Rite Aid Store Closings

[HCal]

Yes, it would make no sense to continue closing stores now. Bankruptcy was their window of opportunity to close whatever they wanted. Perhaps there will be scattered closures here and there, but nothing en masse.

In my opinion, if they want to remain in business, they should focus on keeping and attracting pharmacy customers. The front end is basically a convenience store and always has been. No one goes to Rite Aid to get groceries (other than alcohol) unless there is no other option in town. Pharmacy is something that CVS and Walgreens customers have been complaining about recently, so if Rite Aid can have short lines, friendly service and decent prices, they can differentiate themselves and regain good will. Then they can rebuild the front end over time.

[Romr123]

RA pharmacy is definitely going to be missed in Michigan. They were so much more tranquil and competent than CVS/Walgreens--rarely any complaints on social media. My husband stuck with CVS while I switched to RA after I retired about 5 years ago (had been at the CVS in the RenCen---that was a good store). He always has to fuss with his scripts--either they over filled or had on autofill or couldn't find or ran out of refills....I could just pick up the phone to RA and have the refill done at the location here or at the location in Palm Springs with nary a problem.

Only issue I ever had was a new prescription from a Michigan dr in California---took them an extra day to get the name brand (everyone on it takes generic).

[babs]

RA pharmacy is definitely going to be missed in Michigan. They were so much more tranquil and competent than CVS/Walgreens--rarely any complaints on social media. My husband stuck with CVS while I switched to RA after I retired about 5 years ago (had been at the CVS in the RenCen---that was a good store). He always has to fuss with his scripts--either they over filled or had on autofill or couldn't find or ran out of refills....I could just pick up the phone to RA and have the refill done at the location here or at the location in Palm Springs with nary a problem.

Only issue I ever had was a new prescription from a Michigan dr in California---took them an extra day to get the name brand (everyone on it takes generic).

Switch to an online pharmacy like Amazon or Express Scripts. So much more convenient and often cheaper. I don't know why people still go to these physical pharmacies to count out a few pills.

[ClownLoach]

RA pharmacy is definitely going to be missed in Michigan. They were so much more tranquil and competent than CVS/Walgreens--rarely any complaints on social media. My husband stuck with CVS while I switched to RA after I retired about 5 years ago (had been at the CVS in the RenCen---that was a good store). He always has to fuss with his scripts--either they over filled or had on autofill or couldn't find or ran out of refills....I could just pick up the phone to RA and have the refill done at the location here or at the location in Palm Springs with nary a problem.

Only issue I ever had was a new prescription from a Michigan dr in California---took them an extra day to get the name brand (everyone on it takes generic).

Switch to an online pharmacy like Amazon or Express Scripts. So much more convenient and often cheaper. I don't know why people still go to these physical pharmacies to count out a few pills.

Because if you ever have a problem it is hard to resolve. I have had all sorts of issues with insurance billing and their delivery for my elderly aunt. Had enough and moved all her prescriptions to Costco and they are absolutely fabulous. She still gets a 90 day supply at retail. You can always reach the actual pharmacy instead of a call center, and the person you talk to takes the necessary action and follows up with you promptly. On multiple occasions her insurance would refuse a script because it wasn't time for a refill yet and the doctor had changed the dosage due to side effects, Costco advocated on her behalf and made all the necessary calls and it was fixed, approved and no copay in less than an hour. If your medications are regular and stable then I could see the mail order working, I used to take a drug that was sent that way and it was fine, but for anyone who has a chronic condition where they require regular labwork and the doctor makes adjustments a few times each year it can be a nightmare to use mail order.

[Retailuser]

1,383 now according to the website.

[pseudo3d]

RA pharmacy is definitely going to be missed in Michigan. They were so much more tranquil and competent than CVS/Walgreens--rarely any complaints on social media. My husband stuck with CVS while I switched to RA after I retired about 5 years ago (had been at the CVS in the RenCen---that was a good store). He always has to fuss with his scripts--either they over filled or had on autofill or couldn't find or ran out of refills....I could just pick up the phone to RA and have the refill done at the location here or at the location in Palm Springs with nary a problem.

Only issue I ever had was a new prescription from a Michigan dr in California---took them an extra day to get the name brand (everyone on it takes generic).

Switch to an online pharmacy like Amazon or Express Scripts. So much more convenient and often cheaper. I don't know why people still go to these physical pharmacies to count out a few pills.

With Amazon getting in trouble with fake products and now reports of a self-cleaning litterbox sold by Amazon allegedly killing cats, trusting them with your pharmacy needs sounds like a bad idea.

[babs]

RA pharmacy is definitely going to be missed in Michigan. They were so much more tranquil and competent than CVS/Walgreens--rarely any complaints on social media. My husband stuck with CVS while I switched to RA after I retired about 5 years ago (had been at the CVS in the RenCen---that was a good store). He always has to fuss with his scripts--either they over filled or had on autofill or couldn't find or ran out of refills....I could just pick up the phone to RA and have the refill done at the location here or at the location in Palm Springs with nary a problem.

Only issue I ever had was a new prescription from a Michigan dr in California---took them an extra day to get the name brand (everyone on it takes generic).

Switch to an online pharmacy like Amazon or Express Scripts. So much more convenient and often cheaper. I don't know why people still go to these physical pharmacies to count out a few pills.

With Amazon getting in trouble with fake products and now reports of a self-cleaning litterbox sold by Amazon allegedly killing cats, trusting them with your pharmacy needs sounds like a bad idea.

I hear what you are saying but I've been using them for several years and have had perfect service. Quick delivery and 100% accuracy so far. Plus the $5 per month that covers all my meds can't be beat.

[storewanderer]

Switch to an online pharmacy like Amazon or Express Scripts. So much more convenient and often cheaper. I don't know why people still go to these physical pharmacies to count out a few pills.

With Amazon getting in trouble with fake products and now reports of a self-cleaning litterbox sold by Amazon allegedly killing cats, trusting them with your pharmacy needs sounds like a bad idea.

I hear what you are saying but I've been using them for several years and have had perfect service. Quick delivery and 100% accuracy so far. Plus the $5 per month that covers all my meds can't be beat.

Amazon and fake products I think are issues with third party resellers.

As long as Amazon is operating the pharmacy it should be fine. Amazon is a strong operator. Pharmacy is heavily regulated and the people who work in pharmacies are highly trained and very professional. Many who work in pharmacy love the idea of getting out of a retail pharmacy sweatshop so Amazon can attract excellent people for this pharmacy program.

[Alpha8472]

I work in a pharmacy. Pharmacists in store based pharmacies are very diligent. If a patient suffers a drug interaction or medical issue their license is on the line. The pharmacist will call the doctor to make sure the medication is changed or that the doctor is aware of any drug interactions or risks. Some patients have multiple doctors giving different drugs that do interact. It takes a great deal of time on the phone to make sure every patient's health is taken care of.

At a mail order bulk pharmacy, the pharmacists don't care. Any drug interaction will not be blamed on them. You can't put the blame on one pharmacist when there could be many working at the same time in that huge bulk pharmacy.

Mail order pharmacies use automated filling machines where all sorts of drugs go through the same tubes. Your medication is constantly mixed with the residue from hundreds of other drugs. Cancer drugs are highly toxic and can kill healthy cells and even cause other types of cancer. Female hormone tablets leave a lot of dust and can contaminate the machines.

Methotrexate for arthritis can be used to cause abortions. If you are confident that you have no drug allergies to thousands of different ingredients, then mail order is fine.

Mail order pharmacies are dangerous for your health. People wonder why they suffer random miscarriages and cancer. If the drug filling trays and tubes are not cleaned often, you will be consuming tons of cancer causing dust.

I would never take a chance on such dangerous automated machines.

There are many pharmacies that use traditional counting methods. You count the pills and you clean the tray and counting spatula. With these automated machine's there is no way to clean after every different medication.

CVS uses these automated machines in their stores. I worked briefly at an internship at CVS. They do not clean those machines. They are so dirty and there are tons of spilled pills all mixed up that have fallen into the nooks of the machine.

There are many other pharmacies that stick to the proper and safe method of hand counting pills to ensure safety. Employees in retail pharmacies go out of their way to call your doctors for refills, insurance problems, drug interactions, and any medical concerns. Any thing bad that happens to a patient will ultimately get traced back to whoever doesn't do a good job. Pharmacy employees want customers to get the best medical care and treatment. Their jobs are on the line.

Several employees at my pharmacy could not handle the stress of working in a retail pharmacy. There were some that had terrible English skills and made many mistakes. This was due to poor job knowledge and lack of attention to detail. We got rid of them. Two of them went to work at mail order pharmacies. It really scares me as now they can go and make tons of mistakes and who knows if anyone in that busy mail order pharmacy will ever catch their mistakes. They are just a face in a crowd.

[veteran+]

I work in a pharmacy. Pharmacists in store based pharmacies are very diligent. If a patient suffers a drug interaction or medical issue their license is on the line. The pharmacist will call the doctor to make sure the medication is changed or that the doctor is aware of any drug interactions or risks. Some patients have multiple doctors giving different drugs that do interact. It takes a great deal of time on the phone to make sure every patient's health is taken care of.

At a mail order bulk pharmacy, the pharmacists don't care. Any drug interaction will not be blamed on them. You can't put the blame on one pharmacist when there could be many working at the same time in that huge bulk pharmacy.

Mail order pharmacies use automated filling machines where all sorts of drugs go through the same tubes. Your medication is constantly mixed with the residue from hundreds of other drugs. Cancer drugs are highly toxic and can kill healthy cells and even cause other types of cancer. Female hormone tablets leave a lot of dust and can contaminate the machines.

Methotrexate for arthritis can be used to cause abortions. If you are confident that you have no drug allergies to thousands of different ingredients, then mail order is fine.

Mail order pharmacies are dangerous for your health. People wonder why they suffer random miscarriages and cancer. If the drug filling trays and tubes are not cleaned often, you will be consuming tons of cancer causing dust.

I would never take a chance on such dangerous automated machine's.

There are many pharmacies that use traditional counting methods. You count the pills and you clean the tray and counting spatula. With these automated machine's there is no way to clean after every different medication.

CVS uses these automated machines in their stores. I worked briefly at an internship at CVS. They do not clean those machines. They are so dirty and there are tons of spilled pills all mixed up that have fallen into the nooks of the machine.

There are many other pharmacies that stick to the proper and safe method of hand counting pills to ensure safety. Employees in retail pharmacies go out of their way to call your doctors for refills, insurance problems, drug interactions, and any medical concerns. Any thing bad that happens to a patient will ultimately get traced back to whoever doesn't do a good job. Pharmacy employees want customers to get the best medical care and treatment. Their jobs are on the line.

Several employees at my pharmacy could not handle the stress of working in a retail pharmacy. There were some that had terrible English skills and made many mistakes. This was due to poor job knowledge and lack of attention to detail. We got rid of them. Two of them went to work at mail order pharmacies. It really scares me as now they can go and make tons of mistakes and who knows if anyone in that busy mail order pharmacy will ever catch their mistakes. They are just a face in a crowd.

Fantastic info!

Thank you!