Good Lifestyle

Unless your hometown still has a local pharmacy you can count on, there is a good chance that you are Fill your prescriptions to a larger chain. CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens are among the largest pharmacies, but general retailers like Walmart and Target also have their own pharmacies in stores. All these retailers, however, share a common enigma: a shortage of pharmacists nationally. As a result, CVS and Walmart have confirmed that they cut the hours of pharmacy this spring. Read the rest to find out how the hours change and when.

Read this then: Walgreens and CVS are closing locations, from Tuesday .

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In March, Walmart plans to shorten pharmacy hours in approximately 4,600 stores nationwide, Wall Street's journal reported, Closing at 7 p.m. Every evening instead of 9 p.m.

In a declaration at Better life , a Walmart spokesperson said that the change is underway to improve the balance between professional and privacy for pharmacists, while serving customers.

"This change is the direct result of the comments of our pharmacy and listening partners from our customers," said the spokesperson. "By positioning our teams in the hours when our customers say they want to visit our pharmacy, we are better able to provide excellent customer service and support our partners when they continue to serve their communities every day."

Wall Street's journal Also underlines that some Walmart pharmacies are already closed before 9 p.m., so the policy will standardize these hours.

CVS also reduces hours to about two-thirds of its retail pharmacies, from March, said a company spokesperson Better life . The new hours will vary depending on the location, they said, explaining that CVS examines the operating hours "to ensure that we are open during the customer's point request".

"From time to time, this can lead to a change of pharmacy," said the spokesperson. "By adjusting the hours in certain stores this spring, we make sure that our pharmacy teams are available to serve patients when they are most necessary. If a pharmacy is closed, a patient may visit any location of pharmacy CVS open for help with its immediate prescription needs. "

Reduced hours will also be vigue Wall Street's journal Reported, according to the company's recent opinion to the leaders on the ground. This is a "higher pain" for his pharmacists, said CVS.

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This is not the first time that customers have come from reduced pharmacy hours due to staff limitations - CVs and walgreens have been forced to shorten the hours or even close the weekend at the height of the cocovious pandemic, Wall Street's journal reported. Walmart has also reduced global store hours in the light of staff reduction.

More recently, in November 2022, CVS and Walgreens cut hours of pharmacy on the west coast. Walgreens locations Has shortened their hours - or even closed the stores entirely - in Berkeley, California, due to "the national shortage of work," said a spokesperson previously Better life . CVS locations in Arcata, California also had limited staff in pharmacies, Make things difficult In order for stores to maintain standard opening hours, KRCR ABC-Affiliate reported.

But the shortage of pharmacist itself was a problem even before the pandemic, according to Wall Street's journal , and he continues to torment these channels. Walgreens and CVS tried to encourage pharmacists with bonuses, an increase in remuneration and even a universal lunch break, while Walmart increased remuneration for pharmacy technicians to an average of $ 20 an hour.

However, pharmacists are overworked and many choose to work in hospitals or other employers, Wall Street's journal reported. And with fewer people who apply for a pharmacy school - numbers have been down more than a third since 2013 - there is the potential for things to get worse before they improve.

In addition to reduced hours, CVS and Walgreens have recently confirmed plans to close several locations.

Walgreens closes a store in the Wicker Chicago district on January 31 and another store Houston, Missouri , March 7. The pharmacy in a St. Johnsbury, Vermont Walgreens also closes, from February 22. Earlier this month the purchasing habits of our patients and customers. ""

CVS was also previously confirmed to Better life that a CVS store in Washington, D.C., closes on February 27. Asked about the reason for the closure, the company spokesperson cited factors such as "local market dynamics, population changes, the density of the store of a community and ensure that there To others the geographic access points to meet the needs of the community, including the COVVI-19 tests and the vaccinations. "