The availability of pharmacies in the United States: 2007-2015.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Despite their increasingly important role in health care delivery, little is known about the availability, and characteristics, of community pharmacies in the United States.

Objectives

(1) To examine trends in the availability of community pharmacies and pharmacy characteristics (24-hour, drive-up, home delivery, e-prescribing, and multilingual staffing) associated with access to prescription medications in the U.S. between 2007 and 2015; and (2) to determine whether and how these patterns varied by pharmacy type (retail chains, independents, mass retailers, food stores, government and clinic-based) and across counties.

Methods

Retrospective analysis using annual data from the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs. Pharmacy locations were mapped a

SUBMITTER: Qato DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5559230 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature