Published November 4, 2024
Recently, there have been reports in the news about retail pharmacies, both small neighborhood pharmacies as well as larger chain pharmacies such as Rite Aid, Walgreens, and CVS, closing hundreds of their stores across the United States. The reasons for these closures vary; however, in most cases it is because the payment received from insurance companies for prescription medicines, especially for smaller pharmacies, is not enough to keep the store open. So, the companies end up closing the stores that are not profitable. Unfortunately, this means many people, especially those living in small towns, have to get prescriptions filled at pharmacies that are farther away. So, how will these closures impact people who rely on their local pharmacy to fill their prescriptions?
Your pharmacy may send you a notification that they are closing their doors. If they do, it is important to read the information they send you about transferring your prescriptions to another pharmacy. You may need to go to the store to talk to the pharmacy staff about what the next steps are in transferring your prescriptions. In addition, you may want to contact your insurance provider, especially if you take a medicine that is only provided by a specialty pharmacy or if you want to use a mail order pharmacy.
In some cases, the pharmacy may not notify you that they are closing. They can refill prescriptions and fill new prescriptions up until the store closes for good. If you are not informed that your pharmacy is closing, you may run out of your medicine and not be able to refill it when needed. You may have to travel miles to another pharmacy to get your prescriptions filled. Your doctor may have to send a new prescription to the new pharmacy, but may need to examine you first. This all takes time, so it is important to plan ahead.
In addition, once prescriptions are transferred to another pharmacy, errors can happen. We previously wrote about an error that happened when a woman moved to a different state. She had all of her prescriptions transferred to a pharmacy near her new home. However, the new pharmacy mistakenly filled a prescription for a medicine that her doctor had stopped a few months earlier. Other cases have been reported in which certain medicines were missed when prescriptions were transferred to the new pharmacy.
Here’s what you can do: Don’t be afraid to ask if the store will be closing. If you call the pharmacy, you may not be able to get through to speak to someone right away, so be patient. And the person answering the call may not know all the store closing details to answer your concerns. Ask to speak to the pharmacist or store manager. It may be better to go to the pharmacy and talk to the pharmacist or store manager in person. If your pharmacy is closing, here are some things you should consider:
Remember, the new pharmacy may be busier than usual, as they are likely processing many prescriptions that were transferred from the pharmacy that closed. Prescription wait times may be longer than usual and it’s essential to plan ahead to ensure you do not run out of medicine. When picking up your prescriptions from the new pharmacy for the first time, extra caution needs to be taken to ensure you receive the medicine that you expect and that it is correct.
As always, it is important to keep the list of medicine you take up to date and with you at all times.
