BARMER study sees good pharmacy accessibility
Key Findings
Saarbrücken, June 2, 2026 – The accessibility of pharmacies is good for the majority of people in Saarland. This is shown by an evaluation from the BARMER Institute for Health System Research. According to this, 99 percent of the population in Saarland can reach a pharmacy within a maximum distance of six kilometers. For 80 percent of the population in the state, this is even the case within a maximum distance of two kilometers. "Blanket political support measures for pharmacies are not justifiable. The support expressed by the Saarland Ministry of Health at the beginning of the year for the federal government's plans for a general increase in pharmacy fees should therefore be viewed critically," says Dunja Kleis, State Managing Director of BARMER in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. More effective could be state subsidies for investments in the context of pharmacy takeovers in structurally weak regions. However, state subsidies should be preceded by a thorough analysis that examines the necessity of the support based on pharmacy accessibility.
Saarland: 13.6 pharmacies within a radius of six kilometers
As further revealed by the BARMER analysis, in the event of their closure, 90 percent of pharmacies in Saarland would still have access to another pharmacy within a distance of up to six kilometers. On average, there are 13.6 pharmacies per resident in Saarland within a radius of six kilometers. For the population aged 65 and over in Saarland, the average is 13.2 pharmacies. Only 0.6 percent of people in Saarland are without a pharmacy within a six-kilometer radius. This value is lowest in the Neunkirchen district at zero percent and highest in the districts of Merzig-Wadern and Saarlouis, each at 1.4 percent. "Possible political support measures for pharmacies should be precisely targeted to the local supply situation. Funding pharmacies indiscriminately is wrong," emphasizes Kleis. This applies all the more in times of tight financial budgets.
Questions and Answers
What data is the analysis based on?
The BARMER Institute for Health System Research derived the locations of pharmacies based on BARMER's billing data and included population figures according to the census as well as the German pedestrian network from OpenStreetMap in its analysis.
Are there regional differences in the accessibility of pharmacies?
Yes. On average, there are 20.1 pharmacies per resident within a radius of six kilometers in the Saarbrücken Regional Association. This is where the density of pharmacies is the highest nationwide. The lowest density is in the St. Wendel district. Here, residents find an average of 4.5 pharmacies within a six-kilometer radius.
How well are pharmacies accessible for senior citizens?
Using population data, the BARMER Institute for Health System Research analyzed how accessible pharmacies are for residents aged 65 and older. Here, too, there are regional differences. In the Saarbrücken Regional Association, people aged 65 and older find an average of 19.1 pharmacies within a six-kilometer radius, which is the highest value in the state. The lowest value in this evaluation is recorded for the St. Wendel district, with 4.6 pharmacies.
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