Kevin Vora, RPh., MBA’s Post

We are determined to keep advocating for independent pharmacies! As pharmacy closures rise across Oregon, we are doubling down on supporting independent pharmacies and are committed to turning this trend around to increase access in the communities who need it most. Our growth in Oregon this past year underscores our commitment to this state, even as independent pharmacy presence dwindles. We're dedicated to ensuring every Oregonian has access to essential pharmacy services, advocating for transparency, and fighting unfair practices in the industry. Let's continue to support local pharmacies and keep our communities healthy! #IndependentPharmacies #PharmacyCare #OregonHealthcare #LocalPharmacies #CommunityHealth #PharmacyAdvocacy #HealthcareAccess #CascadiaPharmacy #SupportLocal #FightForPharmacies #HealthcareHeroes #PharmacyGrowth #OregonStrong #PharmacyServices #PatientCare Read more: OPB Article https://lnkd.in/gSciAPCf

Pharmacy closures have been a major issue for independent pharmacy owners, but they've also impacted patients and their access to care as well. "From 2011 to 2021, nearly 30% of U.S. pharmacies shut their doors, with independent stores disproportionately affected, according to a recent report published in Health Affairs," reports Mario Marroquin. These closures don't just mean people losing jobs, they also mean patients are losing to what some of them may be the only healthcare provider in their area. Supporting independent pharmacies can reduce pharmacy deserts, helping underserved populations have access to life-changing healthcare. #Pharma #PharmacyDesert #IndependentPharmacy

The closure of CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid stores is creating significant challenges, especially in vulnerable communities. These closures can lead to "pharmacy deserts," where residents live more than 10 miles from the nearest pharmacy. This disproportionately affects rural and low-income urban areas, where access to healthcare services is already limited. The reduction in pharmacy locations can result in decreased access to medications, essential health services, and increased healthcare disparities. What solutions can we, as healthcare innovators, implement to support these communities and ensure they continue to receive necessary pharmacy services? To address the impact of pharmacy closures on communities, several solutions can be implemented: 🚑 Mobile Pharmacy Units: Deploying mobile units to serve underserved areas. 📝 Legislative Advocacy: Pushing for policies that support small and independent pharmacies. 💰Enhanced Reimbursement Models: Utilizing platforms like DocStation to optimize billing for medical services and increase pharmacy revenue. These solutions can begin to help maintain essential pharmacy services in underserved areas. What do you think needs to be done? Read more: https://lnkd.in/g4Yqp_Yb #Pharmacy #Healthcare #CommunityHealth #PharmacyDeserts #PublicHealth #DocStation

A few of my thoughts on this- from reading it they are saying there is a “nationwide shortage of pharmacists”. This is NOT true. There is not a shortage of pharmacists. There is a shortage of pharmacists willing to work short staffed and in in an unsafe environment for patients. They have created the appearance of a shortage by short staffing their pharmacies. With this being said, the positive part is that there is a shortage of primary care providers. Allowing pharmacists to practice at the top of their licenses IF they don’t short staff pharmacies anymore by allowing reimbursement for services would help with this burden. Allowing community pharmacists to diagnose and treat some of these things (strep, flu etc) would free up PCPs to deal with more complicated patients and issues. Collaborative practice is happening nationwide already inpatient and in ambulatory care settings for chronic disease state management. Perhaps having Walgreens et al working to move this forward and allow for reimbursement would allow them to fully staff pharmacies. Let’s cross our fingers that this will be a positive thing for the profession and for patient care overall.

36 Oregon pharmacies closed last year, and more are closing this year. How can Oregon, a state that considers itself a leader in innovative pharmacy practice, be 2nd worst in the entire nation in access to a pharmacy? It's not just the rural areas either. In the Portland Metro where I live, at least we have pharmacies...but there aren't nearly enough. Get ready to wait in line at a chain or big box unless you're lucky enough to have one of the few independents available to you. If you are using an independent, it may not be for long--they are quite literally fighting to stay alive against relentlessly unfair terms from the PBMs. Terms for which pharmacies have virtually no leverage to negotiate, and frequently pay below cost. From the article-- "A recent audit by the Oregon Secretary of State suggested that one reason chain pharmacies have been able to outcompete independent pharmacies is because they are subsidiaries of those same health care giants that use their pharmacy benefit managers to negotiate favorable reimbursements with insurers. National chains, the audit found, were reimbursed twice the amount that independent pharmacies were for selected drugs reviewed in the audit." We are grateful for the legislators (a bipartisan group, believe it or not!) here locally who have tried to address this matter for years including Rob Nosse, Ed Diehl, Nancy Nathanson and others...but unfortunately the PBM monopoly has managed to create confusion and derail good legislation meant to address these problems. Health plans also stand in the way of fair terms and reimbursements to our local pharmacies. Inexplicably, this includes regional health plans based right here in the northwest. It seems there is no limit to the corporate greed destroying community pharmacy. Legislators at both the federal and state levels must act to restore a fair marketplace, or we'll continue to lose the pharmacies in Oregon and throughout the country. #pharmacy #pharmacist #healthcare #pbm #orleg #orpol Jules Walters https://lnkd.in/gAWs4JMM

Did you know that Oregon has the second-fewest retail pharmacies per capita in the nation? "Oregon had 610 retail pharmacies statewide as of February, amounting to just 14.4 pharmacies per 100,000 people...And that number is falling," reports Antonio Sierra and Amelia Templeton. In fact, 36 pharmacies closed last year, and several more have already closed in 2024. This is why we believe independent pharmacies are so important at IPC. Everyone deserves access to a pharmacy that can truly take care of their needs... and it's hard for pharmacies to meet this need when they have so many patients. It's also important to note that when people lose access to pharmacies, they may be losing access to any nearby healthcare facility, leaving them with next to no healthcare options at all. #PharmaNews #IndependentPharmacy #Healthcare

"We are on a mission to achieve provider status for our pharmacists, . . . This would allow them to get reimbursed for providing select services to patients." This is direct from the mouth of the Walgreens CEO. I wonder what his motivation is given the $6 billion loss from the Village MD debacle? Hmmmm. 🧐 Listen, I am a champion of innovative solutions that improve patient access to quality medical care. But, it's hard not to view this as anything but a money grab. You want to bill patients for teaching them how to inject insulin? You are already billing them with your ridiculous mark-ups on drug prices! Isn't providing counseling to patients about their medications part of, I don't know the pharmacist's JOB!? Can us physicians get in on being reimbursed for counseling patients on proper usage of medications? Mr. CEO is also referring to the UK system where pharmacists can DIAGNOSE and TREAT certain medical conditions. Talk about a conflict of interest! Every cough is going to get antibiotics and every urine symptom is going to be called a "UTI". Why? Because it will make Walgreens more revenue🤑 He's so serious about this, they are lobbying Congress. The retail pharmacy model is broken. It overcharges patients. It wants to deliver healthcare while selling cigarettes, Mountain Dew, and Snickers. It's a joke. What's my plan? Someone help me get a call with Mark Cuban and Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, PBC. I'm all in for "No middlemen. No price games." #patientsfirst #saynotowalgreens #healthcare #physicians #notaprovider https://lnkd.in/eVGWVP-H

Hundreds of #pharmacies in #Ohio and #Michigan are closing, including major chains like #RiteAid and #Walgreens. The closures are due to a variety of factors, including competition from big retailers and the rising cost of #prescription drugs. The closures are particularly concerning for the sick and the poor, who rely on #pharmacies for regular #healthcare. Pharmacy benefit managers (#PBMs) are blamed for the closures, as they control access to 80% of insured patients and use an opaque system to determine #reimbursement rates. Policymakers are urged to take action to address the issue and ensure access to affordable healthcare.

Nearly 1 in 3 U.S. retail pharmacies have closed over the past decade, disproportionately impacting underserved communities. This alarming trend underscores the growing inequities in healthcare access, particularly in communities of color, as retail closures force patients to navigate longer distances and fewer options for essential medications. Peter Bonis, Chief Medical Officer at Wolters Kluwer Health, talks to Axios and highlights the human cost of these closures: 🗨️ "People already don't adhere to their drugs for a variety of reasons. They don't get the care that they need. Making it harder for them to get their drugs isn’t helping." 🔎 Key insights from this research: Independent pharmacies face closure risks from pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) steering patients to in-network chains. Inadequate Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements exacerbate the issue in neighborhoods with higher concentrations of Black and Hispanic patients. Patients overwhelmingly prefer in-person pharmacies, but closures create significant barriers, particularly for those with limited digital access. 📉The bottom line is stark: as major pharmacy chains like Walgreens and CVS Pharmacy tighten their operations, including thousands of planned closures, the promise of accessible, community-based healthcare is slipping away. It's time for policymakers, regulators, and the healthcare industry to address these systemic challenges. Solutions like better reimbursement rates for at-risk pharmacies and expanded PBM networks for independent pharmacies could help. 💡 How do we ensure equitable access to essential healthcare services in an increasingly digital and consolidated world? #HealthcareAccess #HealthEquity #PharmacyClosures #HealthPolicy #MakingMoments

I have always been optimistic about what community and especially independent pharmacies could do. This category of pharmacist/owners have been innovators of the profession constantly evolving and adapting. However, when the rest of the industry does not adapt and doesn’t collaborate or offer fair reimbursement models, more stories like this will occur leaving less providers, competition, innovation, and accountability. Those regional, grocery, health system and similarly structured pharmacies will not be able to continue absorbing the volume and an already shrinking number of major chains is adding to the pressure. The profession of pharmacy is at stake. It’s not a career that is being pursued and programs are being eliminated from universities. We may be well beyond the tipping point, however; the crisis has not reached a point of no return. The optimist in me believes reforms in reimbursement models, real collaboration and partnerships can overcome and is necessary to change the direction of the industry. https://ow.ly/gcUN50UyheO