rising costs<\/a>, like rent and staff wages while making less money from prescriptions.<\/p>\nWalgreens recently said it plans to close 1,200 stores, focusing on locations that aren\u2019t making enough profit or have leases ending soon.<\/p>\n
Of the 8,500 stores Walgreens runs in the U.S., only around 6,000 are profitable.<\/p>\n
Also, hundreds of CVS stores are closing, and Rite Aid is closing locations after filing for bankruptcy.<\/p>\n
Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth has said the company is confident that closing these stores will help the business in the long run, but it will take time for things to improve.<\/p>\n
How Do These Closures Affect Communities?<\/b><\/h2>\n
With all these closures, many people are worried about how it will affect their neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
In some areas, especially rural or underserved communities, pharmacies are the only places where people can get medications and healthcare services.<\/p>\n
When these stores close, it can create a “pharmacy desert” where people don\u2019t have a nearby place to fill their prescriptions.<\/p>\n
Walgreens has said it will work with local leaders to minimize disruptions and ensure customers can still get the care they need.<\/p>\n
However, some areas already feel the impact of these closures, and this is a real concern for those who rely on their neighborhood pharmacy.<\/p>\n
There have even been protests from pharmacy workers blaming PBMs for creating conditions that force pharmacies to close.<\/p>\n
And these workers are worried that their communities will suffer as more and more stores shut down.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the Future of Neighborhood Pharmacies?<\/b><\/h2>\n
With so many stores closing, it\u2019s easy to feel like pharmacies are going away for good.<\/p>\n
But experts don\u2019t think that\u2019s the case.<\/p>\n
They believe there\u2019s still a future for pharmacies, but it might look slightly different than what we\u2019re used to.<\/p>\n
Neil Saunders, a retail industry expert, said pharmacies need to \u201crethink how they do business\u201d and focus on what value they can bring to their customers.<\/p>\n
In other words, they need to adapt to the times.<\/p>\n
One idea is for pharmacies to offer more in-store healthcare services, like flu shots, blood pressure checks, or diabetes management.<\/p>\n
CVS has already started adding healthcare clinics to some of its stores, where people can see a doctor or nurse without going to a separate clinic or hospital.<\/p>\n
Pharmacies could also make changes to what they sell.<\/p>\n
Walgreens, for example, is experimenting with selling more Walgreens-branded products and opening smaller stores that cost less to run.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s no doubt they\u2019ll need to get creative if they want to survive in a world where online shopping and big-box stores are making traditional pharmacies less relevant.<\/p>\n
So, What Does This Mean for You?<\/b><\/h2>\n
With CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens closing stores, it may feel like the end of an era, but it doesn\u2019t mean pharmacies are going away for good.<\/p>\n
They are just going through changes as they adapt to new shopping habits, rising costs, and pressures from PBMs.<\/p>\n
If your local pharmacy closes, it\u2019s important to consider your options and find out where else you can get your prescriptions filled.<\/p>\n
You might need to switch to another pharmacy or consider ordering medications online.<\/p>\n
Pharmacies will still be around, but they will look and operate differently in the future.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, it\u2019s worth staying informed about how these changes might affect you and your community.<\/p>\n
The pharmacy model is evolving, and we\u2019ll all have to adjust along with it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you\u2019ve noticed a lot of “closed” signs on your local Walgreens, CVS, or Rite Aid lately, you\u2019re not alone. Over the past few years, these big chains have been shutting down stores left and right. Recently, Walgreens announced they would close 1,200 stores over the next three years. CVS is already in the middle […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":498,"featured_media":172068,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5,7435,374],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-172060","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hoboken","8":"category-jersey-city","9":"category-lifestyle","10":"category-news"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iccwins98.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172060"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iccwins98.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iccwins98.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iccwins98.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/498"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iccwins98.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172060"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/iccwins98.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":172061,"href":"https:\/\/iccwins98.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172060\/revisions\/172061"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iccwins98.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iccwins98.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iccwins98.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iccwins98.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}