Santa Cruz County pharmacy to close Friday after 62 years
The act looks to have sealed the pharmacy's fate. In 2014, the first year of the health care law, the pharmacy filled 70 percent fewer prescriptions, a drop from 40,737 in 2013 to 12,331, because of a significant reduction in MediCruz patients, most of whom are homeless or indigent. More patients, such as
"It was just convenient to pick up my medication where I saw my doctor," Shelton said earlier this week during a visit to the clinic. "But my coverage changed."
After the closure, the roughly 270 patients now served by the county's three clinics will use eight new contracted pharmacies including
"We wanted to redesign our system in a way that would better serve the patients," said
More than 60 percent of county clinic patients live in the
But
"The sooner you can get them between their appointment and a pharmacy, the chances of them starting the regiment correctly are higher," Meschi said.
Studies show that 20 to 30 percent of prescriptions for medications are never filled and that up 50 percent of medications are not taken as prescribed, he added.
"Some of the patients didn't have the
The county is hiring a pharmacist coordinator to oversee its pharmacy partnerships.
To keep the pharmacy from closing, county pharmacy staffers pitched a model they said would raise revenue by expanding the federal 340B Program, which allows the county to buy deeply discounted medication, to
Meschi said it'll be sad to see the old pharmacy windows shut for the last time Friday. His staff has already begun packing up the office and have unearthed remnants of the past.
"I used one of these and a typewriter when I first started," Bokariza-Ivanov said, showing off a Bates numbering machine before dusting off a Torsion balance. "There's a lot of unique things here that you won't find at other pharmacies."
County Pharmacy Closing
--Patients will now go to
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