Polypharmacy is part of everyday work for many pharmacy teams: customers on five or more long-term medicines bring questions, interactions and uncertainties with them. The extended medication review is one of the pharmaceutical services (pDL) with which pharmacies offer this advice in a structured and documented way. This post sorts out the process, the requirements and the interface with diagnostics, without naming figures that are not officially confirmed.
What is the pDL extended medication review for polypharmacy?
It is a pharmaceutical service in which pharmacies systematically check a person's entire drug therapy. The aim is to spot interactions, duplicate prescriptions or problems with taking medicines and to clarify them together with the medical profession. It is one of several pDL in the statutory insurance system and complements the classic advice at the counter.
Unlike a quick question at the counter, the extended medication review is a self-contained, scheduled advice process with clearly defined steps and a duty to document. It is aimed at people whose drug therapy has grown complex over time, for example through several treating practices or changing prescriptions.
Who is the extended medication review meant for?
It is aimed above all at people with polypharmacy, meaning several prescribed medicines taken on a long-term basis. The more products taken at the same time, the higher the risk of interactions and application errors. The exact eligibility requirement is set by the framework contract on the pDL, which pharmacies should check beforehand.
In practice this often concerns older people with several chronic conditions, but in principle it can concern any person on corresponding long-term medication. The pharmacy checks eligibility against the criteria laid down in the framework contract before the service is offered.
How does the medication review run in the pharmacy?
The process follows a structured scheme of data collection, professional analysis and an advice conversation. Pharmacies first record all medicines, document anything unusual and discuss the result with the customer, before consulting the doctor's practice where needed. The individual steps are laid down bindingly in the framework contract and have to be documented traceably.
- Arrange an appointment and record all current medicines including self-medication.
- Reconcile the medication plan with intake times, dosages and indications.
- Check interactions, duplicate prescriptions and application problems professionally.
- Discuss the result in a personal conversation and explain the recommendations.
- Consult the treating doctor's practice where something is unusual.
- Document the results and the measures agreed.
What matters is that every step is documented, because the documentation is part of the contractually agreed service.
How is the medication review billed?
Billing runs through statutory health insurance according to the rules of the applicable framework contract on pharmaceutical services. The requirement is that the service is fully documented and the agreed criteria are met. For the exact pay rates and billing routes, the current contractual rules apply as the binding source.
Pharmacies should consult the currently valid version of the framework contract before offering the service, since details on documentation duties and billing routes can change. The local pharmacists' association and the ABDA provide the corresponding information.
How does blood diagnostics complement the medication review?
A medication review checks what someone takes, not necessarily how the body responds to it. Complementary blood values such as kidney function, liver values or electrolytes can show whether a dosage still fits or whether a medicine is affecting organ function. A blood value is not a diagnosis: it delivers an additional reference point for the conversation with the practice, but it replaces no medical consultation and no medical assessment.
With long-term medication involving substances that can burden organs, regular lab monitoring can be particularly useful, for example to spot changes early. The pharmacy can create the organisational frame for the blood draw here, while the professional assessment of the values in the therapy context remains a medical task.
What does the ApoVWG change for pharmacies with a pDL offering?
The ApoVWG has been in force since 2 July 2026 and widens the pDL offering overall: five more are added to the five existing pDL with fixed prices, and their pay is still being negotiated. Of the ten pDL in total, eight are usable without a doctor's prescription. For the new services a deadline of four months after entry into force applies to the pay negotiation.
For pharmacies that means more choice of services, but also more organisational effort: standard operating procedures have to be in place within two months of entry into force according to the law, and the model curriculum for the newly ruled venous blood draw, which licensed pharmacists may carry out after doctor-led training, follows no later than four months after entry into force. Capillary procedures are already possible today. If no agreement on pay is reached, the arbitration body can be called on within twelve weeks.
Frequently asked questions
Does the medication review need a doctor's prescription?
That depends on the individual pDL and the rules of the framework contract. Some pharmaceutical services are accessible without a prescription, others require a medical referral. Pharmacy teams should check the current contract version before they offer, document and bill the service to the health insurer.
How long does a medication review take?
The duration depends on the number of medicines and the complexity of the case. With pronounced polypharmacy the review takes noticeably more time than a short piece of advice at the counter, because data collection, professional checking, consultation and the advice conversation cover several separate steps and require scheduling.
Does the medication review replace a visit to the doctor?
No. The medication review is a complementary pharmaceutical service and no substitute for medical treatment. Anything unusual is discussed with the treating practice, and therapy decisions remain a medical task. The pharmacy supplies structured information that supports the medical conversation but does not replace it.
What role does the medication plan play in this?
The medication plan serves as the starting basis for the review, because it gives a structured overview of prescribed medicines. Pharmacies reconcile it with what is actually taken, add self-medication and update it where needed together with the customer and the treating doctor's practice.
Can Aniva support the medication review?
Aniva provides the diagnostic infrastructure with which pharmacies can offer suitable blood values for the medication review, for example to monitor organ function under long-term medication. Aniva is not a vaccination provider and replaces no medical assessment, it supplies additional lab information that backs the advice conversation in the pharmacy professionally.
Terms explained quickly
- pDL is a pharmaceutical service, a contractually regulated advice service by the pharmacy that goes beyond classic dispensing.
- Polypharmacy is the simultaneous, long-term intake of several prescribed medicines, usually from five products upwards.
- Medication plan is a structured overview of all prescribed and self-administered medicines of one person.
- Framework contract is the contractual basis between pharmacists' associations and health insurers that sets the content and pay of the pDL.
- ApoVWG is the Apothekenversorgung-Weiterentwicklungsgesetz, in force since 2 July 2026, which among other things widens the pDL offering.
Sources
For pharmacies
Aniva provides the complete blood diagnostics infrastructure for the local pharmacy, including the lab, the result, the app report and the logistics. Learn more at Aniva for pharmacies and in the overview of pharmaceutical services.
As of 4 August 2026. Aniva Health editorial team, no warranty. The currently valid framework contract on the pDL is the binding source for content, documentation and pay.
