Study: How independent pharmacy challenges and closures impact rural pharmacists

Harris Pharmacy serves Rocky Ford, Colorado.
(University of Colorado photo)

Many studies on the closure of independent pharmacies focus on what happens to patients when a pharmacy closes. A new study by Michael J. DiStefano, PhD, at the University of Colorado, examines how those closures impact pharmacists. The study also explores how independent pharmacists navigate the current reimbursement model and what some states are doing to help them stay solvent. 

In interviews with pharmacists, DiStefano and his colleagues "heard palpable frustration, stories of mental health impacts and examples of how pharmacy closures touch entire communities," reports Matthew Hastings for the University of Colorado. 

DiStefano told Hastings, “It’s a series of ripple effects. When a pharmacy closes, not only do you see the impacts to medication access and job losses in that community; surrounding pharmacies will experience a series of stressors. All those patients impacted by the closure need to be added to your system, with new patient histories and records.” 

Study interviewees stressed that independent rural pharmacists should always have a succession plan that ideally includes a younger pharmacist who could take over the business, rather than a rural community having to recruit a new pharmacist who may not have the experience to navigate the financial demands of running a rural pharmacy. 

At Harris Pharmacy in Rocky Ford, Colorado, which serves a rural southeastern part of the state, owner Ky Davis believes running his pharmacy is all about problem-solving because there isn't another nearby pharmacy to refer patients to if his pharmacy runs out of a particular medication.

The current insurance reimbursement model for medications also means rural pharmacists can lose money caring for their patients. Davis told Hastings, "You're losing $80 to fill a prescription, and there's definitely a temptation to be like. We're not going to do that. We're not going to stock this drug."

At least in Colorado, lawmakers have eased some burdens on rural pharmacists, allowing them to approve prescriptions remotely. Davis told Hastings, "The bill passed this year has helped a lot. I’m able to leave the pharmacy open and remotely verify or have another one of our pharmacists remotely verify a prescription if I step away.”