Pharmacies are closing across Iowa, and there are concerns that more closures will follow, according to a new study from Drake University professor Michael Andreski. Study Drake. His findings reveal a troubling trend showing alarming closure rates across the state, especially among independent pharmacies not affiliated with large chains. At least 87 of those pharmacies have closed since 2008, leaving more than half of Iowa’s counties to rely on one or two pharmacies to serve areas as large as 974 square miles. “A district is a pretty big area, and as you go down, for a pharmacy, accessibility is reduced,” Andreski said. Andreski’s report said that could cause problems for those who buy prescription drugs. Fewer nearby options increase the likelihood that people won’t be able to keep up with their prescribed medications. They may also turn to drug delivery services that can’t provide the same patient guidance or dosage tracking like when filling prescriptions in person. Pharmacist Adel Leslie Herron said she understands why the closure is happening. She struggled to make a living at her pharmacy because her insurance did not cover her costs. Independent pharmacies like hers rely on pharmacy benefit managers so they can buy insurance, but those companies also decide how much pharmacists get to reimburse them. Herron said the settlement amount was not enough to cover the cost of the medication, so she lost money on many common prescriptions and forced her to rely on other services like vaccinations or testing for common diseases like strep bacteria and flu to maintain business operations. It doesn’t matter how much we bill for a drug, we can bill $1,000 and if they want to pay us $5, we have to accept it because we have a contract,” Herron said. speak. “(We) weren’t even reimbursed for the raw cost of the drug, let alone putting the drug in a bottle, labeling it, having highly trained and qualified staff to do it, turning on the lights up, all expenses.” about business.”
Pharmacies are closing across Iowa and there is concern about more closures, according to a new study by Drake University professor Michael Andreski.
His findings reveal a troubling trend showing alarming closure rates across the state, especially among independent pharmacies not affiliated with major chains. At least 87 of those pharmacies have closed since 2008, leaving more than half of Iowa’s counties dependent on one or two pharmacies to serve areas as large as 974 square miles.
“A county is a pretty big area, and as you go down to a pharmacy, accessibility decreases,” Andreski said.
Andreski’s report said that could cause problems for prescribers. Fewer nearby options increases the likelihood of people not keeping up with their prescribed medications. They may also turn to medication delivery services that cannot provide patient education or dosage tracking like they can when filling prescriptions in person.
Pharmacist Adel Leslie Herron said she understands why the closure is happening. She struggled to make a living at her pharmacy because her insurance did not cover the cost of her medicine.
Independent pharmacies like hers rely on pharmacy benefit managers so they can buy insurance, but those companies also decide how much pharmacists get to reimburse them.
Herron said the settlement amount was not enough to cover the cost of the medication, so she lost money filling many common prescriptions and forced her to rely on other services like vaccinations or testing for common diseases like lupus. coccus and flu to keep business running.
“It doesn’t matter how much we bill for a drug, we can bill $1,000 and if they want to pay us $5, we have to accept it because we have a contract”. “(We) weren’t even reimbursed for the raw cost of the drug, let alone putting the drug in a bottle, labeling it, having highly trained and qualified staff to do it, turning on the lights up, all expenses.” about business.”
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