Pino: Pharmacy Closures Are a Prescription for Catastrophe

As national retail pharmacy chains collectively shutter thousands of locations nationwide, a Long Island Business News op-ed by NYITCOM Associate Professor Maria Pino, Ph.D., explains the potential impact on Long Island, where more than a dozen Rite Aid stores have already disappeared. Pino contends that the region could become a pharmacy desert, an area lacking convenient access to a pharmacy, which will make it harder for patients to obtain necessary medications and preventative vaccines.

“If you think a pharmacy desert could never happen here, think again,” says Pino, who is also a licensed New York State pharmacist. “One population we must consider is the elderly, a group that accounts for up to 30 percent of prescription medications in the United States. Driving farther to access their prescriptions is not an option for many of these individuals, who are also at higher risk for adverse reactions, drug interactions, and medication errors. In addition, patients with mental health conditions may struggle. If unable to adhere to their treatment plans, they could face suicide, unemployment, and homelessness.”

She also cites public health implications, such as the increased spread of transmissible diseases like COVID-19 and influenza; the impact on taxpayers, whose dollars would fund rising Medicare and Medicaid costs; and financial losses incurred by businesses, which stand to become less productive and less profitable as workers use more sick time and disability.