DES MOINES, Iowa — Pharmacists across Iowa continue to voice concern over more pharmacy closures in the state and country, but pharmacy students say they have other job options within the industry.

Dr. Michael Andreski is a professor of pharmacy at Drake University who plays a significant role in the research into pharmacy closures in Iowa. According to him, since 2008, the net number of pharmacies in rural areas is down close to 24% and the net number of pharmacies in urban areas is down 11%.

“We’re seeing it all across the state. It’s having an effect in all areas,” said Andreski.

The Iowa Pharmacy Association previously told WHO 13 News that the leading cause for pharmacy closure is corruption within Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), or the so-called middlemen between pharmacies and insurance companies. PBMs determine the total drug costs for insurers, shape patients’ access to medications, and determine how much pharmacies are paid. Pharmacies across Iowa also told WHO 13 that they’re not making profits for many of the prescription drugs they distribute to patients, as a result of PBM practices.

Therefore, many independent and chain pharmacies have closed across the country, and many pharmacists have lost their jobs. Just last month, Walgreens announced they were closing 1,200 stores over the next three years. This mass pharmacy closure is creating pharmacy deserts, or areas without access to pharmacies.

According to Andreski, there is a standard for how far pharmacies should be from patients to ensure adequate access to healthcare. In rural areas, they should be located within 10 miles of a patient. In suburban areas, like Waukee and West Des Moines, they should be located within three miles of a patient. In urban areas, like Des Moines, they should be located within a mile of a patient.

Despite these closures, pharmacy students at Drake University are not concerned as they get ready to enter the workforce because there are different types of pharmacies.

The most common type is community pharmacy, where the pharmacists work in stores and provide prescription medication to community members inside local independent or chain pharmacies. While the demand for this specific job is decreasing because of pharmacy closures, other areas of pharmacy are seeing a greater demand for pharmacists.

Ana Braun is a fourth-year pharmacy student at Drake who plans to enter clinical pharmacy after graduation. She hopes to complete two years of residency and later help create treatment plans for cancer patients in the future.

“The side of community pharmacy, it is getting smaller. Pharmacies are closing, but, there’s more and more demand for pharmacists in the more clinical setting. We’re becoming part of every specialty area within health clinics, in oncology, in Amcare, in cardiology. Pharmacists are taking a lot bigger role in those clinical practice areas. So, I’m really excited about a career where we’re able to actually expand our knowledge and keep being part of the whole healthcare team,” she said.

Increased pharmacy closures aren’t entirely impacting the job market within the industry as there is still demand for pharmacists outside of community pharmacy. As a result, the main people who continue to be impacted by pharmacy closures are patients who are losing access to their local independent and chain pharmacies.

Andreski encourages people to reach out to their local legislators to voice concern over pharmacy closures in their communities in hopes of legislation being introduced during this upcoming session that can mitigate more closures.