MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Parts of Montgomery’s north side are defined by what it lost: restaurants, grocery stores and a convenient pharmacy, the latter closed five years ago.
People who still live in the historically black neighborhood of Newtown, like Sharon Harris, are frustrated. She goes to a different location than the same pharmacy chainwhich is six kilometers from his home.
“You have to come back sometimes,” she said, “and then they wait so long to fill the prescription.”
In US cities, large retail pharmacies have closed hundreds of stores in recent years and independents are not always able to remain open. This could leave Black residents without easy access to a company that provides not only prescriptions but also critical public health services such as vaccines, over-the-counter medicines and even food.
The closures create “a situation where not only is there a (lack of) investment in terms of pharmacy development and expansion, but there is also no incentive to stay in those neighborhoods,” said Dima Qato, a professor of clinical pharmacy at the University of Southern California. , who studied access to pharmacy.
And an Associated Press analysis of licensing data from 44 states, data from the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs and the American Community Survey shows that residents of mostly black and Hispanic neighborhoods have fewer pharmacies per capita than people who live in majority white neighborhoods.
MAC Pharmacy is the only one that serves nearly 20,000 people in a majority-black zip code in Cleveland. George Tadross, co-owner and pharmacy manager, said he is adamant about making things as easy as possible for his mostly older customers — sometimes organizing their medications daily.
“You need to have a pharmacist to talk to,” he said. “My philosophy in the pharmacy business is that you know your doctor, he knows everything about you. You also need to know your pharmacist (because) the pharmacist is the only one who sees the entire medical treatment plan that you have.”
Pharmacists play a role in managing chronic diseases like diabetes and heart-related problems that blacks and Hispanics suffer from. more likely to be diagnosed.
And when pharmacists or pharmacy technicians reflect their customer base — speaking the same language or understanding the community — it can be easier to build a strong relationship and trust, said Jasmine Gonzalvo, who teaches at Purdue University’s School of Pharmacy and has researched the necessities. of Spanish-speaking patients in pharmacies.
She noted that if people don’t feel comfortable asking questions about their medication, it could mean they don’t take it or don’t take it correctly.
“You don’t get a refill,” Gonzalvo said, “simply because there were barriers in how you communicated and felt safe in your relationship with your pharmacist.”
That’s why Bert’s Pharmacy in Elizabeth, New Jersey, has “staff who speak Spanish and English at all times,” said owner and pharmacist Prakash Patel. His company is located in a zip code where almost 70% of residents are Hispanic.
“We also want to make sure they understand everything,” Patel said. “We have labels in Spanish for them, we print all the instructions in Spanish for them.”
In Montgomery, where Harris lives, the city is working on a development plan for the north side. A retail analysis included in the plan shows that a small pharmacy could generate $1.5 million in sales per year.
“There is an opportunity there because we have what I call a captive market,” said Bob Gibbs, director of the Gibbs Planning Group, which did the analysis. “People who live in many of these neighborhoods have limited access to transportation… and they are very loyal to local businesses that will treat them with respect.
“They will do anything to get there. And they just don’t like having to drive… two miles to get to a pharmacy. This is unfair.”
Harris, however, doesn’t have much hope that a new pharmacy will open.
“I don’t see it,” she said. “As long as they have (that CVS), they think everything is fine. … Everyone is waiting for them to do something on this side.”
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Associated Press data journalist Kasturi Pananjady in Philadelphia and video journalist Shelby Lum in New York contributed to this report.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. AP is solely responsible for all content.
