{"id":6725,"date":"2019-10-31T17:08:39","date_gmt":"2019-10-31T21:08:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/?p=6725"},"modified":"2024-09-04T08:42:39","modified_gmt":"2024-09-04T12:42:39","slug":"pharmacy-shuts-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/pharmacy-shuts-down\/","title":{"rendered":"What happens to your medications if your pharmacy shuts down?"},"content":{"rendered":"

We all know that feeling when your favorite local spot shuts down. Whether it\u2019s a restaurant, a clothing store, or a Blockbuster that shutters, it\u2019s disorienting when going there is part of your routine. And it feels even more jarring when it\u2019s a pharmacy that closes its doors. In addition to having familiar faces, your pharmacy provided you with medication and advice, which are crucial parts of staying healthy.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Whether it\u2019s a smaller, locally-run drugstore or a bigger chain pharmacy that closes, it\u2019s upsetting to lose your favorite store. And it\u2019s not uncommon. Recently, Raley\u2019s Supermarkets, a family-owned grocery chain based in Sacramento, California, announced it will <\/span>close 27 of its in-store pharmacies<\/span><\/a> located throughout California and Nevada. And unfortunately it seems that pharmacy closures are on the rise. (A <\/span>study<\/span><\/a> published in <\/span>JAMA Internal Medicine <\/span><\/i>found that between 2009 and 2015, one in eight pharmacies had closed.)<\/span><\/p>\n

If your pharmacy is among the closures, here\u2019s what you need to know.<\/span><\/p>\n

How a pharmacy closure impacts you<\/b><\/h2>\n

First things first: your prescription. When a pharmacy closes, it usually sells its patient files (prescription records) to another pharmacy, according to <\/span>Mike Swanoski, Pharm.D.<\/span><\/a>, senior associate dean at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy. You\u2019ll get a notification from your pharmacy that it\u2019s shutting down, that your prescriptions are being transferred, and to what pharmacy\u2014but how much advance warning you get is up to each individual state.<\/span><\/p>\n

When your prescriptions are transferred to a pharmacy <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> of your choosing, the new location may be further from your home, or the pharmacy staff may not be as helpful as what you\u2019re accustomed to. And that can be more than just inconvenient. A <\/span>study<\/span><\/a> from earlier this year found that when older adults taking statins (to treat high cholesterol) or beta blockers (to help lower blood pressure) had their pharmacies close, they had a \u201cclinically significant\u201d decline in medication adherence.\u00a0Make sure that you\u2019re putting your health first and taking proper steps to ensure you stay healthy.<\/span><\/p>\n

What should you do if your pharmacy closes?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Just because your prescriptions are being moved from one pharmacy to another doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019ve lost control over where they\u2019re ultimately filled. Dr. Swanoski has these tips:<\/span><\/p>\n

Shop around<\/b><\/h3>\n

Visit some pharmacies in your area, and take note of these factors:<\/span><\/p>\n