AKRON, Ohio – Last week, the CVS Pharmacy on Copley Road in Akron closed its doors. Across the street, the Walgreens had already shuttered last summer.

For local residents like Freddie McCall, this means the nearest pharmacy is now about 2.5 miles away. "It's going to be a big hardship for the people on the west side," McCall said. "It's a shame to see both of them go."

As pharmacies disappear, neighborhoods in Akron are facing what experts call a "pharmacy desert." A pharmacy desert is defined as an urban area where residents have to travel at least one mile to reach a pharmacy, or a rural area where there isn't a pharmacy within 10 miles.

Worsening Pharmacy Closure Problem

According to a 2024 report by the Ohio Board of Pharmacy, 191 pharmacies have closed across the state. Over the past 12 years, there has been a net decrease of 330 chain pharmacies.

Last year, News 5 reported on research from The Ohio State University regarding the increase in pharmacy deserts. The study indicated that the disappearance of pharmacies can worsen the overall health of a community, potentially leading many to stop taking prescription medications for chronic conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure.

"When a pharmacy leaves a particular area, it represents a loss of critical healthcare services," Dr. Timothy Pawlik, chair of surgery at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, said last year. "We're seeing a consolidation of the market taking place."

This issue of pharmacy closures isn't limited to a specific political party, large cities, or small towns.

Belford Bowman, who lives in Wayne County, drives about 10 miles from his home to the Discount Drug Mart in Rittman to get the medications he needs. It's a distance, but for now, it's manageable.

Bowman has been a customer of this pharmacy for years, mainly because there aren't many other options. The CVS in Rittman closed last December. "I've seen a lot of pharmacies close down," Bowman said.

Steve Ferris, director of government and public affairs for Discount Drug Mart, which manages 79 pharmacies primarily in Northeast Ohio, said, "If this pharmacy in Rittman wasn't here, this would be a pharmacy desert." He added, "We're seeing more and more pharmacy deserts pop up throughout Ohio, and it's a significant concern."

Newly released data visualizations from the Ohio Board of Pharmacy illustrate the scarcity of pharmacies across the state and the growing trend of areas without pharmacy access.

According to the data, Rite Aid has drastically reduced its presence from 208 locations to just four in less than two years. CVS and Walgreens have also closed dozens of stores statewide.

"We've heard anecdotally about pharmacy closures over the last several years, but we didn't know exactly how many," said Cameron McNamee of the Ohio Board of Pharmacy. "We think having this data visualization tool will help not only us but also policymakers understand the landscape and utilize it to help the entire state."

Experts attribute these closures to factors such as the rise in online prescription orders and the influence of pharmaceutical intermediaries like pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which put pressure on the profits of brick-and-mortar pharmacies.

Increased Burden on Remaining Pharmacies

As pharmacies close, the remaining ones face increased demand. In Rittman, the Discount Drug Mart where Bowman regularly goes has seen a 25% increase in prescription volume since competing pharmacies closed – and that's on the lower end of the increases the chain is experiencing.

"We've had to increase staffing, we've had to extend hours in our pharmacies to handle the increased prescription volume due to closures," Ferris explained. "In some areas, we've seen prescription volume increase anywhere from 30% to as high as 115%."

The Solution? Ohio Pushes for Telepharmacies

For those who don't want to receive their medications online, a new approach is being explored to bring back face-to-face consultations: telepharmacies.

With telepharmacies, patients still visit a physical location, but they consult with a pharmacy technician or intern in person, while the pharmacist conducts consultations via video conference – similar to telemedicine.

"The pharmacist is not physically on-site, but they are remotely supervising and managing the entire operation," McNamee explained. "It's fairly common in some of the western states like Montana, where they have difficulty staffing traditional retail pharmacies, but the pharmacy services are still needed."

A new law allows for the establishment of telepharmacies in rural areas where there isn't a pharmacy within 10 miles.

"We're trying to fill in those gaps by allowing for smaller pharmacies to be set up in pharmacy desert areas," McNamee added.

He anticipates that it will take time to establish the regulations for telepharmacies and doesn't expect any to open before the end of the year.