The Plight of the Community Pharmacy

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In March of this year, I wrote a heartfelt article on LinkedIn titled,  “We Brought This on Ourselves”.  I aimed to push forth awareness about how local, independent, community pharmacies are being harmed by the healthcare industrial complex.  I also desired to shine a light on some of the clinical strategies you’ll find inherent in community pharmacy that are absent in the big box, retail pharmacy giants. 

I used myself as the guinea pig in a successful, virtual care program I enrolled in through my client, Moose Pharmacy.  It’s where I give back-door access to my Freestyle Libre 3 to my clinical pharmacist at Moose Pharmacy.  We recorded a video about the LibreView tool and showed exactly how impactful that is for patients struggling to control their blood sugar levels.  Read that LinkedIn article for more on that awesome and FREE nationwide program.

Since then, Joe Moose and I were invited to present a program at Health Benefits Nation which was held this year in Nashville, TN from September 8-10.

Figure 2:  Marketing for Cristy Gupton/Joe Moose presentation at Health Benefits Nation Conference

While our program wasn’t recorded, the subject matter really hovered around the fact that local, community pharmacies are the building blocks of community-owned health plans, a subject near and dear to the Health Rosetta faithful.  In our talk, we shared a sobering statistic.  The National Community Pharmacists Association estimates one community pharmacy closes (for good) each day.

Sending prescriptions to a local pharmacy, likely within walking distance of your clinic, is a smart, community-minded move; but it’s also fiscally sound.  I know everyone is amazed at the way Mark Cuban is pushing a positive agenda from a nationwide stage.  But, did you know that community pharmacies have been doing “cost plus” for over a hundred years?  We owe it to our community partners to stand with them, arm-in-arm, as they fight for survival.

Here’s a few things to remember:

  1. The big PBMs have enough money.  Let’s not feed that beast if we can help it.
  2. Your local, independent, community pharmacy would be the ones to sponsor your local little league team…not OptumRx, Express Scripts or CVS/Caremark.
  3. The employers you might be working with desperately need better, more affordable Rx solutions.  Yes, you may be doing some mild dispensing in your clinic…but you still need a friend in pharmacy when it comes to employer-sponsored prescription drug benefit plans.

Here’s the good news for DPC – The community pharmacist down the street can be a local champion of your DPC.  They’ll usually put your marketing materials in their store and refer patients to you often.

Here’s a call to action for you – Remember the RxDC reporting I told you about in my first DPC News article?  If you’re successful in gathering that data, your community pharmacist colleague will be an integral part of crafting a solution to help lower prescription drug cost for that employer.  I can help you both with this.

Here’s something you can use – To learn more about RxDC reporting, request this short, clickable flyer I created to help break down the moving parts.  Simply send an email to [email protected] and I’ll reply with the .pdf version.

Figure 3:  Picture of Compliance Bulletin for RxDC Reporting written by Cristy Gupton

Well, that’s probably enough for now.  Until next time, stay healthy y’all!

About Cristy Gupton

A nationally recognized employee benefits advisor, Cristy Gupton has endeavored to solve healthcare challenges for employers since 1998.  Cristy has been named twice to Employee Benefits Advisor Magazine's Top 20 Women in Benefits Advising list.   In 2017, Cristy was credentialed by the Health Rosetta and Mitigate Partners, groups of the nation's leading healthcare consultants who provide transparent, employer-built health plans with direct primary care at the foundation.  Cristy has a BS in Public Health from UNC-Chapel Hill, a MS in Health Benefits Design and Health Informatics from University of Lynchburg and a designation of Global Financial Steward from Wake Forest University’s Center for Board Certified Fiduciaries. Other highlights: Spokesperson of the Free Market Medical Association, Carolinas Chapter Contributor to Industry Publications like BenefitsPro Magazine, Physician’s Outlook Magazine and DPC News Speaker at Wingate University’s Engaged Citizen’s Series, VAHU, SIIA, DPC Summit, Health Rosetta Summit (now called RosettaFest), Free Market Medical Association, BenefitsPro etc. Creator of Healthcare Smartypants, an employee education series meant to help employees become smarter consumers of healthcare. Creator of Sunlight Health Plans, a self-funded plan design for employers who embrace Direct Primary Care Cristy also serves her community and fellow citizens through organizations like Scouting America, and her local chapter of Rotary International.