Modern Pharmacy Management: Challenges & Innovations
Major pharmacy chains like CVS and Walgreens are expanding essential healthcare services while battling employee burnout, mirroring challenges across the healthcare sector.
The CDC has recommended third shots of Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for all adults over 18, with children 5-11 also receiving vaccinations primarily at local pharmacies.
CVS Health recently announced a strategic shift toward healthcare services like vaccinations and screening tests, closing some underperforming retail locations. Walgreens is similarly investing in primary care clinics within its stores.
The pandemic has demonstrated both the potential and challenges of retail pharmacies in meeting routine healthcare needs.
Pharmacies have become a convenient vaccination option, as noted by a Florida patient who chose Walgreens for her flu shot due to accessible parking and difficulty scheduling with doctors.
However, many locations struggle with overwhelmed staff balancing drive-through COVID testing, phone inquiries, and prescription fulfillment simultaneously.
Veronica Vernon, a pharmacy practice professor at Butler University, confirms nationwide staffing shortages as service demands increase: "Pharmacists and technicians are feeling the burnout from working through a pandemic."
While CVS hired 25,000 new employees in September, the industry faces a shrinking talent pipeline with declining pharmacy program enrollments and competition from less stressful mail-order operations like Amazon.
Robert Field, a Drexel University health management professor, notes that expanded services will require more billing capacity, medical record management, and private spaces: "People won't be comfortable changing for exams near shoppers buying Tylenol."
Ironically, reduced retail space may become viable as more consumers purchase basic healthcare products online.
