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Niche Pharmacies Fill Need
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Abstract
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| Small niche pharmacies are providing medications, advice, and resources to HIV/AIDS patients in an effort to combine the services of specialty mail order pharmacies with the personal attention and convenience of a neighborhood drug store.
For many traditional retail pharmacies, selling these medications does not attract enough business to justify the expensive inventory and specially trained staff.
To attract enough patients, niche retail pharmacies specialize in the condition, locate in neighborhoods with higher percentages of HIV-positive patients, and advertise their presence to physicians and advocates.
Pharmacists say patients appreciate the special attention, such as quick home deliveries, and the privacy of a smaller pharmacy.
The marriage of CVS Corp. and Caremark Inc. joined a retail pharmacy industry with a pharmacy benefit management business. This created a specialty pharmacy called CarePlus, formerly known as PharmaCare, that operates small retail stores as well as mail order businesses. One such pharmacy can be found in the Central West End section of St. Louis.
CarePlus and BioScrip are two mail order specialty pharmacies with local retail outposts that focus on HIV/AIDS treatment. Medicine Shoppe and Walgreens are two traditional retail stores that have added specialized services for these same patients.
Mail-order rivals, such as Express Scripts Inc. of north St. Louis County, think such niche retailers will not be as successful as they are over the long term. According to Steve Miller, vice president of pharmacy for Express Scripts, having prescriptions mailed is more convenient and phone counseling can be more private than a retail pharmacy can offer.
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Source
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| http://home.post-dispatch.com/ |
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Subjects
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Counseling
Health Care Programs/Services
Persons with HIV/AIDS
Pharmacies
Therapeutic Drugs
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Disclaimer: NPIN provides this information as a public service only. The views and information provided about the materials, news, funding opportunities, organizations, and conferences do not necessarily state or reflect those of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, or NPIN.
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cdcnpin.org News Record #50922
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