Study finds inconsistent pharmacy advice on Emergency Contraception in Germany
December 2025. A mystery-caller study from the Neubrandenburg University of Applied Sciences shows that more than half of German community pharmacies give advice on emergency contraception (EC) that does not align with national guidelines. In a scenario where EC was not medically indicated — a combined pill taken less than 12 hours late — only 44% of pharmacies provided correct guidance.
Researchers conducted 376 standardized calls and found that many pharmacies recommended EC unnecessarily. Counselling quality was strongly linked to whether staff asked relevant questions; in many cases, essential information was missed.
The authors call for better use of the Federal Chamber of Pharmacists’ counselling checklist, more training, and clearer guidance that full counselling can also be delivered by phone.
A summary of the study Do community pharmacies unnecessarily recommend oral emergency contraception? A nationwide mystery caller investigation in Germany. Beck, A., et al (2025) is available here.