Intermountain Healthcare prepares to close many of its retail pharmacies next month, moving most of its stock and prescriptions to CVS Pharmacy. The Salt Lake City-based health system revealed last week that it will close all however one of its 26 retail drug stores, pointing out low usage.
It will keep one retail drug store open at Primary Childrens Hospital. The modification will not affect Intermountains health center drug stores, and it will continue to provide house delivery and specialized drug store services.
About 250 workers will be affected by the modification, according to Intermountains media relations director, Daron Cowley. They will have the alternative to shift to other roles at Intermountain, and will also be considered for positions at local CVS Pharmacy locations, he wrote in an email.
Each areas drug store files will be shifted to a neighboring retail pharmacy. Patients will receive a letter describing the drug store closure, prescription transfer procedure and information about who to contact for questions, according to Intermountain.
” Every effort will be made to ensure clients and employees are well looked after throughout this transition,” Intermountains COO of Shared Clinical Services, Nannette Berensen, said in a news release.
Its a symptom of the broader consolidation among retail pharmacy chains. CVS stays the largest, with more than 9,900 areas. It and rival Walgreens anticipate to see an increase in clients, in part as a result of the pandemic. As individuals entered into their stores to get immunized, a few of them moved their prescriptions.
Picture credit: CVS Health