On the Rite Aid closures: A Letter from Dean Deanna Kroetz

Dear Pharmacy Buckeyes and friends, 

I am heartbroken to hear about the Rite Aid closures, most of which were in Ohio and Michigan, and their impact on pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and patients’ access to care in the affected regions. Even more upsetting is that many of the closures are in rural areas where there are now no or a very limited number of pharmacies. On top of this, Walgreens recently announced that it plans to close a significant number of stores across the country. 

These closures are yet another example of the significant impact that the inappropriate reimbursement models used by many Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM) are having on patient access to pharmacist-provided care in our state and beyond. 

We are working diligently to foster sustainable community pharmacy business models through advocacy to reform PBM practices and the development of direct patient care service business models in our faculty and residency sites. The college partners with the Ohio Pharmacists Association (OPA) and the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) in our efforts. Specifically, we are collaborating with these partners and others at the state and national levels to improve workplace conditions for pharmacists. We are also advocating to improve and stabilize reimbursement for medication dispensing and increase the level of care, aligned with training, that pharmacists can provide to increase patients’ access to pharmacist-provided care. 

For our alumni who have been affected by these closings, we are here for you. Please email our Office of Alumni Affairs at pharmacyalumni@osu.edu if you would like help networking with other Pharmacy Buckeyes. In the coming weeks, several faculty members will record and release a mini-series of webinars covering topics such as re-entering the pharmacy job market, creating a LinkedIn profile and more. Please keep an eye out for these and other resources in our monthly email newsletter, eNews. The university also has career services for alumni, including on-demand videos, digital downloads and more, which can be accessed here. 

Whether you are a practicing pharmacist, student, faculty or staff member, or researcher, these closures impact the communities we live in and serve. Patients are at the center of everything we do as health care professionals, and we are committed to doing everything we can as pharmacists to ensure safe and effective medication use and access to pharmacist-provided care. 

Read OPA’s letter on the impact PBMs continue to have on pharmacies across the country. 

Sincerely,

Deanna L. Kroetz, PhD, BS Pharm '85
Dean and Professor
The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy