Rural pharmacy owners say it's getting harder to stay open

Rural pharmacy owners say it's getting harder to stay open 
Times West Virginian; by Devi Shastri; 6/5/24 
Rural pharmacies can be a touchstone for their communities. The staff knows everyone’s names and drugs, answers questions about residents’ mail-order prescriptions or can spot the signs of serious illness. But their business models face unrelenting pressures to the point that sometimes they have to close. An AP analysis of data from 49 states and the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs shows that several largely rural states have some of the lowest number of pharmacies per ZIP code. 
Editor's Note: This trend for closures in rural areas is rampant for hospitals, emergency departments, physicians, and more. Click here for a letter from NHPCO and numerous hospice providers to Congress, Jan. 5, 2024: Protect rural and frontier American's access to hospice and palliative care.