Apotheke — 10 things I got wrong before I got it right
Apotheke — 10 things I got wrong before I got it right, and I am aware this is a minority view on this board. Pharmacy margins and dispensing fees are regulated nationally, which explains price differences that otherwise look arbitrary. Published reimbursement criteria exist in most member states and are usually…
Nothing here is medical or legal advice, and eligibility questions have national answers that a pharmacist where you live can give you in minutes.
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the reimbursement criteria are published in most member states
Right, and a shortage notice in one country tells you very little about the next one along.
the language barrier is a real cost and nobody budgets for it
Marketing authorisation is granted centrally for these products; reimbursement, pricing and prescribing criteria are national competences. Those are decided by different bodies with different processes.
the same product has different names and pack sizes across the union
Yes. Pack sizes differ enough that per-month price comparisons across borders need to be normalised before they mean anything.
Correction: that is the authorisation position, and the question was about reimbursement. Different bodies, different answers.
Compared prices across two neighbouring countries and found the difference was mostly pack size once I normalised it.