Independent Pharmacy’s Adaptability Through Reform, Closures, and Technology

Fourteen years into owning his own pharmacy, Tom DePietro, PharmD, owner of DePietro’s Pharmacy in Pennsylvania, has seen it all: broken reimbursement cycles, retail closures flooding his store with new patients, weekends spent catching up on data entry at home.

And yet, he’s never felt more energized about advocating for and growing the pharmacy profession.

“I’ve often felt defeated, but with all of this noise and with all of this momentum, there’s one thing that has to be said: Independent pharmacy overcomes challenges; full stop,” DePietro told us in this week’s episode of Over the Counter. “You throw a global pandemic at us. What did we do? We rolled up our sleeves, we deployed into our communities, we vaccinated thousands upon thousands of people, and we came back to our stores and said, ‘Now, what could we do?’”

In our discussion with practicing pharmacy owner and Drug Topics Editorial Advisory Board member, DePietro pulls no punches about the state of independent pharmacy right now. From cautious optimism about the February PBM reform legislation to frank concern about pharmacist burnout and mental health, he offers the kind of ground-level perspective that only comes from someone who has been living these challenges in real-time.

But perhaps the most compelling thread running through the conversation is DePietro's unwavering belief that independent pharmacy will outlast the storm, not because the conditions are easy, but because the profession has always found a way to adapt.

His closing question to every pharmacy owner struggling right now—amid all of the prominent and noteworthy insights he shared—was, “Can your operation hold on long enough to see the other side?” Find out more in this week’s episode.

Stay tuned for weekly podcast episodes of Over the Counter powered by Drug Topics. Check out our most recent episode with Susan Cornell, PharmD, CDCES, FAPhA, FADCES , and Staci-Marie Norman, PharmD, CDCES, FAPhA. They joined the podcast to unpack the full spectrum of what is changing in diabetes management right now.