in germany you get prepacked containers wicht filled by the manufacturer
The Dutch system is a bit of a mix between American and German style. Certain medicine, like lighter pain killers and allergy pills can be purchased at grocery stores without a prescription. For prescription medicine you need an apotheek, just like in Germany. However, for a refill of medicine I've been taking for a longer time, like my asthma medicine, I log in to my doctors online portal, fill out a refill form and pick up the medicine at the apotheek the next day.
A big issue you didn't address in this video is medicine prices. In my experience (in the online cancer community) drug prices in the US are ridiculously high compared what we pay for the same stuff (even same brand) in The Netherlands.
Regarding getting refills for medicine your regularily get, you might want to try to phone the doctor's office and ask them to prepare a prescription for your refill. Usually it does work with your "Hausarzt". You will still have to pick it up at his office but usually it should be a matter of going to office, briefly talking to one of the assistants and picking up the prescription.
Hey Dana, I as a German can give you the hint, that you shouldn't ask the pharmacist for a medication but for an *active agent* you need for e.g. specific illness situations! After you asked THAT, you can just ask the pharmacist for the cheapest medication with this agent and you are done :)
Hi Dana, if you want to check out the prices of all non-presciption meds available in your Apotheke in Germany, you can usually find what's available and at what cost by going to an online pharmacy like DocMorris (others are available) and then either buy what you've decided on right there or go to your local pharmacy quoting the name of the medicine or, even better, the Pharmazentralnummer (PZN) of the exact packaging you're after. At a "real" Apotheke in town I also often ask for the cheapest medicine with the active drug I'm after, as there are often "Generika" (e.g. Ratiopharm or STADA) available for sometimes way less than half the price of the brand product which they run expensive adverts on television for. Hope this is useful to you, keep up the good vids.
You can also ask your doctor to mail you the prescription (physical snail mail). As far as I know, electronic prescriptions are not yet implemented, so the pharmacy needs the physical piece of paper to verify the doctor's signature and, in case of publicly insured patients, get their money back from the insurance.
They aren't implemented and according to recent news probably won't be in the foreseeable future, because of data security problems.
What I like in the US is I the pharmacies are open a lot longer and even 24/7 and Apoteken close at 6 so if you get a headache at 8pm you either have to beg your neighbor or sit it out until the next morning. Also I wish they had the gel filled headache pills in Germany as they act so much faster.
if I'm not sure, what I need or want, I always do my research at home in an "online Apotheke" first. it's much easier to find the cheapest medication this way :) and if you don't need something asap, it's better to order it online, since the prices in an "online Apotheke" are usually significantly lower than in an offline one.
Concerning your last point about having to go to the doctor to get your prescribtion. It is possible if the doctor knows you and your illness well to just phone your doctor, tell him you need a refill and then just have the doctors assistant give it to you, without having to personally see the doctor. You still need to go to his practice, but you don't have to be examined again etc.
so if your doctor calls the pharmacy for the refill, you have to go to that specific pharmacy for the refill
Also, the idea that the average person knows what is the better choice for them even for non-prescription drugs is pretty bizarr
What is bizarre about people choosing which over the counter medicines to buy? if a person has been using a particular medication for years for a particular issue and they know what brand or formulation works best for them, why shouldn't they buy it? OTC drugs in the USA aren't controlled and dangerous substances. They're the everyday medicines in most people's homes, nothing exotic.
Well, there is corruption as well. The doctor often sends the patient to a specific "partner" pharmacy and gets rewarded afterwards. Although the patient has the free choice.
There isn't such a thing as a non dangerous medical substance. You just don't know about a interdependency (I hope that's the right word for Wechselwirkung) with your OTC medication and a prescripted on. Those things can actually end up fatal. Side effects can happen more often and be more severe if you combine different drugs. Even if their are all OTC drugs.
joanne smith
It's always better to have someone who knows the very specific side effects, even for medication that someone has used often and is usually problem.
I used to take just normal Aspirin for headaches and so on, until i was once randomly asked if i had asthma. I do and then was told that Aspirin (ASA) can cause asthma seizures, even if it has not before.
And it's not just about the presription free medication but the possible combinations of prescripted and prescription free medication.
As it has been said, there is no such thing as a non dangerous medicine/medical substance.
A big problem is, that even persciption free medication is dangerous. I work as a nurse in germany and I see a lot people with overdose. People die by overdose Ibuprifen or Paracetamol.
And about the price: you can ask how much it is, they can check it before they go and get it for you :)
In the UK pharmacies often pickup printed prescriptions from local family doctors every day or two. The surgery records which pharmacy is your preferred/regular location & sorts scripts for the pharmacies to pickup. The pharmacy then has time to prepare & pack them for collection/delivery. Great for people with regular prescriptions or when I've emailed a repeat prescription request to my doctor a few days before I run out.
Also in the UK for the last couple of years or so there are electronic prescriptions, a kind of closed email system just for sending prescriptions from doctors to pharmacies. The pharmacy prints the prescription & fulfils it for collection, can be ready in 15 minutes or so. It is imperfect as if the pharmacyy is busy they may not look for those emailed prescriptions until you call in & ask. Very handy for me recently, had a blood test & family doctor phoned a couple of days later to give me results & tell me she was sending an electronic prescription to my local pharmacy.
In Austria it's basically the same as in Germany and so is it in Italy, even if in Italy there are these para-pharmacies, which (as far as I know) are more similar to the US, but only for medicines without prescription, but I don't know that much because they are new so I'm not an expert. I like the "European" style, because when I'm sick I always prefer asking someone who's expert and can suggest me what it's better for me even if it's not such a big deal. I mean: I have a flu (so nothing tragic), but I don't know what is best for me, then I can ask... and they are surely more expert than Google
You can ask a pharmacist about over the counter meds the USA too. Difference is you don't have to speak to a pharmacist if you don't need or want to.
I've lived in both Australia & the UK & can say that in both countries, the medication system is more similar to Germany than the USA - which has a much wider range of medications available without a prescription & without a pharmacist's advice. In both countries (UK & Australia), only a very limited range of basic, non-prescription medications/drugs are available at supermarkets & general stores. All other medications must be obtained from a chemist/pharmacy & some are only available from "behind the counter" & after the pharmacist or pharmacy assistant has provided you with advice about how to correctly use the product/medication. Personally, I think this is a good thing, because when the pharmacist or pharmacy assistant explains to you how to correctly use the medication, people are less likely to make mistakes with the products.
In South Africa its very similar to what you describe for Germany. Supermarkets will have a pharmacy section, but there are very few things that one can buy there directly off the shelf, mostly junk, although Ibuprofen, paracetamol and aspirin are typically available as well. Larger supermarkets will have an in store dispensary in the pharmacy section with two sections, one for prescriptions and one for non-prescription regulated medicines. Actual pharmacies have the same setup, junk directly off the shelf, dispensary for prescriptions and dispensary for regulated non-prescription.
Hey Dana, awesome video! I have two things to note tho: first, most German pharmacies I have gone to have a computer system where you can look stuff up. So you can just tell them "Hey I want some Ibuprofen with the cheapest price". If you get your medication, there will be a number on it (called the PZN) and with this number you can order the same medication for the same price in any german pharmacy and get it within a 24 hour window tops. Plus there are some websites out there that let you browse all medications along with their PZN 🙂
And as for the refills, I guess this depends on where in Germany you live, but most doctors here in central Germany you can just call and you can either just pop by to pick up your new prescription or they will send it to you. My local pharmacy even has a little box outside where you throw the prescription in and they will deliver it to you free of charge (although that is probably rare nowadays)!
For refills you actually can just call your doctor on the phone and ask him to send your prescription to a certain pharmacy. I did that often this year.
in austria you get a discount for medication if the doctor prescribed them, however i could buy them "on my own" for the normal price. in case of my allergy medication, i can buy both prescribed items for ~5,65 each, or 6,xx and 32,xx(!) respectively.
One big difference between German and US Pharmacies might be, that a pharmacist in Germany has to have studied pharmacy at a university (a 5-year masters degree). Afterwards he/she has to be able not only to provide professional counsel, but to actually produce medicine with the correct dosage and pharmaceutical form.
Amadrath that sounds just like the education US pharmacists go through.
And our pharmacy technicians, assistants, also have to go through training and then take a test to be certified.
I didn't want to offend the US pharmacists. But from what I get, pharmacists in the United States work rather in hospitals or companies, while the people working in drugstores are basically the same as working in grocery stores, while in Germany you have to be a pharmacist to be able to work in a drugstore (Apotheke). But I have no hard evidence to support that assumption. So please feel free to correct me, if I'm wrong.
That is not true. US pharmacists have training like everywhere else.
Drugstores in the US typically have at least one pharmicist working at all times. The people walking around the store are merely store associates, and you should not be asking them questions about the medications. If you have quesions, you have to walk to the pharmacy counter and ask one of the pharmacy technicians if you can speak with the pharmicist. The pharmicist can then answer any questions you may have. Our pharmicists are required to have 8-year doctoral degrees (PharmD, otherwise called Doctor of Pharmacy). Even our grocery stores and supercenters (such as WalMart and Target) have pharmacy counters with a pharmicist who is able to answer questions.
In this case the only difference between German and US pharmacies is really, that you are able to pick your (non-prescription) medicine from a shelf in the US, while you have to go to the counter (and often wait in line) in Germany.
If you want to browse through everything that's available (prescription-free) you can always use one of the many online pharmacies. You can also buy your stuff there; most of the time it's way cheaper than in a physical pharmacy.
Another big difference is that the medecin is free in some cases. When you're younger than 12 years you don't have to pay for your medicin at all (except the ones you can by at drug stores). When you are older than 12, but still not 18 you don't have to pay for medicin if you have a prescription.
Laura which country?
Germany. Children under 12 are free for both Rx and OTC if prescribed by a physician, 12-18 Rx is free, OTC has to be paid (Green prescription sheet which is like a private prescription), over 18 you pay 5-10€ for Rx as well, except you have an exemption.
Another thing about why in Germany, the system is to get the medicin by the pharmacist. First, my step-syster is a pharmacist and thus, I heard a few things from that direction. Aone to work at a German pharmacy, you have to go through quite an vocational education, and here, you also intensivly learn cross-reaction between alot of medication. Even prescription free drugs can, if taken in the wrong combination, cause damage to the body. So, the pharmacist should (the good one really do that) look out for these reactions during your order. If you are a regular in the pharmacy, you also often have registered yourself in the pharmacy, so that the pharmacist also has a history of drugs you use and can ponit out problems that might arrise there.
Pharmacies in Brazil work pretty much the same as in Germany. I like this idea of talking to someone before getting a medicine, this can prevent mistakes when someone is not sure about what to take.
I have a question about pharmacies in Germany: is it easy to find an open pharmacy in the middle of night or on sundays, for example?
Marcelo Porto the pharmacy's have a note on the door which pharmacy has emergency service. Maybe you must drive few minutes to find them
For the Sundays and the late hours, there is usually a group of pharmacies working together and one of them is covering the time - nowadays you can look up in the net which one is open. For the middle of the night, there are special pharmacies which work more like a pick-up. Less a shop and more some hole in the wall where you explain per intercom what you need and then get it without direct interaction. That is naturally done for protection, if there were actual shops open they might get targeted by drug dealers.
In the countryside you might have to drive a bit, but in bigger cities you normally find a pharmacy which has emergency service within the next 5 km. Just go to any pharmacy and there is a schedule on the door which pharmacy has emergency right now with its address and phone number. If you don't know how to get there, just ring them up. And maybe you tell them what you need, so everything is prepared on your arrival.
Going to a pharmacy outside of regular opening hours usually costs 2,50Euro per visit (if you pick up 1 thing or 3 things - doesn't matter). They want to deter people that don't have an emergency from going to the apotheke at non-regular hours. But in theory there's always an apotheke open that is sort of reachable (difficult for the countryside)
I don't know about Florida, but here in California a doctor can also phone in a brand new prescription or fax one directly to the pharmacy. Even more convenient in some cases is having one's prescription medication mailed directly to them. My medical insurance actually requires me to use an on line pharmacy and to have any regular medication that I use mailed directly to me. That on-line pharmacy is also willing to do the job of contacting my doctor directly in case there are any updates or questions. I am required to see my doctor regularly for scheduled check-ups and tests to keep my meds current, but the "pharmacy" part is quite easy!
Last time i bought Aspirin in a pharmacy in Germany, they even offered me a glass of water in case I need one right now. :)
Honestly, I still don't see the point of comparing all the options I might have. I don't know if it's a good idea to treat buying medicine like grocery shopping. Every type of food is digested more or less the same, whereas pharmaceuticals can interact with each other, everybody tolerates them differently, etc. It makes sense to enforce a kind of consulting or briefing.
Dear Dana, there is one diffrence in prescription style betwenn germany and america, and thus in pharmacies: in germany the doctor writes a prescription for a specific brand and he can only chose betwen one to three sizes of packages and often a very limited amount of dossages er pill. And while the general health care contracts wants the pharmacies then to sell the cheapest possible generic unless there is a note of the doctor that it has to be the specific brand, private contracts and contracs that cover cases of occupational diseases forces the pharmacy to hand out the brand perscripted, a method that often leads to an unnessecary rip of those inssurances. Also this method in many cases cause huge amounts of left over pills in germanys closets, as the standard packaging often does not fit the needs of individual therapy lengths. In America the doctor can write down the active substance name, the dossage per pill and the number per pills nesscecary (up to a maximum number afaik?) and the pharmacy fills them up for you.
And for your problem that they always bring you the expensive medicine, there is one thing to know: there is one thing in germany called the "Rote Liste" a complete List of all active substances and the medicines featuring them, every pharmacy has this in two versions: book and pc version. Make them work for their money, tell them what kind of medicine you need, or what your symptomes are, then ask if there are alternativs BEFOR they go an fetvh the first that comes to their mind, ask for pros and cons of diffrent alternatives they offer, including the price (they can look up the price in their pc at their counter, and finally ask for the cheapest generic (dt. "Generikum"). In Germany the only allowed difference between generics is the vehicle substance and coloration, thus as long as there are no allergies or intolerances the cheapest is as good for you as the most expensive. So they can do the browsing for you, AND they have to do it for you by law, a pharmacist can loose his license if he refuse to answer your questions in detail. But they will only do so if they cannot get away with the fast way which earns them the most money (get the best known brand, which is the most expensive most of the time, and rely on the effect of advertisements and that the customer will recognize the brand and thus pay without further questioning).
I like the American way of filling packs of pills for each patient individually better, than the German "on size fits all" method as this methode produces tons of leftover pills, and often tons of aditional packaging. I am not a fan of the possibility of getting pain killer etc. freely almost everywere, though. As the risks of those are extremly underrated by this and through the German method at least at one point there is one who tells you, that there is a risk in taking those pills and you should ratzer go see a doctor instead of just numbing your symptomes. Medicine is not the same as clothes, cosmetics or food and should not be treated as such, as the range from helpful to toxic often is small.
In Germany you don't get a brown plastic bottle. You get the original package with the manufacturer's data sheet.
You can always ask the pharmacist to look for the cheapest / a cheaper option instead. I'm a student, thus not a lot of money available and I told them I needed strong painkillers but as cheap as possible and they checked. They don't mind and usually they just sell the option that's the most used which is convenient, as it's on the top of the shelf, like easy accessable.
In Germany every Pharmacist has to have some college degree in medicine or pharmacy. Is it like that in the US too? I think it's very important to always have an educated person in front of you when you buy something, since they can see problems in your order, for example if you take 2 medicines that are dangerous as a combo, the doctor might only know about 1 of both that you take.
Pharmacists in the US are already overworked as it is, which is a huge problem as it can lead to mistakes. If they had to deal with every single person who had a headache or muscle ache just to sell them ibuprofen or acetominophen, it would be a complete nightmare. I'll stick with current system where I only have to deal with pharmacy staff for restricted medications, thanks.
It's not right as a pharmacist i am telling u guys are talking about ibuprofen as it candy yes it's safe to a point but it's a drug and it can affect alot of other drugs there's something called enzyme inducers and inhibitor drugs affects other drugs it's a complicated thing even after 5 or 6 years of study we need 2 or more years of practice to figure it all out together it's not that easy
Danna you should really talk to the pharmacist.
You really don't need to do your research on your own. If you go there and ask the same question again and again, they will offer you the same again and again. You can always ask them for advice and alternatives. They know it or they will look it up for you. Sometimes they ask you to meet a doctor, especially when some diagnosis is required they can or may not perform but otherwise they will help you.
You can always ask for a cheaper option. Some all in one combination of the active substances is typically the first thing you get offered because it is a convenient solution. Sometimes you can save 50% buying the pain medication and other active substance separately.
About the refill, if you need a regular subscription, ask your doctor about it.
Also prescription medicines in Germany aren't labelled with instructions. You get given verbal instructions by the pharmacy staff or they scribble something on the box. I'm in the UK and everything is labelled with instructions and specific warnings as well as the name and address of the pharmacy in case of dispensing errors.
I used to take my meds with a cup of cocoa until a pharmacist at the refill told me: "and of course no milk before and after, preferably no food at all for an hour, always at the same time" ... the doctor didn't tell me any of this. The pharmacist was shocked. She then very kindly explained to me why these meds needed this diet and it made so much sense, which changed my behavior.
I also got tons of help when I have any kind of (non-threatening) trouble with my infant and it was very reassuring to have a trained, highly educated professional recommend options.
Once I know what works, I kind of prefer buying without human interaction though...
I think you have to go to your doctor for a new perscription in germany, because atleast a part of the costs is usualy payed by your insurance. So for the pharmacistto get his money he needs the perscription to have the paperwork to send in. But htat is only my theory, could be wrong.
If you want to know about more options for non-perscription-medicine, you can always ask the pharmacist. For example saying you want the off-brand ones or you want brand-ones, but the cheapest option they have available at your pharmacie.
I don'tknow how it is in the US, but in Germany, if you go to to the same pharmacie for the most times, they sometimes even keep better track of certain matters with your medication. I have to take perscriped medication and my doctor got the firms mixed up one time, so my pjarmacist told me, that in this special case you should not change the producing firm, for it yould have sideeffects, so he gave me the once I had all the times before. Sorry for the some how clumsy description, I hope, I got my point along ^^
I found weird in the US how they give your medication not in the original package ( box or else) but in some orange pill bottle. I feel this can increase the chance of human error or even contamination of the medication. ...
i thought that too
Nameless, Yes, but it accommodates the doctors who want to precisely control time between refills and the amount of such refills.
I don't think that pharmacies have 30-day or single course of XYZ prescription to hand in most instances. The suppliers send huge containers with 300+ pills for each pharmacy to count out for each prescription. Space, time, cost saving. Which since pharmaceutical companies in the US are charging huge mark ups on medication anyway I'm not surprised. The training that pharmacists and technicians go through prevents errors though, one person prepares, then someone else checks, and finally someone signs off. Well that's the hope!
I prefer the German style. It just feels more serious and reliable.
Love your videos thanks for making these!! Its 3:06 in the morning right now :)
In the US, pharmaceutical companies can also advertise prescription medicine. That's not allowed in most of Europe. Whenever I watch tv in the US, the commercials seem like a constant stream of illnesses that need to be cured!
The employees in a german pharmacy are usually trained/educated and know what they are talking about.
In Ireland you can also get normal painkillers in supermarkets, no problem. In Hungary, as far as I;ve seen you need to go to the pharmacy for painkiller aswell.
Zu Risiken und Nebenwirkungen lesen Sie die Packungsbeilage und fragen Ihren Arzt oder Apotheker.
If you need a refill and you dont want to physically go to the doctor you can just call them and have them send the prescription to you as a letter. I live in Munich and I do that too.
crazy in the US: I didn't get a ready-made package, the pharmacist counted the antibiotic capsules by hand and put it into a plastic vial. It was not a Hill Billy pharmacy. It was in Miami Beach! Btw we paid 2500 bucks for a 8 min job of a doc at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Hallo Dana,,
I have to disagree with you to a certain degree. In the last few years I haven't entcountered a pharmacy, where the Pharmacist couldn't look up in their computer whitch alternatives/generica are available und what would be the price for which Package size. But you have to ask from the start for a cheaper alternative.
The other thing is my experience with refill medicine. Yes, I still need a new perscription from my doctor but I don't really have to visit him. If I haven't time for an appointment I can phone my doctors office and they will send me a new perscription per mail. Well, my doctor wants to see me anyways soon, because my perscription last for three month and my doctor wants to check on me each quartal to ask for sideeffects and how I feel. I think that is a good thing if you take medication for a long period.
Bye
Well first of all, most pharmacies have a special brand for generics where they get special conditions. It is very much the same as a pub which has its house beer or a jeweler who has his house brands of watches etc. Generally, generics are essentially equivalent, so it doesn't really matter which brand you use.
But German health ensuranced thought that it is fraud, and so today it is that pharmacies don't sell their house brands, but the ensurance companies' house brands. And since every ensurance company has a contract with a different brand, the pharmacy either has half a dozen of different essentially the same medicines on stock, which is just silly by economics points of view, or they have to order one package of that specific brand from their retailer every time they get a prescription. It is silly. The best thing is how it was: there is one fix price the ensurance company is paying, and the pharmacy has the free choice from which pharma company they are supplied under which conditions. So there is a pharmacy which has a supply contract with company A and another one which has a contract with company B, but for the public health system, the costs are the same.
If you're getting something and it's too expensive, ask them if they got a generic version (Ein Generikum) with the same active ingredient and dosage. They'll usually offer brand name meds first, because they too have to turn a profit of course, but If there is a generic version and they have it in stock, they'll go get it for you when you request it. Just ask "Haben Sie das auch als preiswerteres Generikum da?"
Every real medication that has a use and operates against something also has counter effects. Also you can always ask the pharmacist for a generic medicine if you don't want to pay extra for the brand stuff.
Also the practice with doctors and pharmacies you described from the US is illegal in Germany.
One thing you didn't talk about were the behind-the-counter medications in the US. Basically, any OTC medicine that has pseudoephedrine in it will be held behind the pharmacy counter (I don't think this is different for any US state, but correct me if I'm wrong). These OTC medicines are treated very much like it seems that the German pharmacy works with the exception that American pharmacists will also ask questions to attempt to determine if a person is buying the pseudoephedrine medication for illegal purposes. The level of restrictions for these medications varies across the US, but at a minimum your ID will be checked against a state database to verify that you have not exceeded your limits for a particular period of time (a prescription is required if you need more than you're allowed OTC). To varying practical and legal degrees, purchasing pseudoephedrine products out of town or out of state will be more difficult in the United States than buying other OTC medicines. On that note, other combinations of purchases may prompt questions whether or not medicines are even sold by that retailer. If you're asked questions, a polite, reasonable response is all that is required; try to remember that retailers have an important role that they are legally required to play in preventing drug crimes in the US. Not everyone is subject to suspicion, but everyone is subject to reasonable questions.
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For the record, I am neither a legal, nor a medical professional. I have personal experience working the front end of a retail pharmacy. On that note, people (visiting the US or living here) should remember that retail pharmacy employees are restricted in what they can say about medicines by their training and insurance requirements. There were a few times when a customer wanted an OTC recommendation and our pharmacy was closed, so I would offer the phone number of a location in our chain whose pharmacy would be open because your typical front end employees of a US retail pharmacy cannot make recommendations. While working in East Tennessee, this usually meant just calling a store in Middle Tennessee; thus calling from Eastern time into Central time.
It may be trivial but I feel more comfortable buying my medication somewhere where I'm asked if I know how to use it correctly. Even if it's just Iboprofen (which is the only med I need). So "merchant behind the counter" it is for me.
Having moved from the US to Sweden, the only thing I do kind of miss is being able to buy cold medicine and things at later hours since American stores are usually open late.
Dana with all respect you have no clue about most medicines.
A German Apotheker, the person who runs the apothecary has studied for 4 years, has spend a practical year and has passed several different state exams.
And he or she will suggest a cheaper alternative for you. The ladies working there are pharmaceutical-technical-assistants who also have spent at least 2 and a half years medical education. Most of it in the lab. I doubt you can teach them anything about drugs they possibly do not know already.
Today many people do self-diagnostics via the internet and then run to the Apotheke to try to get the drug they read about without consulting a doctor.
Also, the remark that they do not know about everything is hilarious, because they sure know more than Jane Q. Normal.
Petra Meyer
Lobby Bestandswahrer gequatsche!!
Ich habe noch nie oder zumindest bei 90 % irgend eine Nachfrage bekommen wenn ich die Standards
Paracetamol IBU
Voltarensalben usw gekauft habe.
Das deutsche Apothekensystem wird von 70% der Apotheker ordentlich zum Kasse machen benutzt
Wenn sogar in Luxemburg
Dolodobendan Strepselis günstiger alsbei uns ist, sollte das zum nachdenken anregen.
+AndyGerman1984
die preise macht nicht der apotheker. ;)
Durch das System haben sie aber eine Preisbindung. Man braucht nur mal in eine Doc-Morris-Apotheke zu gehen. Hier hat man ganz andere Preise.
AndyGerman klingt wie so ein richtig angefressener Medikament Junky :D
montanus777
Solange man von diesen Gesetzen gut leben kann :)
Für Verschreibungspflichtige Medikamente hat alles seinen Sinn da braucht es auch Apotheker - dort wird ja auch zwischen Geldgeber Und Lieferant direkt verhandelt.
Aber bei IBU Und Co she ich da kein vernünftigen Grund
Another big difference between pharmacies in the US and the rest of the world is difference in the cost of prescription drugs.
Some drugs, made by the same companies, are sold in the US at huge price difference. I'm talking 10 or 20 times as expensive for the same drug.
yeah the pricing thing is true. there are usually a bunch of similar medicin that do more or less the same for range of different prices. they wont always offer you the cheapest unless you ask for the cheapest or unless you know exactly what you want.
but on the other side as you said, those people have usually a huge amount of knowledge about everything. if you feel sick or have any other issues, you can just go in explain your situation and you will leave 10 minutes later with stuff that helps.
necrionos here in Canada at least we have basically the same system as the US on this, but the pharmacists are highly educated and knowledgeable. They do often have assistants though.
It would be nice in Germany if the pharmacy would allow you to look at the information on the packaging - detailing the symptoms treated, side effects, and price on sample packaging without actual product in it. In my state (Mississippi) many allergy medicines are kept behind the counter but the package information is displayed on the shelves so that the shopper can compare the medicines. When you decide which medicine suits you best you go to the counter and ask for it.
Typically, modern Apotheken have a computer inventory system, so you can ask for prices and alternatives before they ring you up. Though, in case of allergy medication I learned to ask for the cheap ones by name
Pharmacies here in France are the same as in Germany, although now there are some médications available that's not behind the counter in some pharmacies (those who have the space available for that to be possible).
My pharmacist usually just asks which brand I want (like Bayer, Ratiopharm etc) if there are more options. They always tell me if one of them is more expensive (usually they are the same price) and they can just check the price of the product on their screen if I am unsure ^^. Also if it is a prescripted medicine it can be more expensive but usually you can send your prescription "note" to your health insurance and they will give you the money back.
The pharmacists in Germany are specialist who are also supposed to detect possible problems by taking different medication which might cause unwanted and really bad side effects.
Additionally, even with non-prescription medication, people can easily damage their health, poison themselves, misuse them, etc etc ...
That's the main reason why in Germany you can't just pick the stuff in a store like milk or butter.
Pharmacists in the US have to be licensed and go to school to get their degree. Any store that offers a prescription refill is required to have a board certified pharmacist on staff in the US, so that honestly is not an issue in comparison to German pharmacies as they are both trained in their field
Good to know :D but so far I've noticed one pharmacy here in Germany which us actually different:D It's called "easy Apotheke" and it's located in Frechen. It's much bigger than other german pharmacies and you can take the medicine you don't need a prescription for by yourself and just go to the pharmacist to pay. The other pharmacists still walk around the store to help people if they need. You should definitely check it out next time you're in Bergheim :D
oh and here's the link I found to the store in Frechen. I don't know if there are other stores in other cities :D frechen-city.easyapotheken.de/
Last month I crashed my bike into a wall in Germany. My poor momma was so worried about her student daughter. I am glad SHE survived hahaha
I got a first hand look at German healthcare. I liked how I was treated so much more in Germany than in the USA. I love the USA but we really could do better. Oh well, while I am at Uni for the next year in Germany I will be sure to crash into as many walls as possible so I get even more German health care.
Um, does anyone think there is a problem with my plan? hahaha
There are some medications that are harder to obtain in the United States, depending on the specific state. Example: pseudoephedrine.
Especially elderly people seem to find a great person to speak to in the pharmacy, when it comes to many health-related issue. Personally, as a younger person, I prefer to browse things myself and only ask questions if I want to.
There are several other differences. E.g. the packaging. German pharmacists do not "fill" something. They mainly hand over pre-packaged medication. And there are no white-label mail-order pharmacies which send out medication branded according to the specific payor (health plan or PBM).
In Estonia when I need a refill, I call my doctor who writes an e-prescription online, then I go to any pharmacy I want, present my ID and the pharmacist gets the e-prescription from the system and knows what drug I must get. So I do not have to go physically to the doctor.
You need a telepromter . The anchors of TV Stations read the text from it
France has pretty much the same system as in Germany. Differences: Some of the products vary. For example in Germany you get a more "special" toothpaste called meridol in the supermarket. In france you only get it in the pharmacy. Second difference: The amount of pharmacies in France is insane. If you just follow the main street of any given town you will come across a pharmacy every couple of hundred metres. I am living near the edge of a town and within the range of 1km I already have 5 pharmacies. In Paris you get about 15+ pharmacies within a radius of 1km, which is pretty insane.
It's similar in Germany...there are two Pharmacies close to my home and they are actually in the same street directly opposite from each other.
Zu Risiken und Nebenwirkungen fragen SIe Ihren Arzt oder Apotheker.
Klangzauberer Bei riesigen Nebenwirkungen fressen Sie die Packungsbeilage und erschlagen Sie Ihren Arzt oder Apotheker! 😂😂
I think The Netherlands is in between Germany and the USA.
We do have free availbality of stuff like vitamins, strepsils/strepfen (for strep throat, and only strep), and a bunch of painkillers. The painkillers only below a certain dosage though. I for example use 500mg Naproxen sometimes, this had to be perscribed, but 200mg and under, we can get in the grocery store.
Then you have anti acids, against heartburn you can get freely too, but I believe they do want to switch it up so that only certain ones can be bought without prescription, because people don't know when to use them and how.
But every kind of med can be gotten in an apotheek (usually linked to a GP or a hospital) as well. Those people can advise you on what to take, what medicins have interactions and just in general if there are better options. These are also the only places you can get your prescription drugs.
We also have drugstore type stores where you can buy self care products, the same pain killers as in the supermarket, stomach medication and products like lense fluid for when you use contact lenses. People working there are supposed to know more then average, but a lot of the time don't.
I am just for good medication control, because overuse or misuse of meds is just very close by and not very healthy, nor smart. I was stunned the first time I was watching Extreme Couponing and someone bought sleep pills in the grocery store. Why would that be possible? I think for those kinds of meds a doctor should check you first and maybe look at possible causes of your insomnia instead of people just buying sleep pills with their groceries...
In Germany Apotheken only can be run by pharmacists. So corporations are left out and the competition shall be mitigated in this way in order to safeguard public health. That is why pharmacists have all the time to answer any question. ^_^
"Forced" doctor visits to get a prolonged medication are meant to safeguard public health aswell. The intention is to adapt medication as well as possible in order to avoid addictions or pharmaceutical errors.
Maybe you could do a video about comparing healthcare systems in general. It might be a bit risky, but afterall it's very interesting how this topic is perceived in Germany and the US in comparison.
Pharmacists in Germany could work as a very basic doctor in exceptional cases like war or so, treating you with medicine.
You could ask your doctor (if you trust each other) to fax the prescription to your usual pharmacy. Just call the doc and ask for this. I don't know how possible that is though since doctors are paid by some complicated mechanism (and writing a prescription is work) and they generally do want to check if your dosage is still fine every so often.
That practice is illegal in Germany and every pharmacist who does this can get into a lot of trouble with both the law and the Krankenkassen.
In France pharmacies are almost the same, and we don't really worry about the price because it's often paid by the insurance.
In Germany theres also the possibility of getting your "personalized" medics. For example my grandmother gets her "own" lotion that has to be made by the pharmacist.
My Standard Pharmacy is alsways kind. They tell me all the options, explain how they are different and flat out tell me if the generic version is the same as the more expensive one, or why not.
Also they always look up what my insurance would pay and what not.
I always feel like I got really good service and paid just as much as I needed to.
I would not want to miss that and stand in front of the options in the grocery store, all sick and worked up, not knowing what wil help me.
I kind of ove being born in Germany. Even though most Germans are not very proud of Germany, I am happy about our countries archivements and feel lucky about being German.
In Norway I just send an SMS to my doctor if I need a new prescription. Then the doctor send that electronically to the pharmacy.