This year's National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) Foundation 2007 Chain Pharmacy Industry Profile illustrates the large role that community pharmacy plays in America's health care system, and the importance of ensuring that all patients have access to pharmacy services and prescription medications.

"Pharmacists continue to be the first line of healthcare," said NACDS President and CEO, Steven C. Anderson, IOM, CAE. "In the United States, on average, there is a pharmacy within 2.36 miles of any resident. With options such as drive-thrus and 24-hour availability, pharmacists are the most accessible and the most convenient of all health care providers."

In 2006, the pharmacy industry had more than $716 billion in sales and dispensed over 3.4 billion prescriptions in the United States - of these prescriptions 72 percent (2.4 billion) were dispensed by the 56,000 retail chain drug pharmacies across the country.

However, pharmacists not only provide patients with medications, but also offer counseling to patients regarding drug interactions, generic equivalents, and managing medication therapy. Low-income patients especially rely on their pharmacists, but their access to prescription drugs could soon be threatened.

The Profile indicates that when compared to patients paying by cash or other third party, Medicaid patients have the highest average of prescriptions filled per year. A recent ruling by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) would impose deep payment cuts on pharmacists for generic drugs dispensed to Medicaid beneficiaries. If unaddressed, at the very least, pharmacies reimbursed by Medicaid at more than one-third below cost for some generic products could find it impossible to continue to purchase, stock, and dispense those drugs in low-income communities where Medicaid sales are a large percentage of the business.

In addition, the rushed October 1 implementation date of tamper-resistant prescription pads for all Medicaid prescriptions could prevent these low-income patients from accessing their medications.

Both of these issues would impact the large number of Medicaid beneficiaries who obtain their prescription medications from community pharmacy. NACDS is urging policy makers to pass legislation that would lessen the financial impact on pharmacies, as well as push back the implementation date to allow doctors more time for proper preparation and adherence of the requirement.

"It would be a tremendous mistake to allow any policy that limits the availability of community pharmacy services that reduce health care costs and improve patient outcomes by fostering medication adherence and providing other services as health care providers," said Anderson.

Another priority issue is ensuring that prescription medication benefits and other health care services are provided to more than 9 million active duty military, retirees and their dependents through the Department of Defense's (DoD) TRICARE program. Data reveals that 51.7 million TRICARE prescriptions were dispensed by retail pharmacies, compared with 6.7 million filled by the TRICARE Mail Order Pharmacy. The 2007 Profile further reinforced the importance of retail community pharmacy finding that 73 percent of patients prefer to fill and refill prescriptions at an actual community pharmacy store, instead of alternate methods.

NACDS believes that TRICARE beneficiaries should be able to choose the method they prefer to obtain their prescription medications, just like Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, other federal employees and enrollees in most commercial health plans.

The pharmacist's role has evolved to become more inclusive of patients' health care needs as a whole. Research indicates that pharmacists are widely considered one of the most trusted health care professionals in the nation. Integrity ratings revealed that pharmacists are the second most highly regarded health care profession at 73 percent - the highest rating for pharmacists in 25 years.

"NACDS educates lawmakers and government officials about the important value that community retail pharmacies bring to the health care delivery system every day," stated Anderson. "The Chain Pharmacy Industry Profile is a critical tool that assists in articulating our legislative positions on key pharmacy issues."

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