As pharmacy deserts proliferate, more must be done to examine barriers to access and prepare future pharmacists to address the needs of underserved communities.
The term “pharmacy deserts” is popping up with greater frequency as pharmacy closures become more widespread and independent pharmacies struggle to survive in some areas. Even chain drugstores are not immune from the changing healthcare landscape. Late last year, CVS announced that it would be closing 300 stores a year across the country in the next three years, and Rite Aid said it plans to close at least 63 stores in the next several months. The implications are most striking for minority populations: A 2021 University of Southern California study revealed that Black and Latino neighborhoods in the 30 most populous U.S. cities had fewer pharmacies than white or diverse neighborhoods in 2007–2015.
In an effort to address concerns about barriers to pharmacy access, the National Community Pharmacists Association partnered with the University of Southern California School of Pharmacy and Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics to launch the Pharmacy Access Initiative in 2021. The multiyear effort will produce research to help identify communities lacking pharmacy access. The goal is to help national, state and local policymakers and industry leaders ensure equitable pharmacy access for all communities in the United States.
“This is an ongoing problem that is only getting worse. More needs to be done and needs to be done soon,” said Dr. Dima M. Qato, associate professor of pharmacy and director of the Program on Medicines and Public Health, University of Southern California School of Pharmacy. “We are seeing frequent announcements that pharmacies are closing, and reimbursement rates aren’t getting better. The closure problem is getting worse and it affects minority communities more than others. We really can’t address medication access and health disparities if we’re not addressing pharmacy access.”