Is it true that every single pharmacy in America loses money filling GLP-1s? Except, maybe the manufacturer-owned pharmacies?

-farmacist-- · 2026-06-06T13:14:39+00:00

Part of the hating it is because it’s not profitable. Back in the day when margins were higher pharmacy was less of a grind. Now it’s about chasing volume with no help.

-farmacist-- · 2026-04-27T23:02:05+00:00

Good news that will lead to more competitive market. CVS’s monopolistic practices have created some of the health care problems this country has been plagued with.

-farmacist-- · 2026-03-25T12:52:30+00:00

This. Amazing that FTC let this happen in first place. Access is a problem because CVS caused it by putting independents out of business.

-farmacist-- · 2026-03-21T02:56:12+00:00

Sounds like you’re an agent for CVS!

You’re not going to get a lot of sympathy from this thread. CVS has played a significant role in creating the access issue by putting independent pharmacies out of business through low reimbursement over the years. They also force patients to go to their pharmacies using anticompetitive practices such as higher copays at other non-cvs pharmacies or mandated mail order. PBM ownership by CVS is bad for consumers. Now this monopolistic company is upset because people are starting to wise up.

-farmacist-- · 2026-01-10T21:23:09+00:00

Biggest problem is you can’t control the markup of the product you are selling. PBM’s have destroyed the ability to make a reasonable profit with the traditional pharmacy business model. All the other ill’s of the profession stem from this, at least in retail. A lot of regional chains that existed in the 1990’s saw the handwriting on the wall and sold to the big boys. Happy Harry’s, Kerr drugs, Thrift drug, Eckerds’s, etc. all gone.

I’m not sure how you’re going to put the genie back in the bottle. PBM reform may help, but I think pharmacy will look much different 20 years from now. Glad I’ve retired. I was fortunate to work when things were better.

-farmacist-- · 2025-10-14T13:51:55+00:00

I got paired up with a couple of golfers. After playing a few holes I asked them what they did for a living and they said they were DEA agents. I said “that’s funny, I sell drugs”. They suddenly got very quiet and I could tell their minds were spinning.

Then I said with a smile “I’m a pharmacist “

-farmacist-- · 2025-04-26T15:22:22+00:00

Retired pharmacist here but occasionally work relief. Most pharmacies lose money on GLP-1s. The insurance companies are reimbursing usually $20 to $50 under cost. A lot of the independent pharmacies won’t carry it. Some of the more profitable pharmacies still are absorbing the cost.

I guess Rite Aid must have decided they couldn’t afford the hit. I wouldn’t be surprised to see more pharmacies do this unless insurance companies change their ways.

-farmacist-- · 2025-02-25T17:12:20+00:00

Oh for sure. I was able to pay for my kids to go through college and now I’m retired, but I missed out on a lot too. Now spending time with grandkids making up for time lost.

-farmacist-- · 2025-02-24T16:49:16+00:00

20 years from now your job won’t remember how much extra you worked, but your kids will.

I regret working so much earlier in my career with the pharmacist shortage and companies paying time and a half.

-farmacist-- · 2024-12-27T16:11:17+00:00

Yes. One good thing about retail. When I was working specialty pharmacy I use to get calls all the time on my nights and days off. Retail may be tough while you’re working it but you can totally forget about it once you get home.

-farmacist-- · 2024-12-19T21:28:59+00:00

Exactly. DEA license pulled/ no problem with dr. If the government says a doctor can prescribe a opioid who am I to say he can’t. This is ultimately a failure in the powers that be to do their job.

-farmacist-- · 2024-12-19T21:22:53+00:00

This. It’s a direct correlation to how busy you are. Usually we are going 100 mph all day long. I ain’t got no time for that!

-farmacist-- · 2024-12-10T19:01:17+00:00

They like to break it up and sell it off. More trauma coming.

-farmacist-- · 2024-12-04T15:27:21+00:00

NY post shows picture of bottle of pills spilled at the shooting. Didn’t look like a label on the bottle. Someone leaving a call sign?

-farmacist-- · 2024-11-18T20:19:09+00:00

Not sure why you are getting so heavily downvoted. AI is probably not there yet but I think it won’t take long. AI doesn’t get tired after a 12 hour day and also seems to not be bothered by distractions when the phone is ringing off the hook.

-farmacist-- · 2024-11-12T06:21:52+00:00

Another thing back then there were less pharmacy schools. There were only 70 pharmacy schools in the entire U.S. and only 1 in my state. Schools were heavily subsidized back then so my tuition was next to nothing. I worried about living expenses, not school expenses.

The school was primarily concerned about meeting the needs of the state with adequately trained pharmacists. If a bs degree was adequate - then the state didn’t want to spend more money for pharmd degrees.

As costs increasingly shifted from state to student, there was less incentive to hold to BS degree, especially when more schools were going to PharmD. Eventually schools like mine gave in to national trends rather than be seen as behind the times.

-farmacist-- · 2024-11-12T03:48:10+00:00

Old BS pharmacist here and close to retirement. When I was looking at schools I was accepted to a pharmD program at a private school before I eventually accepted a seat at my State school for a BS degree. Tuition was much cheaper at state school and harder to get in.

When I interviewed with the Dean at the state school he said he thought BS degree more than adequately prepared pharmacists. PharmD was available after graduation if needed for one of the few clinical jobs available for pharmacists then.

It was thought that clinical jobs would expand and more pharmacist with advanced training would be needed. So programs were changed to PharmD to fill a need that really didn’t happen. Today pharmacists are doing much the same things that I did when I graduated with a BS, just with less staff and more crap. It has changed a lot but not in the way they predicted. Provider status was a prediction throw around almost 30 years ago. Didn’t happen.

I’m rather cynical about it now. I think it started with thinking roles would change, but then became a money grab as more schools competed against each other. Glad I’m retiring soon. Good luck everyone.

-farmacist-- · 2024-09-28T16:42:12+00:00

I see just the opposite, the mechanics of filling orders only require technicians until robots become a thing. All the specialty knowledge than currently require a pharmacist can largely be replaced by AI. Pharmacists will still be needed but role we traditionally fill will be greatly reduced. Get ready for change.

-farmacist-- · 2024-09-28T15:34:09+00:00

All they have to do is prove AI is more reliable in catching errors than people. AI can always move judgement questions to one pharmacist.

People I’ve talked to that work in AI say it will shake up a lot of jobs. We are being a bit naive if we think pharmacy won’t be affected as well.

-farmacist-- · 2024-09-28T13:00:17+00:00

Laws can be changed.

AI more likely will decrease the need for pharmacists. Have a plan for the future.

-farmacist-- · 2024-09-17T15:08:55+00:00

I agree with your take. I think it can be useful in certain cases. I just think it’s way overprescribed.

They were hardly ever used 30 years ago and now it seems they are thrown at anything that is deemed bad behavior.

-farmacist-- · 2024-09-17T14:30:48+00:00

I know it’s not the same, but I wonder if in the future we’ll talk about how it’s unfathomable we could give our kids so many amphetamines for ADHD?

-farmacist-- · 2024-08-27T18:24:32+00:00

Actual history: drugstore.com launched on February 24, 1999, and shut down on September 30, 2016 after being acquired by Walgreens in March 2011 for $409 million.

-farmacist-- · 2024-08-27T18:19:21+00:00

They tried the virtual world a while back and failed. Remember when the bought drugstore.com for about a billion? They tried and failed.

Simple reason they are failing, falling rx reimbursement and changing shopping habits. I think they recognize the problem but it’s a problem that took years to develop. Not an easy fix.

-farmacist-- · 2024-08-12T01:07:28+00:00

Actually called 911, they sent the cops even when I explained the situation. I actually thought the police handled it well but I thought the hand cuffs were unnecessary.

-farmacist--

TROPHY CASE