A new report from the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) said community pharmacies are ready to step up and support patients as national chains cut pharmacy hours or close some branches outright.
At the same time, those independent pharmacies said low reimbursements and other contracting issues could challenge those efforts.
National Pharmacy Chains Are Making Changes
In a Sept. 28 announcement, the NCPA said the feedback came from its new survey of independent pharmacy owners and managers, and was in response to “news reports indicating that several major pharmacy chains are or will soon be cutting hours and shuttering stores as part of cost-saving strategies.”
The NCPA survey was conducted from Sept. 18 to Sept. 26, 2023, and was sent to approximately 10,000 independent pharmacy owners and managers. NCPA received approximately 380 responses.
NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey, MBA, said in the announcement, “Chain pharmacies in the United States are closing left and right, leaving Americans on both sides of the aisle looking for new pharmacies, and independent pharmacies often scrambling to rescue them. It’s unclear if this is an opportunity or threat for independent pharmacies. But one thing is certain: Patient access to community pharmacies is in peril without reforms to PBMs [Pharmacy Benefit Managers] and the pharmacy payment model.”
Of survey participants, 43 percent reported being “near a major pharmacy chain store that’s affected.” And nearly 90 percent of survey participants said they “are able to absorb and provide care for patients who were going to that store; more than 60 percent of them are actively working to attract these patients by increasing advertising budgets and targeting their marketing efforts.”
Pharmacies Are Understaffed
Survey participants listed low reimbursement from PBMs as the topmost challenge to their efforts to compete for or accept patients who typically patronize chain pharmacies. The second-most common challenge is the need for more staff and resources: “Fifty-eight percent say they are having a difficult time filling open staff positions,” the announcement said. The most in-demand position (87 percent) is for pharmacy technicians, according to survey respondents, followed by clerks/front-end staff (41 percent), pharmacists (32 percent), and delivery drivers (17 percent).
Beyond staffing challenges, “Additional concerns include patient steering and pharmacy network contracting issues with insurers and programs like Tricare,” the announcement said.
Hoey added, “Changes to the healthcare system are essential before it’s too late — not just for the pharmacies struggling to stay afloat, but for the patients who are caught in the crossfire just trying to receive care.”
Image: istockphoto.com/Jacob Wackerhausen
