KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For many communities, a neighborhood pharmacy may be their closest point of health care.
However, pharmacy closures have been on the rise, both across the country and in Kansas City.
Pharmacies might be the main source of care for urban core, rural, and low-income communities.
UMKC School of Pharmacy Dean Russ Melchert said it's hard for pharmacies to profit with today's reimbursement rates. Independent and chain alike, he said pharmacies are losing money on a lot of medications.
“Pharmacy closures nationwide are impacting everybody,” he said.
He also said pharmacy school enrollment numbers nationwide are dropping.
“We graduated about 14,000 pharmacists nationwide in 2019-2020,” he said. “By 2026, that number will drop close to or below 8000 nationwide.”
According to a University of Pittsburgh researcher, there have been at least 7,000 pharmacy closures nationwide since 2019, and almost 100 in Kansas City locally since 2014.
Diane Marquez gets her prescriptions filled at the Pharmacy of Grace in KCK, but that wasn’t always the case.
“There was a CVS, probably two blocks from where I live, but it's closed,” Marquez said. “In a perfect world, you would or should be able to just go to, you know, a block down the street or two blocks down the street and pick up your medication.”
Marquez has a thyroid disorder and diabetes and has felt the impact of pharmacy closures and pharmaceutical costs.
“I can remember a time when I had to take on a second job,” she said.
Pharmacy of Grace pharmacist Kari Duede says pharmacies closing means less accessible, affordable care overall.
“That can lead to negative health outcomes for the patient, which in turn could lead to negative health outcomes for the entire community,” Duede said.
She said the most important thing for pharmacists to do is counsel their patients one-on-one. Pharmacy closures prevent that.
“It's just one more barrier to people who are already struggling to make ends meet and, you know, get their best access to healthcare,” Duede said.
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