By Mike Wysong
My biology professor at Virginia Military Institute looked me in the eye and said, “Mike, you’re never going to be a doctor.” Thirty-three years later, I stood on stage at Mount St. Mary’s University receiving an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. That journey taught me a simple truth: Closed doors often become the best opportunities if you refuse to quit.
The same is true for our industry right now.
Community retail pharmacies are facing real pressure. Reimbursement rates continue to fall, DIR fees still claw back hard-earned dollars months after a prescription is filled, and the big three PBMs maintain tight control over the supply chain. Many independent pharmacies are struggling to stay profitable on traditional dispensing alone, and rural communities are watching their local pharmacies disappear at an alarming rate. But here’s what I see when I look at the same landscape: the most significant opportunity for community retail pharmacy in a generation.
Patients trust us more than any other part of health care. That trust, combined with our unmatched accessibility, positions us perfectly to become the primary point of care in communities across America. The rise of GLP-1s, test-and-treat services, expanded immunizations and chronic disease management aren’t just new services, they’re the foundation of a high-tech, high-touch model that meets patients exactly where they are: physically, digitally and personally.
The pharmacies that will thrive are the ones that embrace this shift, moving from simply dispensing medication to delivering meaningful clinical care. At CARE, we’ve seen our members do exactly that, growing stronger by deepening their role in patient care.
This is our moment. Not because the challenges have disappeared but because we now have the trust, the tools and the opportunity to redefine what community and neighborhood pharmacy means in this country. The future isn’t something that happens to us, it’s something we build together.
And just like that long-ago conversation with Colonel Bauer, sometimes the very thing that seems like a door closing turns out to be the opportunity we were looking for all along.
Michael Wysong is chief executive officer of CARE Pharmacies.
