Customer service: Pharmacist Lori Eldred, a manager at JR Pharmacy, counts pills on Friday inside Baesler’s. Locally owned pharmacies say they’re seeing an uptick in business due to a staffing shortage that’s hitting national chains especially hard. Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza
Jeremy Heiser has three prescriptions he regularly picked up at a chain pharmacy in Terre Haute, but recently, he decided to transfer those prescriptions to an independently-run operation.
He cited lack of customer service and long drive-thru lines at his former pharmacy, especially with the pandemic and COVID testing. When he tried to call, he got an automated phone system and would be on hold.
“It would take forever to talk to a real person,” he said.
Heiser added, “I don’t know if something has happened since COVID. … It used to be tolerable, but it has become intolerable.”
His experiences are not isolated. Staffing problems at some Terre Haute pharmacies have translated into reduced and sometimes irregular hours, temporary drive-thru shutdowns and delayed prescriptions.
J.R. Pharmacy at Baesler’s has had about 40 prescription transfers in recent weeks from people frustrated with what is happening at the pharmacies they normally frequent, including those associated with national chains.
Pharmacist Lori Eldred, who manages the JR pharmacy at Baesler’s, said those transferring prescriptions to JR cite long waits, perhaps a few days, to pick up new prescriptions/refills as well as an inability to get through to somebody on the phone. They may go to pick up a prescription, and the pharmacy has been closed, she said.
In her opinion, some of the pharmacies that took on COVID testing and vaccinations were “not given appropriate help to deal with the extra work.” Personnel, including pharmacy techs, have increased workloads and responsibilities. In many cases, those staff are overwhelmed and stressed, Eldred said.
“Customers are transferring from the chain pharmacies to JR Pharmacy because of the lack of customer service,” she said.
“People want, need a pharmacist and staff they can talk to right away and they need to be able to get their medications in a timely manner.”
JR Pharmacy has three locations in Terre Haute, one in Rockville and one in Cayuga.
The problem extends statewide and nationally.
“The COVID 19 pandemic has had a huge impact on pharmacy operations,” said Darren Covington, executive vice president of the Indiana Pharmacists Association.
He attributes it to three major factors: the shortage of workers affecting all industries; the added workload caused by the pandemic, including COVID vaccinations and testing; and low reimbursement rates from pharmacy benefits managers, which can affect a pharmacy’s ability to hire additional staff and offer better pay.
Many pharmacies make very little, if any, margin on prescription drugs they dispense, Covington said, an issue that pre-dates COVID.
Those three factors combined “create a perfect storm where you see some of your pharmacies really are struggling to maintain normal hours or to deliver product in the same amount of time they normally did pre-pandemic,” he said.
The national shortage of workers affecting many industries is affecting pharmacies as well. “There really is a pretty critical shortage of people who want to work as pharmacy technicians,” he said.
Also, to a lesser degree, some of the national chains indicate they are having trouble finding people who want to be pharmacy managers, who are registered pharmacists, Covington said.
With the rise of the Delta COVID variant, “It just spiked up the number of people who were coming to the pharmacy to get a vaccine or get tested.” When combined with staff shortages, and all the other regular duties of a pharmacy, that will cause some delay in prescriptions being filled, Covington said.
According to Frank Fortin, of the American Pharmacists Association, “We have received many reports from around the country that pharmacists and other pharmacy personnel are being stretched, and are experiencing added stress during this phase of the pandemic.”
Early last month, the association conducted a nationwide survey of pharmacists, and 41% of respondents cited “staffing support” as one of their biggest challenges in providing COVID-19 vaccinations. Nonetheless, more than eight in 10 (82%) said they were administering the COVID vaccine.
Additionally, the Pharmacy Workforce Center recently reported that there were 11,356 pharmacist job postings nationwide through the third quarter of 2021, compared to 9,901 for the same period in 200, a 13% increase.
The Center also reported 124,547 job postings for pharmacy technicians during the first three quarters of 2021, compared to 106,145 for the same period in 2020, a 15% increase, said Fortin, the national association’s senior vice president for communications, marketing and media relations.
While local JR Pharmancy operations have not been impacted by staffing issues, according to owner Ron Vencel, who also is a pharmacist, a study released in June indicated that independent community pharmacies nationwide are having staffing problems.
In a survey conducted May 26-28, 80% of respondents said they are having a difficult time filling open positions. Nearly 90% of respondents said they can’t find pharmacy technicians, a critical position. Nearly 60% can’t find front-end employees to run the cash register, track inventory, and manage other basic store operations, according to a survey released in June by the National Community Pharmacists Association.
Twenty-five percent can’t find delivery drivers, a big problem now that most local pharmacies expanded that service during the COVID-19 crisis.
“This is a major challenge for community pharmacies that are seeing many more patients because of the pandemic,” said B. Douglas Hoey, pharmacist and NCPA chief executive officer, in a news release. “Finding qualified workers is tough under normal circumstances. This is an acute problem for local pharmacies that should be at full strength now.”
The Tribune-Star contacted corporate offices for Walgreens and CVS for their response to some of the concerns expressed by customers.
Fraser Engerman, a Walgreens external relations senior director, provided the following statement:
“Walgreens continuously reviews staffing levels, as we have throughout the pandemic. In communities where staffing shortages have impacted our stores, we have adjusted continuity plans with the goal of creating minimal disruption to our customers and patients. We apologize for any inconvenience and disruption this has created.”
In instances where a local Walgreens store may have temporarily adjusted hours, the store team “will direct customers, as appropriate, to the nearest Walgreens for their prescription needs, care and support, to help ensure continuity for our patients,” the statement said.
If a store has a temporarily adjusted hours, it is reflected on the store locator, which is updated throughout the day at Walgreens.com/FindaStore and on the Walgreens mobile app. Customers who have questions about their medications can also talk to a Walgreens pharmacist using the Pharmacist Video Chat feature available 24/7 on Walgreens mobile app and website.
A representative of CVS at the corporate level provided a statement that read in part, “We continue to meet the demand for COVID-19 testing and vaccinations ... With flu cases expected to increase this fall and COVID-19 services still in high demand, we’ve embarked on a nationwide hiring push so we can continue to serve the health care needs of our communities.”
The CVS statement continued, “As part of the regular course of business, we periodically review operating hours to make sure that we’re open during peak customer demand. From time to time, this may result in a shift in store hours. By increasing or reducing hours, we ensure that our teams are available to serve customers when they’re most needed. In the event that a pharmacy’s adjusted hours are inconvenient, a patient can visit any open CVS Pharmacy location for assistance with their immediate prescription needs. Hours are immediately updated via our telephone systems and are also visible online.”
Covington, of the Indiana Pharmacists Association, said people tend to think of doctors, nurses and hospital staff as those burned out and stressed out by the pandemic. “Your pharmacists are very burned out as well, most likely,” he said.
He urges the public, and pharmacy customers, to show their appreciation to pharmacists and pharmacy staff; October is American Pharmacists Month.
“They are also very much overwhelmed by what is going on in the pandemic ... they are trying their best to serve their patients, given all the restraints they have,” Covington said.
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