Mapping U.S. Pharmacy Closures
January 2014 to March 2024
Community pharmacies are accessible locations for health and wellness in the United States.
Nearly 90% of people living in the United States live within 5 miles of a pharmacy , and practically 80% of the U.S. population can reach a pharmacy by driving 10 minutes or less . However, when a community pharmacy closes, patient access to essential medications and other health and wellness services like vaccinations could lessen.
Pharmacists and pharmacy corporations may close their pharmacy businesses for many different reasons. But when a pharmacy thrives, local communities can access care that helps them get well and stay well.
“The community pharmacy is a foundational piece of our American health system. We must protect pharmacies from closures for the health and wellness of our communities.”
Pharmacy closures are a threat to public health. The map below illustrates pharmacy locations that have closed between January 2014 and March 2024. Pharmacy closure dates and addresses were obtained from dataQ ® a product of the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP).
This map progressively displays pharmacy locations that closed between January 2014 and March 2024.
Use the play ⏵︎ and pause ⏸︎ buttons to start and stop animation at any time. Pharmacy closures will appear progressively over time. Use the + and – buttons to zoom in and out of areas of interest. Click on location points to explore characteristics of closed pharmacies.
Limitations
The map shows locations of pharmacies that closed between January 2014 and March 2024. Because pharmacy closures are voluntarily reported to NCPDP by the store, closures not reported to NCPDP do not appear on this map and reported closure dates may not match dates published by the media . In few cases where pharmacy ownership changed, an active pharmacy may appear as closed on the date previous ownership reported closure to NCPDP. To report a case, email pharmacymaps@pitt.edu .
Conclusion
Community pharmacies serve as essential access points for health care in the United States. Pharmacy closures threaten population and individual access to medications and other health and wellness services.
Media Requests and Other Inquiries
Questions and suggestions may be emailed to pharmacymaps@pitt.edu .
Lucas A. Berenbrok, PharmD Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy
Suggested Citation
Xu R, Brown A, Berenbrok LA. U.S. Pharmacy Closures January 2014 to March 2024. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/21620f1e07c14d7f81adc4503faaf51e . Accessed [insert date].
Last updated May 14, 2024.