More pharmacy closures leave consumers in pharmacy deserts without access to medications
When the one pharmacy in town closed in Antwerp, a small community of about 1,600 in northwest Ohio, in September, it affected Candace Pidgeon in two ways.
The pharmacy tech lost her job at the independent Antwerp Pharmacy, which said it was forced to close because it was unable to compete with the big-chain retail pharmacies. And now Pidgeon needs to drive 22 miles to Fort Wayne, Indiana, to get her monthly prescriptions from the nearest CVS pharmacy.
More American consumers are facing a similar plight as independent and national retail pharmacy chains close stores, leaving them in what is dubbed a "pharmacy desert."
On Friday morning, CVS said it had replaced its CEO Karen Lynch with company veteran David Joyner and withdrew its 2024 profit forecast as the retailer faces growing investor pressure. That follows news earlier in the week that CVS would lay off nearly 3,000 employees. The company said the layoffs were "primarily corporate roles."
And recently, Walgreens announced it would shutter 1,200 underperforming stores and pharmacies as part of a turnaround. Rite Aid, another national pharmacy chain, also has been shuttering stores.
Pharmacy deserts are growing
A pharmacy desert is defined as an area without an open pharmacy within 10 miles.
Nearly half of U.S. counties, or 46%, had at least one pharmacy desert, according to an article in August in the American Medical Association journal JAMA. The report used data from 2000 and does not account for more recent closure announcements by retail pharmacies.
"As pharmacies close, more and more individuals are left without easy access to medications, with disproportionate consequences for certain communities," the report said. "People already at highest risk of being neglected by the health care system are most likely to be affected by pharmacy closures."
Pidgeon saw that firsthand. A lot of customers at the pharmacy where she worked were older and didn't have access to a car, so they walked to the local pharmacy. Now Pidgeon worries about how those consumers will get their medications.
Pidgeon herself has to drive half an hour for her monthly medications. There's another locally owned pharmacy about 10 miles from her house that Pidgeon would prefer to use, but her insurance will not cover her medications there. And she hasn't looked into whether mail-order would be a good option.
"I didn't want the big-box business; I wanted something along the lines of a small hometown pharmacy, but insurance, as it is, this is where it has told me I need to go now," Pidgeon told Paste BN about her shift to CVS for her medications. As for work, Pidgeon has left the pharmacy industry and now works with adults with developmental disabilities.
Pharmacy closures affect rural, poor communities
In particular when pharmacies close and leave an area without easy access to an alternative, it disproportionately affects residents in rural areas and urban residents in poorer communities who are often people of color, said Dima Mazen Qato, an associate professor of clinical pharmacy and spatial sciences at the University of Southern California.
The lack of access to their medications and vaccinations, if the pharmacy was providing vaccines, often means people will delay or go without necessary care, said Qato, whose research expertise has been pharmacy access and pharmacy deserts.
"What we've found is that for many patients, especially those living in pharmacy deserts, they delay filling their medications, or they stop taking them altogether. So it's going to affect their adherence and ultimately their health."
Consumers also rely on pharmacies for basic hygiene products, so when a pharmacy closes, customers lose access to more than medications, Qato said.
Why are pharmacies closing?
Pharmacies aren't being paid enough to stay open and make a profit, Qato said. That's especially true for independent pharmacies that are in areas with a high number of Medicaid and Medicare patients because, in general, they are reimbursed at lower rates. A lot of that has to do with pharmacy benefit managers, who determine where patients can go to get their prescriptions filled and how much insurance will pay, she said.
What can consumers do if their pharmacy closes?
Qato said it's helpful for consumers to be proactive as they fill their retail prescriptions and ask the pharmacist where the next-closest pharmacy is, if that location is closing. It's also good to try to stay ahead of medication refills so you're not immediately put in a bind, she said.
Is Amazon an answer?
Retail giant Amazon says its model, which delivers medications to consumers' doorsteps, is an answer to a pain point in the pharmaceutical industry: lack of access.
Amazon Pharmacy announced last week that by the end of next year, it would be able to deliver prescription medications to nearly half of the U.S. within the same day.
Same-day delivery: Amazon pharmacy to offer same-day delivery to nearly half of US by end of 2025
"We've been shipping medications quickly all across the U.S., 90% or more in two days. But when you're not feeling well or if you have a sick child at home, you really need the meds incredibly quickly," John Love, vice president of Amazon Pharmacy, told Paste BN.
The Amazon model could work for certain segments of the population for convenience, but it will still not fill the void left by a shuttered community pharmacy that provides other services, such as vaccinations, Qato said.
Contributing: Reuters
Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for Paste BN. Reach her at blinfisher@USATODAY.com or follow her on X, Facebook or Instagram @blinfisher. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, which will include consumer news on Fridays, here.