24-hour pharmacies in Germany: how to find one on your exchange
Getting ill at night or on a Sunday while you are on exchange to study and work in Germany does not have to be a scramble. There is always a Notdienstapotheke (on-call pharmacy) open. With the health-insurance card and the official search online, you find the nearest one in minutes.
What is Notdienst, the pharmacy on-call system in Germany?
German pharmacies close at night, on Sundays and on public holidays, but never all at the same time. Notdienst is the official rota: each day, one pharmacy in each region stays on call for 24 hours, guaranteeing care for anyone who needs medicine outside shop hours.
The on-call pharmacy works like any other, with a duty pharmacist, a full stock and sales of prescriptions and over-the-counter products. The rota also covers urgent deliveries when the patient cannot leave home.
A detail of the German system that surprises new arrivals: medicines are not sold in supermarkets or drugstores, not even the simplest ones. Everything that is a medicine goes through the Apotheke, with the pharmacist's advice included in the service, by day or on call.
How do I find the nearest on-call pharmacy?
The official path is the ABDA search, the German pharmacies' confederation: at aponet.de/apotheke/notdienstsuche you type the postcode or city and see which pharmacy is on call that day, with address, phone, map route and the full on-call hours.
Two everyday shortcuts: the door of any closed pharmacy displays a poster showing the nearest on-call pharmacy for that shift, and map apps show open pharmacies in real time. Save the on-call address for your week on your phone in the first week of the exchange.
On long holidays, such as Christmas and Easter, the rota keeps running as usual. What changes is demand: on feast days the region's on-call pharmacy may have a queue, so it is worth bringing forward the essentials before the holiday and keeping a basic stock of over-the-counter items at home.
What to take when you go to an emergency pharmacy?
The most important item is the health-insurance card (eGK). With it, prescriptions come out at the public copay, not at the full price. Also take photo ID and, if you have it, the original medical prescription, which the pharmacy needs to keep in controlled cases.
The on-call service has a regulated fee, the Notdienstgebühr: €2.50 per visit, charged regardless of how many items you buy, according to ABDA. Apart from that, prices are the same as at a regular pharmacy.
In practice, communication is not a barrier: in university cities, pharmacists serve in English without trouble. If you take ongoing medication, take the active ingredient name written down, preferably with the dose, because brand names change from country to country.
Regular pharmacy, on-call pharmacy or hospital: when to go where?
A cold, a sore throat and mild problems in shop hours are solved at the neighbourhood pharmacy, where the German pharmacist advises for free and usually points to the cheapest product for each case. At night, on Sunday or on a holiday, the path is the Notdienstapotheke.
For symptoms that need a doctor outside hours, there is 116117, the public outpatient medical on-call service. The call directs you to the nearest duty doctor or to a home visit, at no extra cost for anyone with GKV. A serious emergency, such as shortness of breath or chest pain, is a case for 112, the emergency number, or A&E, never a pharmacy.
It is worth knowing that many over-the-counter medicines in the home country are restricted or controlled in Germany. Antibiotics always need a prescription, and even some common painkillers at higher doses go across the pharmacist's counter, who assesses the case before selling.
What if I take ongoing medication? How does that work on exchange?
Bring the up-to-date prescription, preferably translated, and stock for the first weeks. On arrival, book a family doctor (Hausarzt) early, the first contact of the German system, who converts the treatment to a local prescription before the stock runs out.
Prescriptions from other countries are not accepted directly in German pharmacies, so the first Hausarzt appointment is a required planning step, not something to leave until the medicine is running out. Bring the test or report that proves the treatment to speed up the conversion.
The German pharmacist is the first resource for mild symptoms, and many doctor visits in the home country are solved straight at the pharmacy counter in Germany, with no consultation fee.
What does health insurance cover when buying medicine?
In the public system (GKV), prescription medicines have a 10% copay, with a minimum of €5 and a maximum of €10 per item, regardless of the medicine's price. Over-the-counter products, such as common painkillers at low doses, are paid in full by the patient, with or without insurance.
Anyone with private insurance pays on the spot and claims reimbursement later, so keeping the receipt is the rule. The choice of insurance defines how much leaves your pocket at the pharmacy, and the full comparison between public and private is in the guide on how to choose health insurance in Germany.
For chronic illness and long-term treatment, the public system also covers a large share of ongoing medicines, always with a prescription. The family doctor follows the treatment and renews prescriptions in regular appointments, included in the insurance.
Frequently asked questions about 24-hour pharmacies in Germany
Can I buy medicine without a prescription at the on-call pharmacy?
Yes. The on-call pharmacy sells the same over-the-counter products as a regular pharmacy, and also fills prescriptions. Only the hours change.
Is the on-call fee charged per medicine?
No. The €2.50 Notdienstgebühr is charged once per visit, regardless of how many items you buy.
Do paracetamol and ibuprofen need a prescription in Germany?
At low doses they are over the counter in pharmacies, in small packs. Higher doses, more tablets per box and most antibiotics need a German medical prescription.
Does a German pharmacy accept a health-insurance card from another country?
The till discount applies to German insurers. International and travel insurance work by reimbursement: you pay the full price and claim the amount back from the insurer later.
Are medicines in Germany more expensive than in my home country?
Over-the-counter ones often have a similar or lower price, and prescriptions come out almost free inside the public system, limited to the copay. What weighs on the budget is the pile-up of over-the-counter items in the month, which has no reimbursement.
Pharmacy sorted. What about the rest of the exchange prep?
Health insurance, blocked account, school and visa move together in the plan. The curation of study and work in Germany organises those stages with a dedicated senior consultant, from the first document to the first week in the country.
Be Easy: boutique exchange consultancy
Be Easy prepares the exchange student for real life in Germany, from health insurance to the first week in the country, with a dedicated senior consultant at each stage. To build your plan, get in touch with us.
