Some of America's largest pharmacy chains like Rite Aid, CVS and Walgreens are planning to close more locations.
By the end of this year, CVS will have closed around 900 of their locations due to changing consumer buying tendencies, certain regulations and for largely being unprofitable. Just last year, Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy for similar reasons and have shut down over 500 spots. More recently, Walgreens said they will close 1,200 stores over the next three years too.
Seeing a pharmacy on just about every corner is likely to be a thing of the past. Industry experts say the closures aren't expected to stop either.
Dr. Joe Galati said it's likely that these stores can't keep up with the rent and overhead costs with the revenue they're making.
"It's so much compared to the revenue that they're bringing in from the medications that they're selling," he said. "A lot has been written over the years about how the reimbursement for the medications is going down despite the fact that potentially the pharmaceutical companies are making a lot."
Regardless, there are a lot of hands going after a piece of the pie. Between the insurance companies, pharmacy brokers and the pharmacies themselves, the pharmacy chains seem to be getting short-changed.
The shutdowns are creating a ripple effect through the smaller and more rural communities across the country. We've heard of "food deserts" where grocery stores or food marts aren't relatively close for people and now some areas have become “pharmacy deserts" including in rural Texas.
"You may not have a local pharmacy in your neighborhood and you may have to drive miles to get a prescription filled," Dr. Galati said. "I can only think that this is going to be a negative indicator for people to get prescriptions filled."
Another thing hurting the physical stores is the ability to look for cheaper prescriptions and fill them out online and having them sent to their front door. Recent consumer behavior has shown that to be way more common that years before.
"We're all consumers and we're looking for the best deal," said Dr. Galati.
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