SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3)—Pharmacies across the Show-Me-State are closing, creating a widening gap in access to essential medications.

Pharmacies across the U.S. are closing their doors, and Missourians are already feeling the impact.

“People get frustrated and, you know, they don’t understand what’s going on behind the counter, and it takes a lot out of you and creates some burnout,” said Erica Mahn, a pharmacist at Alps Pharmacy in Springfield.

He warns that the future of the profession is at risk and if this trend continues the Pharmacist shortage will worsen over the next few years.

“Pharmacy schools are seeing declining enrollment, and I think a lot of that has to do with COVID, and with all the times and events we’ve seen during COVID, pharmacists have had to take a lot on their shoulders….”

Because of the problem, many pharmacies in the Ozarks are closing early or shortening their weekly hours. Some even close on weekends.

“There were no pharmacists in many of the stores down the street for the last three days. So they were closed. So I have frustrated patients here at our counter trying to figure out how to take their medications.

But this is not the only problem. Another southwest Missouri pharmacist says middlemen are “killing community pharmacies.”

One problem is that pharmacy benefit managers force small business owners to buy drugs at prices far higher than any reimbursement. This means the pharmacy loses money when you buy the medicine from them.

The latest example of a business closing is Evans Pharmacy. Citizens Memorial Hospital recently acquired two Evan Pharmacy locations in Bolivar and Buffalo. The Bolivar location will close on November 26. Patient prescriptions will be transferred to Stephens Pharmacy at Citizens Memorial.

“We want to continue to retain the customers served by the Bolivar community in Evans. We don’t want them to have to go somewhere else. “We want to continue providing them with these types of services.”

The University of Pittsburgh tracks pharmacy closings and shows 40 pharmacies have closed in the Springfield area in the last 10 years.

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