The following article was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and published on News5Cleveland.com under a content-sharing agreement.
When the Ohio Board of Pharmacy earlier this year unveiled a new data tool, it revealed a disturbing fact: The number of pharmacies in the state had dropped below 2,000 for the first time in memory. Revised data released Thursday show the situation’s even worse than that.
While 191 closings were originally reported for 2024, the pharmacy board on Thursday revised that number 13% upward, to 215.
“This included 19 independent, 14 small chain (2-11 stores), and 182 large chain pharmacies (12+ stores),” the board said in a written statement. “Board of Pharmacy licensing data also shows 35 closings in 2025, including five hospital outpatient, 17 independent, six small chain, and seven large chain pharmacies. Further, revised figures show the number of retail pharmacies declining in Ohio from a high of 2,218 in 2015 to 1,799 in 2024, a reduction of 19 percent.”
To healthy suburbanites, the loss of pharmacies might not seem pressing.
But for those lacking good transportation and medical access, the neighborhood pharmacist is more than a place to get medicine. It’s also an opportunity to consult with a medical professional about chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
The loss of isolated pharmacies creates deserts, and they’re growing. In Meigs County in Southeastern Ohio, for example, nearly 40% of the census tracts are part of what the pharmacy board terms pharmacy deserts.
“Pharmacies are essential for maintaining the health and safety of our citizens,” Ohio Board of Pharmacy Executive Director Steven W. Schierholt said in a written statement Thursday afternoon. “We hope that this data can provide much needed insight to improve access to pharmacy services throughout Ohio.”
Independent and small-chain pharmacies have for years complained that the practices of huge health conglomerates that own pharmacy middlemen, big health insurers and their own pharmacy operations are driving them out of business. In January, the Federal Trade Commission released an interim report saying that the conglomerates’ practices appeared to show that the small pharmacies have a valid point.
The board of pharmacy website says that 331 independent and 180 small-chain pharmacies have closed in Ohio since 2012, for a total of 511. Over the same period, 544 large-chain pharmacies have closed, but the pattern has been starkly different.
Closures of independent and small-chain pharmacies have stayed within a 30-store range each year since 2012. From 2012 through 2023, a total of 355 large-chain pharmacies closed. Then in 2024, a whopping 182 more did.
The vast majority of those are owned by Rite Aid, which has twice declared bankruptcy and closed hundreds of stores in Ohio and Michigan.
Also, Walgreens was in the process of closing thousands of its stores in March when it sold itself to a private-equity firm. Many more closures are expected — especially in already-underserved areas.
At the time, Dave Burke, a former state senator who is now executive director of the Ohio Pharmacists Association, said things have gotten so bad that Congress has no choice but to take dramatic action.
“Probably one of the best things that happened in pharmacy was Walgreens saying, ‘We just can’t take it anymore,’” he said. “I think we’re at a point of inflection. It’s slow-moving, but I think we’re there. If I were (part of the private equity group) I would probably buy Walgreens as well because we are at rock bottom. If this goes any lower, I don’t know where people get their prescriptions. We have a health crisis at that point.”
