![]() ![]() ![]() Eventually, to “stop the bleeding,” as Jerominski described, the big chains began offering major sign-on bonuses for new pharmacists. Understaffing has become a larger problem throughout the pandemic, with more pharmacists and techs quitting as demands increase, leading to store closures and delays in prescription fills. This is still below the national median pay of $17.33 per hour, which comes out to a salary of less than $40,000 per year, hardly a livable wage in many parts of the country. At Walgreens, pharmacy tech pay will now start at $16.50 per hour, which spokesperson Fraser Engerman cited as a way the company has responded to problems with increasing staff levels and retaining existing staff. Pharmacy techs in some cases have it even worse. In May, the American Pharmacists Association, or AphA, the largest professional group representing pharmacists in the United States, cited concerns over “realigning unreasonable metrics and workload.” Such metrics or sales goals and quotas can include things like: number of vaccines given, number of consults given, number of student trainees taken on, and the number of automatic refills dispensed. “In chains, I would absolutely say there were metrics,” said Evans. Though Engerman denied that Walgreens enforces “sales goals or quotas for Covid vaccines or any other pharmacy service,” there are numerous reports to the contrary. While pressing pharmacists to take on even more responsibility, corporate retail chains are also holding them to metrics to reach sales goals and quotas. Fraser Engerman, a spokesperson for Walgreens, confirmed that the company is also piloting a program in Kentucky and Florida where pharmacists are able to prescribe and dispense Paxlovid to eligible patients. ![]() And nobody is being compensated for that either.”ĬVS’s Paxlovid program is underway at select locations: To be eligible, patients who have tested positive for Covid-19 must fill out an online screener, then schedule a phone call with a pharmacist, and then, if approved, pick up their prescription at a drive-through location or have it delivered. Paul said that his first Paxlovid prescription took him two hours, “from talking to the patient, reading their profile, and then actually having a discussion with the physician, and ultimately approving the prescription to go out to the pharmacy. On the other hand, pharmacists aren’t sure they have the time or ability to prescribe it safely. Pharmacists are torn about this: On the one hand, many support making this treatment more available and being able to bill for the service they’re providing. Now, in addition to vaccination demands, retail pharmacies are making an effort to allow pharmacists to dispense Paxlovid, the Covid antiviral therapy. Pharmacists “can’t spend time talking to their patients, they feel like patient care is suffering, and they often even feel like patient lives are being put at risk,” added Evans. The consequences of these mistakes can be dire. “Some days you’re just clinging on, feels like a fog, then driving home hoping you didn’t miss or cause any drug errors today,” said Paul, a pharmacist in Columbus, Ohio, who also requested anonymity. But states have largely closed down those sites, and pharmacies now bear the brunt of vaccinating the nation.Īccording to a 2021 study, some 75 percent of pharmacists are burnt out. At least during initial vaccine rollouts, government-run supersites staunched the deluge. Yet as pharmacists’ and other pharmacy workers’ workloads and responsibilities have increased, their pay has stagnated, as they’ve faced increased pressure and stress from corporate managers to give more shots, more quickly, no matter the consequences. The pandemic has exacerbated preexisting labor problems in the pharmacy field, while also offering a financial boon for the corporations. As corporate expectations grow, patient care-and pharmacy workers’ sanity-suffers. The problem is, they’re essentially adding an additional job for workers who are already spread too thin. ![]() And beyond public health, retail pharmacy chains like CVS and Walgreens-which are publicly traded companies raking in tens of billions in profit per year-have huge financial incentives to vaccinate as many people as possible. Making matters more dire, the new vaccine rollout coincides with flu season, typically the busiest time of year at the pharmacy. ![]()
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