The Growing Crisis of Pharmacy Deserts: A New Metric and a Call to Action

Tune in as we discuss a growing challenge in healthcare access: pharmacy deserts. These are areas where access to essential pharmacy services is limited, impacting millions of Americans. We explore different ways these deserts are defined, from traditional distance rules to a new travel time metric used by Yale researchers, who estimated 17.7% of the U.S. population lives in one.

Discover how pharmacy deserts disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, including those with low income or education, minorities, and individuals with disabilities. Learn about the severe consequences for patients, such as being more likely to miss necessary medications and losing access to vital healthcare services beyond prescriptions, like vaccinations and health screenings. A major driver? Widespread pharmacy closures, largely due to an unsustainable business model heavily influenced by Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). We detail how PBM practices like conflicts of interest, unfair reimbursement rates, and exclusionary networks are squeezing independent pharmacies out of business.

Finally, we touch upon potential solutions to address this critical issue.

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• Pharmacy deserts are growing areas with limited access to essential pharmacy services, defined by different metrics like distance or travel time, and are estimated to affect millions of Americans.

• These underserved areas disproportionately impact vulnerable populations and lead to serious consequences for patients, such as missing necessary medications and losing access to vital services like vaccinations and health screenings.

• The increase in pharmacy deserts is primarily driven by pharmacy closures, which are heavily influenced by an unsustainable business model shaped by PBMs whose practices (like conflicts of interest and unfair reimbursement rates) are cited as major factors forcing independent pharmacies out of business.