Guest Author
In communities across the country, rural independent pharmacies are a crucial source of health care, helping to ensure their neighbors have access to the best treatments, medications and cures possible. Usually, pharmacists aren’t just dispensing medications; they are building trusted relationships with their community, counseling them on their health issues, and ensuring they can manage their conditions and live better lives.
As the Executive Director of the U.S. Rural Health Network, I am committed to working alongside these businesses to ensure that rural communities have the care they need. However, it can often seem like a monumental task, especially given the challenges many independent pharmacists face today.
Due to lower reimbursement rates and increasing staff burnout, it’s becoming more difficult for independent pharmacies to keep their doors open. Additionally, the aggressive tactics of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are placing further financial pressure on these pharmacies.
When these small pharmacies shut down, the impact on the communities they serve can be immense, with the hardest-hit areas becoming known as “pharmacy deserts.” In these pharmacy deserts, patients often must drive long distances to the closest pharmacy, making it much more challenging for Floridians, especially those in rural areas, to receive their needed medications. A recent report from The Associated Press identifies several such areas in our state, primarily situated in Northwest Florida and the Northern panhandle.
For those tackling this issue, the question arises: Who holds the key to fixing it — lawmakers or the pharmacies themselves? The truth is, it’s a combination of both. While state and federal regulations can help ease the burden on independent pharmacies, one of their strongest sources of support isn’t found in Tallahassee or Washington but rather through their partnerships with Pharmacy Services Administrative Organizations (PSAOs).
PSAOs provide crucial business support for independent pharmacies, whether it’s tracking their performance, assisting with compliance procedures, or communicating and negotiating with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and other payers. While their diverse array of functions may not be on the front lines of the pharmacy industry, they ensure that pharmacists don’t waste their time with tiresome administrative paperwork and instead focus all of their energy on the health of their business and the communities they serve.
However, perhaps most importantly, these PSAOs are a critical resource in the ongoing fight for survival of countless independent pharmacies. While they don’t have a role in the prices patients pay at the pharmacy or the money pharmacies make off a prescription, they are working on behalf of independent pharmacies every day and serve as their greatest ally in an increasingly competitive and cutthroat health care marketplace.
Hopefully, we will begin to recognize and appreciate the value of these partnerships so that everyone in Florida can access the health care they deserve – regardless of your ZIP code.
___
Cheryl Elias is the executive director of the U.S. Rural Health Network.
