The Power of Independent Pharmacy

Independent pharmacies aren’t usually the headline story. They are there quietly running in the background, keeping their communities going. They're the pharmacist who stays late to fill a script, the tech who knows the backstory of everyone in town, the delivery driver who remembers the dog’s favorite treat.

We have the honor of working alongside these independent pharmacies every day, so we wanted to share their stories. That’s where The Power of Independent Pharmacy came from—a film that takes a look behind the counter.

In 2025, the RedSail Media team met with three pharmacies across the country to document their stories. The film then premiered at our Connect conference in June 2026, and now it is available to the public.

While there are more independent pharmacies with stories worth telling than we could ever feature, we were lucky enough to share these three.

Watch the Power of Independent Pharmacy here.

Apotheworx: A pharmacy built around the patient

"I want to give good care to a smaller amount of patients versus not so good care to the masses."

—Heidi Cram, owner, Apotheworx

Heidi Cram grew up in the independent pharmacy world. Her father was a pharmacist, and after she spent 17 years at a chain, she was ready to build something herself.

She was met with skepticism and doubt around PBM fees and insurance woes, so she built her business around them. Heidi’s pharmacy, Apotheworx, opened in downtown Shreveport in February 2025, and it runs on a concierge membership model. That means members pay a monthly fee that gives them unlimited delivery and direct access to the pharmacist. Members also pay the pharmacy’s wholesale price for medications, making the membership a worthwhile expense for many.

Heidi heard the feedback from her community about what was missing from their pharmacy experience. The common answer was that they were craving better customer service—they were done feeling like another cog in the wheel. So, she designed a pharmacy to be the opposite.

When medical staff send in scripts to the pharmacy, Heidi and her team have them ready before patients even leave the office. When a local family desperately needed medication for their sick child on Thanksgiving, Heidi paused her holiday to make it happen. When a newborn needed an antibiotic on a Sunday that Heidi didn’t have in stock, she drove to the wholesaler to pick it up that day. Heidi and her Apotheworx team serve their community in a way that patients wanted and needed.

Elite Pharmacy: A town gets its pharmacy back

"Elite isn't just the name. Elite is the mission."

—Jerry Liliestadt, director of operations, Elite Pharmacy

It’s easy to take something as simple as a pharmacy for granted, but once it’s gone, it’s a different story. When the town of East Palestine, Ohio, lost its Rite Aid, it meant residents lost the only pharmacy within 10 to 15 miles. For a year and a half, a community with many older residents had to travel 30 minutes or more for crucial medication.

Elite Pharmacy's Jacob Sweet and Daniel Jones started their pharmacy with an observation—independent pharmacies are fading away and not enough people are stepping up to keep them going. Their first Ohio location opened in 2022 when a retiring colleague was ready to pass the baton. Today, Elite has five locations.

When Elite’s East Palestine location opened, the community was there to welcome them. According to a local business owner, residents were “jumping up and down” with excitement.

The Elite team filled a void by building their pharmacy around the community and their needs. They even tapped into the expertise of long-time residents like their tech, Robin Mercer, to help fill the shelves of local and beloved products like local honey, children’s books, and dog treats.

LTC Pharmacy Management: The care you don’t see

"I think that's someone's mama, that's someone's dad, someone's grandfather, grandmother. And it could be yours."

—Doug Robichaux, regional director of operations, LTC Pharmacy Management

Not every independent pharmacy is one that you can walk into. LTC Pharmacy Management oversees eight long-term care pharmacies in Louisiana, caring for up to 25,000 patients in nursing homes and other facilities.

Doug and Kevin Robichaux are brothers who went to pharmacy school together and now each support four pharmacies in the organization. They say it’s part hospital pharmacy, part retail pharmacy, and part compounding pharmacy.

On an average day, just one of their locations can handle up to 2,500 orders. But their work isn’t only about average days. This team must be extra aware of medication needs during emergencies like hurricanes and evacuations, making sure residents have their medications wherever they end up.

Even if they aren’t face-to-face with their patients every day, their dedication to the community shows. Sometimes that’s by towing a barbecue pit to different nursing homes to celebrate and enjoy a meal with residents. Doug’s approach of treating each resident like “someone’s mama, someone’s dad,” shows in the care he and his team provide.

What’s the common thread?

A concierge pharmacy in Shreveport, a hometown pharmacy in a small Ohio town, a network of pharmacies serving nursing homes behind the scenes. Beyond prescriptions, what do they have in common? They all share one important belief: care works best when it’s there for the community that needs it. They believe in truly becoming a part of the communities they serve.

Independent pharmacies show up in ways that are hard to measure, but what they offer is sorely missed in their absence. Pharmacists are often the most accessible healthcare providers in a community, and independent pharmacists tend to offer a level of personal care that is hard to match. Pharmacists do far more than pass prescriptions over the counter, and when these pharmacies disappear, their communities suffer.

Independent pharmacies help in practical ways too. They hire locally, stock local products, and invest where they serve. Pharmacists usually live right among their patients in the same neighborhoods.

That’s why we wanted to tell these stories, and that’s why we’re proud to support independent pharmacies every day.

Watch the full film to hear more from these pharmacies and see what they’re doing for their communities every day.