Michigan Walgreens customers worry about store closures
(CBS DETROIT) — The pharmacy industry has suffered yet another setback: first, Rite Aid, now Walgreens. The latest closure announcement is creating issues for customers and even the pharmacy job market.
For Walgreens customers like Kristin Ketzler, the worry goes through her mind when she thinks of having to move pharmacies.
Ketzler has chosen Walgreens for decades when it comes to receiving her medicine.
While the company didn't specify which stores would close, this raises the question of whether she should switch her prescriptions now.
"I wouldn't go to the Telehealth because you have to worry whether or not it's going to get delivered to the correct address or whether shipping is getting delayed," she told CBS News Detroit.
While Telehealth operations like Amazon and GoodRx seem to thrive, the drugstore chains are falling downward.
"They built those drug stores expecting 10K-15K a day over the counter, which hasn't happened in a long time," Dr. Mohammad Sohobah, CEO of PharMor Pharmacy.
Sohobah owns over 20 pharmacies in Michigan. He says he isn't too worried about the metro area's difficult access to medicine, but he is concerned about the rural ones.
"Smaller towns and villages all over us. I know in Michigan there's at least 10 villages in Michigan that only have a Rite Aid; that's their only pharmacy provider," he said.
According to Sohobah, the pharmacy industry is in a bit of a crisis because, without pharmacies, there's a declining need for pharmacists. With hundreds of closures – that means hundreds out of work.
"That effect is there 100%. There are at least 200-300 pharmacists in Michigan who would love to get a full-time job today," he said.
Ketzler says she likes the proximity of her store, but with potential closures, she's unsure how far she'd be willing to go.
"That leaves CVS or some of the chain stores like Target, and Meijer," Ketzler said.
Walgreens didn't announce a specific number of store closures. The company says it'll focus on stores that aren't profitable, too close to each other, or stores struggling with shoplifting losses.