An Atemtest measures a substance in exhaled air. The person swallows a defined test substance, the body processes it, and breath is collected at set intervals so that the change can be measured. No blood sample is involved, which is the whole appeal of the method and also the reason it is often assumed to be simple.
It is not simple, because the preparation decides whether the result means anything. These are the usual requirements before an Atemtest:
- A period of fasting is usually required before the test.
- Particular foods are often excluded for a set period as well.
- Antibiotics are often excluded during the same preparation period.
- Acid blockers are often excluded in the same way.
If any of that is missed the measurement still produces numbers, but the numbers mean nothing. That makes Nüchternheit a condition of the test rather than a detail of it, and it makes the briefing before the appointment the real work.
The instructions are not for the pharmacy to invent, because every test substance and every measuring system comes with its own preparation window. The wording therefore comes from the laboratory or from the manufacturer of the test, and it is quoted rather than summarised from memory.
Where something has to be shortened for the customer, follow these three steps in order:
- Put the shortened instructions in writing for the customer.
- Hand the written version over when the appointment is booked.
- Confirm the instructions with the customer the day before.
A customer who arrives having eaten breakfast has usually been told once, verbally, a week earlier.
Two operational points matter alongside the preparation. A breath test occupies a room and a member of staff for a long block, so it needs a quiet space that meets the Beratungsraum requirements. It also needs a written Standardarbeitsanweisung covering the intervals, the labelling and what happens when a customer arrives unprepared.
The second point is whether a particular breath test may be offered at all, and under which heading. That is a question about the scope of an apothekenübliche Dienstleistung, and it is settled before the service is advertised rather than after.
The result changes nothing about the usual boundary, because a breath test measures a process in the body and does not name a diagnosis. The finding goes to a physician in exactly the way a laboratory value does, and the pharmacy explains the procedure rather than the outcome.
This glossary entry is general information about German pharmacy law and practice. It is not legal advice. For binding guidance on your own pharmacy, contact your Landesapothekerkammer.
