German funds press for mail-order drugs

Increasing pressure is coming from the German public-sector healthinsurance funds for the government to approve the setting-up of a direct distribution service for drug products, along the lines of existing services in the Netherlands and the UK.

The reason for this pressure is the dramatic increase in pharmaceutical expenditures. Fund sources have said they estimate that the postal distribution of chronic-disease medications could save up to 600 million Deutschemarks ($295.5 million) annually in the medium term.

Ingo Kailuweit, the head of the KKH fund, has said that, so far, Health Minister Ulla Schmidt has shown that she has a "big heart" for the drug industry because her latest drug economies package will impact only one third of the spending growth that needs to be curtailed.