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McKesson recognizes the role of the community pharmacist

Scott Miller, president of strategic, community and specialized care pharmacy at McKesson, acknowledged the balancing act independent pharmacies face.

Scott Miller, president of strategic, community and specialized care pharmacy at McKesson.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Throughout ideaShare 2025, McKesson leaders and industry partners continued to recognize the vital role that pharmacists play in their communities.

Scott Miller, president of strategic, community and specialized care pharmacy at McKesson, acknowledged the balancing act independent pharmacies face.

“McKesson supports community pharmacies by helping them sustain and grow their businesses through reliable product access, solutions that help drive profit, and tailored operational support. With a strong foundation in supply chain excellence, we deliver on what matters most — accuracy, reliability and safety,” he said.

He added that McKesson’s solutions are designed to help pharmacies thrive amid complexity. “Our business solutions help pharmacies optimize their operations, improve efficiency and thrive in an increasingly complex environment. And through ongoing industry advocacy, we work to protect and elevate the role of community pharmacy at both the national and local levels. McKesson is committed to strengthening the health of pharmacies and the communities they serve.”

Miller acknowledged the industry’s mounting pressures and the need for advocacy. “It’s a dynamic industry that faces a lot of pressures. The economic pressures that they have around reimbursements, dispensing fees, labor issues, shortages of pharmacists and the closures that are happening — that can be a lot to deal with. But public policy needs to get involved, which is the reason behind our efforts at both the federal level and the state levels, and our support of state pharmacy associations with McKesson’s initiative Amplify.”

Need for change is ‘amplified’ at ideaShare 2025
Jeanine Singer said that with this program McKesson is really focused on what pharmacists are focused on, which is building advocacy around their patients.

He said McKesson supports the voice of community pharmacy in a way that helps gain fair reimbursement for clinical services that they provide, as well as better access to care for patients.

“These are all things we stand behind and want to support, in addition to things like the health of the pharmacy for financial outcomes, inventory management, access to products and operational excellence. So, we feel good about the value we’re adding to help pharmacies compete, but we need to continue to stand behind and push for the reforms necessary to keep pharmacies viable, so patients have access [to care] in their communities.”

Miller acknowledged the industry’s mounting pressures and the need for advocacy.

Miller noted that McKesson is supporting community pharmacies with programs that help them diversify and find more revenue opportunities. “It’s going to be tough, but we see how inspiring it is to see healthy pharmacies, such as Dave’s Pharmacy, Oswald’s Pharmacy and Rocky Ridge Drug Co., that are able to endure even in the toughest times. Today, they’re running very healthy businesses, and they’re helping their communities in meaningful ways. That energy invigorates us to continue to invest in this segment and the support of it. Continuing to improve our network, quality, scale and service of getting the right product, at the right price, at the right time is foundational to what we do, and it’s evolving. We’re constantly looking at our portfolio of value-added services and capabilities, and making room and resources for new opportunities.”

McKesson continues to roll with shifts in traditional retail pharmacy
Bresnahan pointed out that community pharmacy needs to diversify,“ to respond to the market shifts, [particularly] as traditional prescription volume starts to shift away from traditional retail pharmacy.”

Miller said that looking at ways to reduce costs to fill for pharmacies is critical. “We think inventory management is essential to financial health. As a distributor, our core competency is helping pharmacies as they manage their assets. We can extend what we do within the four walls of our distribution centers to help independent pharmacy customers manage their supply chains from their pharmacy in a more efficient way.”

He added that new innovations have been implemented and investments made in the portfolio. “For example, we brought an audit solution to market to help stand behind our pharmacy customers. They’re better prepared and able to navigate the complexity of [audits]. So, we’re always looking for ways to complement and better adapt and meet their needs.”

He explained the integrity of the supply chain, and that there are constant innovations and new products which McKesson is bringing in. “For about a decade now, we’ve been on the journey of officially going live with the Drug Supply Chain Security Act. I think digitizing and serializing all pharmaceutical products to make sure that everything within the supply chain has full integrity and is an authentic product is critical. It’s been 10 years in the making. We’re ready to go, and we embrace the opportunity to stand behind it. It reinforces all of what wholesalers and the industry do to ensure product integrity, availability and quality.”

Miller remains optimistic for the future. “I think the biggest thing is the rising opportunity to organize by pharmacy and state associations, to help independent pharmacists find their voice. We’re really proud of being a leader to improve membership into pharmacy associations, to get the pharmacist’s voice out there and amplify that.”

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