Pharmacy deserts disproportionately affect vulnerable communities in the US

Nearly half of the counties in the United States have at least one “pharmacy desert” where there is no retail pharmacy within 10 miles, according to a new study published by researchers at The Ohio State University Cancer Hospital – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J .Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James).

As pharmacies close, more and more Americans are left without easy access to medicine, with disproportionate effects on some communities. We found that patients in counties with higher social vulnerabilities and fewer primary care providers were up to 40% more likely to reside in a pharmacy desert area.”

Timothy Pawlik, MD, senior author of the study and holder of the Urban Meyer III and Shelley Meyer Chair in Cancer Research at OSUCCC – James

Pawlik also serves as surgeon-in-chief at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and as chairman of the Department of Surgery at the Medical College of Ohio.

The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) defines social vulnerability as “potential adverse effects on communities caused by external stressors on human health.”

“These findings highlight how disparities exacerbate a lack of access to basic health care and how it can lead many people to not take their prescribed medications and have worse health outcomes, especially for chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension,” added Pawlik.

The results of the study were published today in JAMA Network Open.

Methods and results

The researchers examined data for communities located less than 10 miles from the nearest retail pharmacy from the publicly available TelePharm Map. Counties were noted to have high pharmacy desert density if the number of pharmacy deserts per 1,000 residents was at the 75th percentile. Social vulnerability index (SVI) and health care provider data were obtained from the CDC’s Office of Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and Health Resource Archives Area databases, respectively. The researchers used statistical methods to analyze the relationships between these factors.

The study found that nearly 46 percent of 3,143 counties had at least one pharmacy desert. Counties with a high density of pharmacy deserts had higher social vulnerability and fewer primary care providers. People in these high-density pharmacy wilderness areas were more likely to experience difficulties accessing medicines and health care services.

Collaborators on this study include Giovanni Catalano, MD, Muhammad Muntazir Mehdi Khan, MBBS, and Odysseas P. Chatzipanagiotou, MD.