If you're finding it harder to locate a nearby pharmacy, you're not alone. A new study from researchers at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Berkeley, shows that one in three retail drug stores closed between 2010 and 2021. The rates of drug store closures were even higher in predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods.

More concerning, thousands of additional pharmacies are expected to shut their doors in the future. What does this mean for the average consumer? It's significant because existing pharmacies are places where we get a wide-range of services, as lead senior author of the study, Dima Mazen Qato, a senior scholar at the USC Schaffer Center for Health Policy & Economics and the Hygeia Centennial Chair and associate professor at the USC Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, pointed out in a press release.

One of the biggest reasons for the loss of local pharmacies is the consolidation of chain pharmacies.

“At the same time many states are making efforts to expand the scope of pharmacy services beyond dispensing drugs to include the provision of preventive and emergency care, we found that there are — for the first time for at least a decade — fewer pharmacies to provide them.” In fact, there has been an unprecedented decline.

One of the biggest reasons for the loss of local pharmacies is that chain pharmacies have consolidated. This includes the merger of big pharmacy chains with dominant pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). The job of PBMs is to negotiate prescription drug benefits and then steer patients to these preferred pharmacies.

When researchers identified county and neighborhood pharmacies and linked their data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics, this is what they found:

  • Between 2018 and 2021, the number of pharmacies declined in 41 states.
  • During the entire study period (2020-2021), nearly one third of the counties experienced a net decline in pharmacies affecting 91.6 million people.
  • The states of Illinois, Maine, Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont lost pharmacies in more than half their counties.
  • At the community level, pharmacy closure rates were higher in predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods — at 37.5 percent and 35.6 percent respectively. The rate of pharmacies lost in predominantly white neighborhoods was 27.7 percent.
What's the reason for the greater frequency of closures in Black, Latino and poorer neighborhoods? It's partially because independent pharmacies, which are more often found in these neighborhoods, are twice as likely to close as chain stores.

These closures have consequences. “Our findings suggest that closures may widen health disparities in access to prescription and other essential pharmacy services, such as vaccinations and pharmacist-prescribed regimens, including contraceptives, medications for HIV prevention, and treatments for opioid use disorder,” said first author Jenny Guadamuz, Equity Program Director for the UC-Berkeley Center for Health Management & Policy Research.

Guadamuz stresses the importance of keeping these neighborhood pharmacies open: “Without safeguarding pharmacies in marginalized neighborhoods, expanding health care services at pharmacies may enhance convenience for more affluent populations while failing to address the health needs of communities disproportionately affected by pharmacy closures, particularly Black and Brown populations in low-income urban areas,” she said.

The states of Illinois, Maine, Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont lost pharmacies in more than half their counties.

Here are specific ways you can help to support your local pharmacy:

  • Fill your prescriptions there: Make it a habit to always use your local pharmacy to fill prescriptions, even if it means slightly adjusting your schedule to match their hours.
  • Ask about additional services: Inquire about services like medication consultations, immunizations or chronic disease management that the pharmacy offers to utilize their full capabilities.
  • Spread the word: Tell your friends, family and neighbors about the local pharmacy and why they should use it.
  • Join loyalty programs: Sign up for any loyalty programs or rewards offered by the pharmacy to receive discounts and incentives.
  • Leave positive reviews: Share positive experiences on online platforms like Google or Yelp to help build their reputation.

The study is published in Health Affairs.