ApoVWG

ApoVWG stands for the Apothekenversorgung-Weiterentwicklungsgesetz, whose full title is Gesetz zur Weiterentwicklung der Apothekenversorgung. It was signed on 26 June 2026, published on 1 July 2026 in Bundesgesetzblatt 2026 Teil I Nr. 195, and it came into force on 2 July 2026.

The official short name has no linking s, and two variants that circulate widely in trade coverage are both wrong: Apothekenreformgesetz and Apothekenversorgungs-Weiterentwicklungsgesetz.

Not every part of the law applies from the same date:

• The new § 11c Apothekengesetz and the amendments to the Apothekenbetriebsordnung have applied since 2 July 2026.
• The Notdienst provisions apply from 1 October 2026 onwards.
• The changes to the Arzneimittelpreisverordnung apply from 1 January 2027.
• One further provision applies from a date the Bundesministerium für Gesundheit has still to announce.

Three things change in practice for a pharmacy:

• Trained pharmacists may carry out the venöse Blutentnahme under strict conditions.
• Ten pharmazeutische Dienstleistungen are named directly in statute.
• Pharmacy vaccination now covers all non-live vaccines rather than a short list.

Two things the law leaves alone matter just as much when planning around it. The Fixum was raised by a separate ordinance rather than by the ApoVWG, and Telepharmazie remains outside what a pharmacy may do.