Greater self-medication means improved self-care in Germany
October 2007

Two-thirds of Germans self-medicate with medicines bought from pharmacies when they think they are suffering from a minor ailment, according to a survey recently published by the market researcher Allensbach. A further quarter seek an appointment with their doctor, even if they believe the problem is not serious – compared to the lower third of them in the early 1990s. Allensbach suggests that the introduction of a fixed fee for doctors’ appointments has helped to promote self-medication. Parallel to this rise in the use of self-medication, a third of Germans now claim that they are taking good care of their health, up three percentage points from 30% in 2004. And the proportion who underwent regular check-ups has increased by two percentage points to 47%.