Community pharmacists are amongst the most accessible and trusted healthcare professionals in Europe, often serving as the first point of contact with the healthcare system for millions of patients each day. At an event held in the European Parliament, co-hosted by MEP Michalis Hadjipantela (EPP) and MEP Vytenis Andriukaitis (S&D), and alongside the launch of the new Report on Pharmacy Services in Europe, the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU) highlights how expanding pharmacists’ scope of practice can transform healthcare delivery, ensuring patient-centred and sustainable care is provided closer to where people live.

Dispensing medicines is the foundation of pharmacy, and it is now complemented by an enhanced range of patient-focused services. Across Europe, pharmacists deliver vaccinations, promote health, conduct early screenings, manage chronic diseases, perform medication reviews, and provide digital health support, among other essential services that enhance patient experience and support adherence to treatments. These services have been shown to improve health outcomes, reduce hospitalisations, and reinforce the resilience of healthcare systems, particularly in underserved and rural communities. The COVID-19 pandemic further reinforced their vital role, with pharmacies ensuring continuity of care, administering millions of vaccines, and offering trusted public health guidance in a situation where the healthcare system was strained and overburdened.

PGEU President Clare Fitzell said: “Europe’s 160,000 community pharmacies and over half a million pharmacists are a cornerstone of healthcare. With supportive regulation, sustainable financing, and full integration into care pathways, pharmacists are already keeping people healthy, delivering services closer to home, and increasing the capacity of health systems. Our report sets out a practical roadmap to build on this success and expand these benefits to patients in every community.”Pharmacy services have already demonstrated their value, and with more supportive legal frameworks, fair remuneration models, and better digital health integration, their full potential can be realised. To advance the implementation, development, and recognition of pharmacy services across Europe, PGEU calls for:

• A strategic policy shift: recognising community pharmacies as essential partners in delivering people-centred, sustainable healthcare and empowering them through supportive regulation, appropriate investment, and systemic integration.


• Regulatory reforms: expand pharmacists’ scope of practice according to competency areas and remove barriers to service provision.


• Sustainable financing: ensure appropriate and consistent remuneration for pharmacy services to reflect their clinical and public health contributions.


• Workforce planning: strengthen education, leadership, and ongoing professional development.


• Crisis preparedness: fully integrate pharmacies into national public health response frameworks.


• Access and equity: strengthen pharmacies’ role in reducing health inequities by ensuring their presence in underserved areas and enabling access to specialty medicines, supporting territorial cohesion.


• Antimicrobial stewardship: enable pharmacies to take a proactive role in infection control and antibiotic use.

The outcomes of the PGEU Event on Shaping the Future of Pharmacy Services in Europe demonstrated that policymakers, health professionals and patients are ready to align priorities and advance the implementation and development of new and expanded pharmacy services across the continent.

For more information, see the PGEU Report on Pharmacy Services in Europe.

Read the official document below.