U.S. pharmacy staff call for better working conditions as staff shortages continue

Since before the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 began spreading through the country, U.S. pharmacy staff have been warning about staff shortages and long hours, and how the situation is ripe for medical errors. The staffing problems means that prescriptions are being filled at a slower rate than usual, and some pharmacies have reduced hours or even shut. “Over the last five to six months, we’ve seen a spike in these conditions,” Al Carter, the executive director of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy told NBC News on Dec. 28, 2022. “In some states you have 60 or 70 pharmacies that are closing for days on end, because they don’t have the appropriate staff.” The troubles continued into the new year. In mid-January, CVS and Walgreens had to close some of their locations due to staff shortages, according to the New York Times. Much of the frustration is targeted towards the big pharmacy chains: CVS Health Corp., Walgreens Boots Alliance and Rite Aid. The problems have been brewing for years as chain pharmacies were operating with less staff, according to reporting done by the New York Times, but the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic—from immunization to testing to staff isolating—has exacerbated the problem, and pharmacy staff are advocating for change. Bled Tanoe, a pharmacist from Oklahoma City, started the #PizzaIsNotWorking campaign, intended to draw attention to pharmacy staff burnout. She also started a Pharmacy Staff for COVID-19 support Facebook group. The push is for the pharmacies parent companies to make changes on how they support—and pay—pharmacy staff. “Anyone who deals with someone life, that is not working in the proper conditions, has a higher chance of making a mistake that can cost someone’s life,” she told Abigail Ogle, a reporter from KOCO News Channel in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She is hoping to prompt fundamental changes in legislation on how retail pharmacies operate. States regulate pharmacies through fines. For example, in July 2020, the Oklahoma Pharmacy Board fined CVS US$125,000 for inadequate staffing and prescription errors. Tahoe said that is not enough. “You are fining a company that makes billions of dollars a year,” Tanoe told Pharmacy Podcast. “You are not even touching the surface of the income.” “Try to tie the businesses pharmacy licence to their actions, and then you’re changing the conversation,” she said. Tanoe said that labour laws in some states would have to change to allow for inquiries into how retail pharmacies are operating. “There are a lot of different dynamics that all have to change. There is not going to be one answer that fixes it altogether,” she said. The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy president Caroline Juran noted in a Jan. 20 press release that actions by pharmacy boards and associations may not be enough to bring change. “It will take both industry and regulators working together to create the necessary changes, as certain provisions may fall outside of the regulatory purview of the boards of pharmacy. NABP supports efforts to ensure that pharmacy practice occurs in a working environment that is conducive to their well-being and protects the safety of all patients.” The American Pharmacists Association and the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations state that they have heard pharmacists' concerns. The two organizations developed a Pharmacist’s Fundamental Responsibilities and Rights document in March 2021 and also launched an online portal where pharmacy staff can report workplace concerns without fear of retribution from employers. They are also collecting data on workplace conditions. There has been some change. For example, California made some headway in protecting pharmacy staff. A new law in that state prevents employers from using pharmacy metrics or quotas to evaluate pharmacy staff’s productivity and performance. The state already had a law that prevents a community pharmacy from making a pharmacist work without another staff member to assist them. Tanoe said that the #PizzaIsNotWorking campaign is currently working on a making survey to find out more about the working conditions of pharmacists across the U.S. It has also initiated a campaign to encourage pharmacy staff to contact local legislators about long wait times and closures at chain pharmacies. The median pay for pharmacy technicians in the U.S. in May 2020 was $16.87 an hour, or US$35,100 per year, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics. The median pay for pharmacists was $61.88 per hour, or $128,710 a year. The big chains have offered some bonuses to staff in 2021. In August, Walgreens raised the hourly pay was raised to US$15.00 an hour and a month later awarded one-time bonus of US$1,250 to full-time pharmacists and $1,000 to part-time pharmacists. Pharmacy technicians who earned certification to administer flu and COVID-19 vaccines were given $1,000. CVS will raise the minimum hourly wage to $15 an hour in July 2022. CVS held a one-day virtual career fair on Sept. 24, 2021 in an effort to recruit staff for more than 25,000 retail pharmacy positions. The hiring included more staff to administer booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines and flu vaccines. CVS offered current employees a cash bonus if they referred full-time pharmacists or pharmacy technitions. The pressure to increase wages is hard on independent pharmacies, since the amount the pharmacy receives for filling a prescription doesn’t change, said John Beckner, senior director of strategic initiatives from National Community Pharmacists Association in a Pharmacy Times podcast.

U.S. pharmacy staff call for better working conditions as staff shortages continue

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