Independent pharmacy owners generally have more flexibility to build personalized customer relationships and they strive to differentiate their services from big-chain corporations.
[3] The number of independent pharmacies has been steadily declining over recent years[4] due to the difficulty of competing with large chain corporations.
Large chains have the advantage of a vastly greater reach and an abundance of resources, and sometimes independent pharmacies cannot keep up with the level of production.
There are also a variety of independent pharmacy associations, at state and national levels, that unify pharmacists so they can educate each other on how to move forward most efficiently.
Joining these organizations and attending trade shows is a great way for pharmacists to get involved in the movement and constantly innovate their own pharmacies.
Independent pharmacists provide diabetes care and management to help patients achieve therapeutic and lifestyle goals.
Some independent pharmacists provide patients with diabetes self-management education/training (DSME/T) that teaches patients to adhere to the standards of care including, but not limited to, healthy diet, physical exercise, medication, self-monitoring, healthy coping and behavior change, and reducing risks (i.e. diabetic foot care).
They also provide many specialty services for seniors such as nutrition assessment and support, intravenous therapy, durable medical equipment, ostomy, and pain management.
Readers who responded to a survey expressed their highest satisfaction rate (94%) regarding their experiences at a neighborhood independent pharmacy, based on pharmacists’ knowledge about drugs and other products, helpfulness and courtesy, speed, accuracy, and personal service.
In addition, at independent pharmacies patients were twice as likely as at chain drugstores to encounter pharmacists who were easy to talk to and provided one-on-one consultations.
A study conducted by the RUPRI Center for Health Policy Analysis and the North Carolina Rural Health Research & Policy Analysis Center found that 91% of all sole community pharmacies are located in rural communities and that 22% are located more than 20 miles from the next closest retail pharmacy.