How to provide medical care to the pharmacy desert in Tampa Bay

Access to critical healthcare services is a fundamental right, but thousands of Tampa residents face a growing crisis that undermines this concept. This is the rise of the pharmacy desert. With the recent announcement of more than 1,200 remaining stores by Rite Aid to Shutter, bankruptcy marks yet another chapter in the unprecedented wave of pharmacy closures. While some of the closures have been a staple food for local communities, the closures of large chain pharmacies have accelerated at a rate of concern. It currently exceeds 3,300 total nationwide, including hundreds across Tampa and the statewide.

Closures exacerbate the existing healthcare access crisis. A recent industry survey conducted prior to this current wave of closures revealed that 46% of US counties, which comprise more than 48 million people, live in areas considered deserts of pharmacies. Many of these communities lose only local pharmacies, travel long distances to vulnerable patients, navigate unfamiliar systems, or go without essential medication. The shortage of primary care physicians exacerbates this problem in many of these same areas. When pharmacies approach in areas outside of doctors and other health services, they create potentially life-threatening situations for people with chronic illnesses and relying on consistent drug access.

However, amid this urgent reality, online telehealth-enabled pharmacies have emerged as a safe and effective solution to provide critical healthcare services. Unlike brick and mortar pharmacies, licensed digital pharmacy platforms can serve patients that are much more efficient. The ability to receive prescriptions online, to administer medications by pharmacies and deliver them directly to their homes is transformative. This means the ability to manage chronic conditions that are more consistent with fewer missed doses, fewer travel times, and more consistent.

Additionally, digital pharmacies and telehealth platforms offer cost benefits. Low overheads offer drugs at competitive or low prices, sometimes combined with digital tools that can help with refills, guidance and consultations for virtual pharmacists. For older patients, people with disabilities, or individuals without reliable transport, these services are more than just convenience, they are important. Things are getting worse as one in three Americans are already struggling to access affordable and quality medicines before these closures. There is a need to eliminate unnecessary barriers to health care, especially so that traditional pharmacies disappear at an astonishing rate.

The continuous decline in physical pharmacies in the Tampa Bay community only puts many people at risk and widens the ongoing health disparities. However, accepting online telehealth and digital pharmacies as complementary (non-competing) forms of care delivery can narrow and eliminate those gaps. In the digital age, access to medicine should not be linked to geography.

The pharmacy desert is a public health failure. The integrated telehealth and pharmacy platforms will become part of the solution. Pay attention to them, they deserve.

Thomas McKinney is co-founder, CEO and president of Telyrx, a Clearwater-based Telehealth Company.