Why Choose A Family Owned Pharmacy Over A Chain Store?
Chain store pharmacies have some benefits, such as multiple locations, extended hours, and convenience store items that you can buy at the same location, which can save time in a frazzled society.
However, the benefits of a family-owned pharmacy far outweigh the conveniences of a faceless and impersonal chain store. Examples include the following:
Familiarity with their customers
Many family-owned pharmacies have been in the same location for generations, and served the same families through the years. The pharmacists know their neighbors' medical histories and can intervene if a prescribed medication may interact with another medication that they already take that may have been prescribed by a different physician.
They will also be more aware of any non-prescription medication that the customer may be using, along with any possible drug interactions or side effects when combined with their prescription medication.
They will also be familiar with their customers' family histories and ongoing health problems, which may also raise an alarm if a prescribed medication may have a negative effect on their condition.
A family pharmacy will also be familiar with local medical professionals, and will be able to solve problems with prescriptions or refills with greater ease because of their familiarity with local practices and procedures.
Convenience
Family-owned pharmacies are in the neighborhood, so customers without private transportation can walk to pick up their prescriptions. Some family-owned pharmacies even offer prescription deliveries, which is a huge benefit for seniors, handicapped individuals, and neighbors who are too sick to drag themselves out of bed to pick up their prescriptions.
Rather than stocking generic convenience products, a family-owned pharmacy will know what is needed or preferred by local customers or can order items by request.
Neighborhood stability
As family owned businesses fall to discount chain stores, the history and texture of the neighborhood begins to fade, until it begins to lose its individuality. Family-owned pharmacies, along with family-owned hardware stores and local eateries, provide stability and a sense of comfort and continuity in an otherwise detached and isolated society.
Chain-store pharmacies are also usually positioned in stores that are filled with inexpensive junk food, which adds to the growing obesity and type 2 diabetes epidemics and helps to contribute to overall health issues in the neighborhoods in which they dispense medication to fight illnesses caused by poor eating habits. Many still continue to sell tobacco products while selling medication that assist tobacco users to stop smoking.
Family-owned pharmacies are part of the tapestry of a community, and help to keep the threads from fraying and the neighborhood unraveling until its inhabitants are dispersed and the community lost.
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