CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid are closing stores across the U.S. Here’s how 'pharmacy deserts' can impact your health.

The national pharmacy chain Rite Aid has filed for bankruptcy in an attempt to close unprofitable stores and deal with debt of about $4 billion. The company said in court filings that it plans to shutter an unspecified number of stores across 17 states.

But Rite Aid is far from the only major pharmacy chain facing closures. Walgreens and CVS have collectively closed more than 1,000 stores across the country since 2018. Independent pharmacies are also struggling to stay afloat: The number of these stores dropped by 50% from 1980 to 2022, according to a report from McKinsey.

This trend has been happening for years: Nearly 1 out of every 8 pharmacies closed between 2009 and 2015, according to a JAMA Internal Medicine study.

What do all these closures mean for people who depend on these pharmacies, and what options do you have if your local pharmacy closes? Doctors break it down.

How does less access to pharmacies impact health?

When pharmacies close, it can create so-called pharmacy deserts — areas where residents live at least 10 miles from the nearest pharmacy. "That leaves an empty hole for a lot of people — and that can impact access to vaccines and needed medications," Dr. David Holmes tells Yahoo Life. He is a clinical associate professor of family medicine and director of global health education at the University at Buffalo.

Stephen Crystal, director of the Rutgers Center for Health Services Research, agrees, telling Yahoo Life: "Problems with pharmacy access can definitely affect health, especially when the pharmacies are in underserved areas — including both rural areas and underserved inner-city areas." He's particularly concerned about gaps in people having access to their antiretroviral medications. "Gaps in use can cause the development of resistant viruses, such as antiviral-resistant HIV viruses among those with HIV," he says. "Other medications of special concern include medications for opioid use disorder, since individuals may relapse to illicit drug use when their prescriptions are not filled in a timely way."

Pharmacy closures can affect both long-term and short-term health. Dr. Utibe R. Essien is an assistant professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He tells Yahoo Life: "If someone has insurance and health care providers, but literally can't pick up their medication, study after study has shown that results in poor adherence and, ultimately, poor health outcomes." People will often try to space out their medications, have large gaps in taking them or won't take them at all, and that can have serious consequences, Essien says.

For short-term illnesses like the flu, COVID-19 and bacterial infections, "patients can't sit around and wait for some of these medications," Essien says. Crystal agrees. "Delays for medications like antibiotics can be a serious problem, since infections can rapidly get out of control," he says. Failure to get medications in time raises the risk that patients could expose others or that they'll have to stay home from work longer than usual, Essien says. "Jobs can be at risk because of this," he adds.

The remaining pharmacies often struggle to keep up with increased demand when their counterparts close — and that can impact health for even more people, Jamie Alan, an associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Michigan State University, tells Yahoo Life. "The pharmacies left will be completely overwhelmed," she says. "Pharmacies have been doing increasing volumes with an incredibly small staff in order for companies to make more profit. This is very dangerous and can result in serious errors."

Who is impacted the most?

While experts say everyone can be affected by pharmacy deserts, a few groups are affected more than others. Research has found that pharmacies at the greatest risk of closing are those with larger customer bases on public insurance, which doesn't reimburse pharmacies as much as private health plans.

"This tends to have a significant impact on underserved, underrepresented and rural communities," Essien says.

This can also be "tricky" for older adults who may be less internet-savvy and therefore struggle to use online prescription delivery services or even to find a new pharmacy, Alan says. "Phone wait times are already incredibly long — if you can even get through on the phone — and pharmacies will also be busier," she says.

What to do if your local pharmacy closes

One option is to use a mail-order pharmacy for long-term medications, Alan says. "Some pharmacies will also mail prescriptions and/or have a delivery service," she adds, but this requires some investigation on your part to see if one near you will do this.

Grocery stores and big-box retailers often have pharmacies you can visit, too, Crystal says. "They're usually less accessible than the Rite Aids and CVSes, though," he says.

Essien recommends talking to your prescribing doctor, who may have insight into the best place near you to get the medication you need. Ultimately, though, experts agree that pharmacy closures aren't great for overall health. "Having access to lifesaving medications is incredibly critical," Essien says.