Independent pharmacies are being squeezed out by insurance companies mandating going to a chain (that the insurance co may even hold a stake in) for their meds, or by going mail order and having decisions made at the other end of that line that they have no idea of or control over.
Today a customer of ours who has, or I should say 'had' been doing business with us for 25 years told my boss today he is gonna change Pharmacies. Why? It's not because he's not happy with our service; in fact he told us he's really happy with us...BUT... he's basically being forced to. The man brought in papers that his insurance company sent him outlining the savings he would get by going to a BIG retail chain pharmacy instead of an independent Pharmacy. It was almost a $50 dollar savings... hell, I can't even blame him. But here's what I don't understand: why can't the Pharmacy I work at offer him the same price? why are we being shoved aside so the already big guy can make even more profit off the little guy?
My parents weren't given a choice they had to go mail order or were told they would just have to pay cash for their medicine. That's what most of our customers complain about; they like being able to see who fills their medicine. They like being able to talk to a human when they have questions that they need answered.
This leads me to my question tonight...