{"id":153992,"date":"2026-04-01T04:42:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T04:42:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/153992\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T04:42:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T04:42:07","slug":"victoria-elliott-pennsylvanias-pharmacy-deserts-are-growing-columns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/153992\/","title":{"rendered":"Victoria Elliott | Pennsylvania\u2019s pharmacy deserts are growing | Columns"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The ongoing pharmacy closure crisis in Pennsylvania has become an alarming issue for communities throughout the commonwealth. Since 2020, more than 1,000 community pharmacies have shuttered their doors, creating a massive pharmacy desert that has engulfed cities, towns, suburbs and rural communities.<\/p>\n<p>A pharmacy desert is any area where residents no longer have reasonable access to a local pharmacy. Closures force patients to travel farther for basic care, increasing the likelihood of missed doses, delayed treatment and avoidable complications. Patients are faced with a diminished range of options for filling prescriptions, receiving vaccinations and consulting with trusted professionals regarding their medications.<\/p>\n<p>kAm$25=J[ a`b 4@&gt;&gt;F?:EJ A92C&gt;24:6D @A6C2E6 \ud83d\ude15 2C62D E92E H:== 6IA2?5 @FC 56D6CE 4C:D:D :7 E96J 4=@D6]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAm%96D6 2C6 ?@E 4=2:&gt;D E92E 42?\u2019E 36 G6C:7:65] p 4@2=:E:@?[ !6??DJ=G2?:2?D 7@C !92C&gt;24J p446DD[ 92D 4C62E65 2? :?E6C24E:G6 &gt;2A @7 E96 4@&gt;&gt;@?H62=E9\u2019D 8C@H:?8 56D6CE] *@F 42? D62C49 :E 3J 56D6CE 2C62D[ A92C&gt;24J 4=@DFC6D[ A92C&gt;24:6D F?56C E9C62E @7 4=@DFC6[ 4@F?E:6D 2?5 =68:D=2E:G6 5:DEC:4ED]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAm#646?E 24E:@? \ud83d\ude15 (2D9:?8E@? E@ C6:? \ud83d\ude15 A92C&gt;24J 36?67:E &gt;2?286CD \u2013 E96 A@H6C7F= \u201c&gt;:55=6&gt;6?\u201d E92E &gt;2?286 AC6D4C:AE:@? 5CF8 36?67:ED \u2013 H:== ?@E E2&lt;6 67764E 7@C J62CD]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAm!6??DJ=G2?:2 A2E:6?ED 2?5 4@&gt;&gt;F?:E:6D ?665 24E:@? ?@H 367@C6 :E\u2019D E@@ =2E6]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAm!q|D D:E 36EH66? 962=E9 A=2?D[ 5CF8 &gt;2?F724EFC6CD 2?5 A92C&gt;24:6D[ @7E6? C6:&gt;3FCD:?8 A92C&gt;24:6D 2E C2E6D E92E 42? 36 36=@H H92E :E 24EF2==J 4@DED E96 A92C&gt;24J E@ AFC492D6 E96 &gt;65:42E:@?]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAm%9:?&lt; 23@FE E92Ei !q|D C@FE:?6=J AC24E:46 H92E\u2019D 42==65 DAC625 AC:4:?8 \u2013 492C8:?8 962=E9 A=2?D &gt;@C6 E92? E96J C6:&gt;3FCD6 A92C&gt;24:6D 2?5 A@4&lt;6E:?8 E96 5:776C6?46]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAm(@CD6[ &gt;2?J C6:&gt;3FCD6&gt;6?ED 2C6 24EF2==J D6E 2E =6DD E92? H92E A92C&gt;24:DED 24EF2==J A2J 7@C =:76D2G:?8 5CF8D] %96? E96J :&gt;A@D6 C6EC@24E:G6 766D E@ DE66A6? E96 =@DD6D 7@C 4@&gt;&gt;F?:EJ A92C&gt;24:6D]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAmx? 2 7:?2= 3=@H[ !q|D DE66C A2E:6?ED E@H2C5 A92C&gt;24:6D E96J @H?] p== @7 :E \ud83d\ude00 5@?6 H:E9 =:EE=6 E@ ?@ @G6CD:89E @C EC2?DA2C6?4J] pD E96 A92C&gt;24J 4=@DFC6 4C:D:D H@CD6?D 2?5 @FC G2DE 56D6CE 6IA2?5D[ !q|D 2C6 DEF77:?8 &gt;:==:@?D @7 5@==2CD :?E@ E96:C A@4&lt;6ED[ 2?5 ?@ @?6 BF6DE:@?D E96&gt;]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAm(6 @H E9:D 3642FD6 H9:=6 !6??DJ=G2?:2 |65:42:5 6?C@==&gt;6?E 92D =2C86=J C6&gt;2:?65 DE625J[ |65:42:5 AC6D4C:AE:@? 5CF8 DA6?5:?8 \ud83d\ude15 !6??DJ=G2?:2 :?4C62D65 7C@&gt; S`]c 3:==:@? \ud83d\ude15 a_`b E@ Sc]e 3:==:@? \ud83d\ude15 a_aa] !2E:6?ED 5:5?\u2019E 86E E92E &gt;@?6J] r@&gt;&gt;F?:EJ A92C&gt;24:6D 46CE2:?=J 5:5?\u2019E] %96 4@&gt;&gt;@?H62=E9 5:5?\u2019E]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAm!6??DJ=G2?:2 &gt;FDE 6?24E &gt;62?:?87F= !q| C67@C&gt;D ?@H[ A2:C65 H:E9 DEC:4E 6?7@C46&gt;6?E[ C2E96C E92? H2:E:?8 7@C 7656C2= E:&gt;6=:?6D E@ 42E49 FA E@ =@42= C62=:E:6D] %@@ &gt;2?J 4@&gt;&gt;F?:E:6D H:E9 @?=J 2 D:?8=6 A92C&gt;24J =67E 5@?\u2019E 92G6 E92E &gt;F49 E:&gt;6]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAmz66A:?8 A92C&gt;24:6D @A6? C6BF:C6D 2 DJDE6&gt; E92E \ud83d\ude00 EC2?DA2C6?E[ AC65:4E23=6 2?5 72:C] w6C6\u2019D 9@H DE2E6 =2H&gt;2&lt;6CD 2?5 E96 $92A:C@ 25&gt;:?:DEC2E:@? D9@F=5 7:I :Eik^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAm\u2022 #2:D6 E96 |65:42:5 5:DA6?D:?8 766 E@ &gt;66E E96 7656C2= DE2?52C5] s:DA6?D:?8 2 AC6D4C:AE:@? :D?\u2019E D:&gt;A=J 92?5:?8 @G6C 2 3@EE=6] xE :?4=F56D D276EJ 4964A=:2?46 C6BF:C6&gt;6?ED]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAm\u2022 q2? DAC625 AC:4:?8 2?5 C6BF:C6 72:C C6:&gt;3FCD6&gt;6?E 7@C 2== A92C&gt;24:6D] !q|D D9@F=5 72:C=J C6:&gt;3FCD6 6G6CJ A92C&gt;24J[ ?@E @?=J E9@D6 E96J @H?[ H:E9 EC2?DA2C6?E AC:4:?8 36?49&gt;2C<\/p>\n<p>kAm\u2022 vF2C2?E66 A2J&gt;6?E 7@C A92C&gt;24:DE 4=:?:42= D6CG:46D]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAm!92C&gt;24:DED AC@G:56 6DD6?E:2= 4=:?:42= 42C6[ DF49 2D :&gt;&gt;F?:K2E:@?D 2?5 @E96C E:&gt;6\\32D65 D6CG:46D] !2J:?8 7@C E9@D6 D6CG:46D 6IA2?5D AC:&gt;2CJ 42C6 42A24:EJ[ C65F46D 2G@:523=6 9@DA:E2=:K2E:@?D 2?5 :&gt;AC@G6D @FE4@&gt;6D]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAm\u2022 !C6G6?E !q|D 7C@&gt; DE66C:?8 A2E:6?ED E@ A92C&gt;24:6D E96J @H?]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAm\u2022 |@G6 E@ 2 D:?8=6 !q| &gt;@56= 7@C |65:42:5 \u2013 E96 !6??DJ=G2?:2 DE2E6\\7F?565 962=E9 42C6 AC@8C2&gt;] (:E9 4=62C[ F?:7@C&gt; CF=6D 2?5 244@F?E23:=:EJ[ H6 42? DE@A !q|D 7C@&gt; &gt;2&lt;:?8 FA E96:C @H? CF=6D 2D E96J 8@]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAm$6?2E6 q:== &#8220;ge[ DA@?D@C65 3J 2 3:A2CE:D2? 8C@FA @7 =2H&gt;2&lt;6CD =65 3J DE2E6 $6?D] {:D2 q@D4@=2[ s\\{69:89[ 2?5 yF5J (2C5[ #\\q=2:C[ H@F=5 AC@E64E A2E:6?E 2446DD E@ A92C&gt;24:6D 3J 6DE23=:D9:?8 2 D:?8=6 A92C&gt;24J 36?67:E 25&gt;:?:DEC2E@C &gt;@56= 7@C E96 |65:42:5 &gt;2?2865 42C6 AC@8C2&gt;] %9:D =68:D=2E:@? 9@=5D C62= AC@&gt;:D6 7@C D=@H:?8[ 2?5 A@E6?E:2==J C6G6CD:?8[ !6??DJ=G2?:2\u2019D A92C&gt;24J 56D6CE]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAm!6??DJ=G2?:2 92D 2? @AA@CEF?:EJ E@ 4C62E6 2 ?2E:@?2= &gt;@56= E92E AFED A6@A=6 \u2013 ?@E !q|D \u2013 7:CDE] tG6CJ !6??DJ=G2?:2? 56D6CG6D E@ 86E E96 42C6 E96J ?665 4=@D6 E@ 9@&gt;6]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAm(6 42??@E 277@C5 E@ H2:E 7@C 7656C2= C67@C&gt;D E@ 36 7F==J 6?24E65] %96 E:&gt;6 7@C !6??DJ=G2?:2 E@ 24E \ud83d\ude00 ?@H[ 367@C6 E96 ?6IE 4=@DFC6 364@&gt;6D 2?@E96C 4@&gt;&gt;F?:EJ\u2019D =2DE A92C&gt;24J]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>        &#13;<br \/>\n                                &#13;<\/p>\n<p>        &#13;<\/p>\n<p>Victoria Elliott is CEO of the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The ongoing pharmacy closure crisis in Pennsylvania has become an alarming issue for communities throughout the commonwealth. Since&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":153993,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1057,3831,29665,8520,29634,48924,9272,28,30,29,55185,28724,13255,28723,2876,29635,5651],"class_list":{"0":"post-153992","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pennsylvania","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-health-care","10":"tag-health-care-industry","11":"tag-health-economics","12":"tag-health-policy","13":"tag-health-sciences","14":"tag-medicine","15":"tag-pennsylvania","16":"tag-pennsylvania-headlines","17":"tag-pennsylvania-news","18":"tag-pharmaceutical-sciences","19":"tag-pharmacology","20":"tag-pharmacy","21":"tag-pharmacy-benefit-management","22":"tag-public-services","23":"tag-service-economy","24":"tag-social-programs"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153992"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153992\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}