Independent pharmacy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An independent pharmacy is a retail pharmacy that is not directly affiliated with any chain pharmacy, such as CVS/pharmacy, Walgreens or Eckerd. An independent pharmacy is one which is not owned (or operated) by a publicly traded company. Independent pharmacies are pharmacist-owned, privately-held businesses in varying practice settings. They include single-store operations, pharmacist-owned multiple store locations, franchise, compounding, long term-care (LTC), specialty, and supermarket pharmacy operation. Independent pharmacy owners generally have high standards of customer service and strive to outperform chain pharmacy competitors.
[edit] Independent Pharmacy in the United States
In 2007, there were 23,348 independent pharmacies in the U.S.[1]. Independent pharmacies dispensed 1.4 billion prescriptions annually accounting for 41% of the retail prescriptions. Average total sales are $3.6 million per location and Average prescription sales are $3.49 million per location. Over 30 percent of independent pharmacy owners have ownership in two or more pharmacies. [2] The average independent community pharmacy location dispensed 61,087 prescriptions(196 per day) in 2006, up slightly from 61,071 in 2005.[3]
Organizations Representing Independent Pharmacies in the United States
National Community Pharmacists Association
[edit] References
- ^ NCPA-Pfizer Digest Preliminary Data Shows Independent Community Pharmacies Have Been Hurt By Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan, www.ncpanet.org, Page accessed January 29, 2008
- ^ Independent Pharmacy Today, www.ncpanet.org, Page accessed January 29, 2008
- ^ http://www.ncpanet.org/pdf/digest/2007digest_execsummary02.pdf 2007 NCPA-Pfizer Digest Executive Summary
