There are more than 200 pharmacies in Malta, with at least one in each village, and a few dozen in each town. You will therefore not have any issues finding one close to your home.
How do pharmacies in Malta work?
Prescriptions
Prescriptions are issued by General Practioners or specialists.
In most pharmacies, no identity verification will be required. There is no proper customer file as such, and your prescription is not scanned, as would be the case in many other countries.
Important information: Your doctor can even send you a photo of the prescription, which is fully accepted by the pharmacy! You just need to show it on your mobile, and your medicine will be given to you without any problem.
Delivery of medication
You can find all types of medicine in pharmacies in Malta.
Most boxes of medicine will have information written in English, but you may also find some brands in foreign languages such as Greek or Spanish. Be sure to get information on the brand of medication you are offered. Some may not be authorized for sale in your country. Although you are in the European Union, not all regulations are strictly followed!
As in many countries, you will need to present a prescription to get the drugs that have been prescribed for you.
You can also go directly to the pharmacy and ask the pharmacist for advice if you haven’t already seen a doctor. They can provide you with authorized medicine which doesn’t need a prescription.
Payment
Regards to payment, you have to pay up front, and then apply for reimbursement from your health insurance. You can pay by cash or credit card, depending on the pharmacy, and a receipt will be given to you.
Pharmacy schedules
Pharmacies are open Mondays to Saturdays in most cases, usually from 8 a.m., with reduced hours on Saturdays. Some are “on call” on Sundays, according to a rotation schedule. Visit the on-call pharmacies page to have more information on this subject.
Please note that it is common for these establishments to close for a few hours in the middle of the day.
Doctors in pharmacies
Doctors are available for consultation without appointment in many pharmacies. You will obviously need to pay for a consultation, but it is extremely convenient if you need to see a professional about a non-urgent problem.
It may sometimes be necessary to wait for a while, but delays are never very long.
You can see a list of doctors practicing in pharmacies on the Yellow website.
Do not hesitate to call the pharmacy beforehand to make sure a doctor is available.
Price of a doctor in a pharmacy
The price of these consultations varies depending on the doctor, but it is usually between €8 and €20. You will be given a payment receipt, so that you can request reimbursement from your health insurance afterwards.
Pharmacies in Malta
There are very few pharmacy chains in Malta. Most are independent pharmacies, but among these, we can recommend:
Brown’s pharmacy
This is the most important chain in Malta. You will find Brown’s pharmacies in every town in the east, from Valletta to Saint Julian’s, and also more centrally in Qormi, Zebbug, San Gwann, Naxxar, and up in the north in Saint Paul’s Bay and Mellieha. These pharmacies all have different opening times, usually between 08:00 a.m. and 07:00 p.m. Some close during lunchtime as well.
Chemimart Pharmacy
Although mainly a beauty and well-being centre, the Chemimart brand is also a pharmacy, present in Valletta, Hamrun, Sliema and Floriana. Opening hours are somewhat less flexible: Chemimart opens at 09:00 a.m., closes between 01:00 p.m. and 04:00 p.m. then opens again until 07:00 p.m.
Remedies Pharmacy
There are five Remedies in Malta: Mellieha, Siggiewi, Birkirkara, Sliema and Ta Xbiex. Remedies’ has the best opening hours; generally from 08:30 a.m. to 07:00 p.m., uninterrupted.
