The National Community Pharmacists Association has released its annual report on the financial state of community pharmacies, with positive findings.
The nation's community pharmacies are faring well despite the economic pressures they face, according to NCPA's report, based on 2007 data and sponsored this year by Cardinal Health.
The report has been published annually for more than 75 years and, according to the NCPA, provides the most comprehensive portrait of the financial state of independent community.
According to Bruce Roberts, NCPA's executive vice president and CEO, this year's Digest, released Monday, revealed that the more than 23,000 community pharmacist NCPA members were able to stabilize their pharmacies and improve profit margins despite challenges imposed by Medicare Part D, Medicaid and other third party reimbursements.
"Diversification is a key component to avoiding the fickle nature of the marketplace, and clearly independent community pharmacies understand that principle," said Roberts. "Not only does it facilitate the ability of these pharmacies to grow and compete in markets that are underserved by other competitors, but the true beneficiaries are the patients who get more of their healthcare needs met when they enter the doors of an independent community pharmacy."
This year's study found pharmacies increased wages for staff pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to help meet the growing demand for qualified pharmacy staff.
According to the NCPA, independent community pharmacies in 2007 represented an $84 billion share of the marketplace, with $78 billion derived from prescription sales alone.
The pharmacies dispensed more than 1.4 billion prescription drugs, with an average generic use rate of 61 percent. Community pharmacies helped to reduce the price of the average prescription drug by almost $4 from last year, the study showed.
"Significantly reducing healthcare costs is a goal independent community pharmacies strive to achieve on a daily basis," said Stephen Giroux, NCPA president and an upstate New York pharmacy owner. "This objective is achieved by driving generic utilization and ensuring patients are taking their medication as prescribed."
The number of independent community pharmacies in operation held steady since last year at 23,318, which comprise 39.4 percent of the nation's retail pharmacies, according to the NCPA. The pharmacies provide a wide array of services to their patients, such as compounding, medication therapy management, pain management and blood pressure management.
"Independent community pharmacies are vital cogs in our healthcare system and the communities they serve," said Giroux. "The Digest numbers demonstrate how community pharmacies remain vibrant contributors to their local economies, especially in underserved rural locations."