Pharmacies face job shortage, stresses of medical field

[Sherman A1]

JEFFERSON CITY — As healthcare workers are still reeling from the devastating spike in cases of COVID-19 from this winter's Omicron variant, pharmaceutical workers are, similarly, facing severe strains.

Several pharmacies nationwide, and in Mid-Missouri, are facing worker shortages, reduced hours, and even unexpected closures.

"There are pharmacists out there," Ron Fitzwater, the Executive Director of the Missouri Pharmacy Association, an advocacy group, said.
"There's not enough revenue coming to be able to support that kind of overhead, and the patients suffer. I mean, we don't have access here in Jefferson City to a 24-hour pharmacy anymore."

Fitzwater said, for years, the healthcare system has attempted to maximize profits, often at the expense, he said, of pharmaceutical workers on the frontline. After the pandemic, pharmacy employees were met with a surge in demand for both COVID-19 tests and, eventually, vaccinations, on top of their routine practice.

https://krcgtv.com/news/local/pharmacies-face-job-shortage-stresses-of-medical-field

[TheRealNorth]

1. Nort sure what it's like nowadays...

But back when I was in college, they limited pharmacy students like the AMA limits the number of new doctors.

[Auggie]

2. I'm witnessing this ...

prescriptions that are late, unfilled, or lost, plus some staffers who don't give a damn and tell you something has been filled when it hasn't (too lazy to check). The pharmacists are apologetic. I realize they're doing the best with what corporate gives them.

Helpful hint that I've learned: If you have to order anything special don't wait till the last minute. Allow for at least 5, maybe 6, working days for your Rx to be ordered, shipped, and filled.

[Freddie]

3. Retail pharmacists are treated like crap

Yes, they’re well paid, but depending on the chain, eternally short-staffed and subject to ridiculous rules. I know one who went through her whole pregnancy and was never once allowed to sit down while working, per corporate rules. After she had the baby she got a job in a hospital where she wasn’t subject to the eternal BS of retail.