Inman, South Carolina – From prescription drugs to milkshakes, Kempson Rexall Drug Store has been a staple among the small crowd of Inman, South Carolina since 1905. The then medical institution is located 30 minutes away, so in the population clinical occasion, most of the city’s 3200 citizens constantly call here first.
“This store means a lot to this community,” said owner and pharmacist Marian McElveen. “Our customers are extremely loyal. They love us. They love the personal experience they get, the attention they get.”
Although many like independent drug storesIt wants a ray of hope.
Across the US, fewer than 7,000 pharmacies have closed since 2019, The Associated Press reportedLearning from Pittsburgh College. Among them, there have been free pharmacies to some extent.
“We’re going to have to make some adjustments, make some changes. We’re going to have to cut back on some hours, just do whatever we can to survive and keep the doors open,” McElveen said. ,
Even big pharmacy chains are not free from this. WalgreensFor example, according to the company, it lost $8 billion in the last fiscal year.
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“When you think about the thousands of pharmacies closing in rural communities, you’re all losing access to health care,” Trudell said.
At the drugstore, behind McElveen’s collection, profit margins have fallen to between 3% and 5%.
“Especially the expensive brand-name medications, we fill them and may not be reimbursed even at our cost for those medications,” McElveen said.
The National Public Pharmacists Association predicts that some free drugstore prices will be the same as Life’s average in 2024.
McElwain said, “It’s sad to me that that part of America, that part of the business, will be gone. We will not give up. We will be in this for the long haul.”
