By Selwyn Harris
After more than three years in business, a local pharmacy has shut its doors.
Family Pharmacy at 1360 E. Highway 372 left customers scratching their heads this week when they found the doors to the business locked.
Owner Ali Raza said there were several issues that forced him to sell the pharmacy’s patient list to Walgreens.
One of those issues dealt with the quantity of painkillers being dispensed compared to non-pain medications.
“We were very sad to leave but there was so many issues that was going on. There are stipulations for the controlled substances and there has to be a proportionate between ordinary drugs and controlled substances. There was a lot of pressure from the wholesalers that we have to keep the dispensing of the controlled substances way below and that was hurting the business quite significantly and this was going on for a few months. We decided it was better to leave now,” he said.
The business owner said that due to laws relating to the dispensing of prescription medications, his supply was being drastically cut back.
“There were a couple of other pharmacies in Las Vegas that were getting hit. We didn’t get hit but we were getting those notions. We were cutting ourselves down and people were noticing that for those specific pain medications. They would come to the pharmacy and the pharmacy’s answer was ‘no we don’t have it; we don’t carry it.’ It was because there was limited supply from distributors. It was like a ripple effect. The DEA Drug Enforcement Administration was pressing them and they were pressing us and ultimately the patient was getting the heat. This struggle was going on for quite some time,” he said.
Raza said that his inability to provide patients with certain medications eventually affected the bottom line of his business.
He also said that he wished his customers had more advanced notice of the closure of the pharmacy.
“My initial reaction was sadness. I didn’t want to leave but the people were great and they loved us so much and I felt bad,” he said.
One unique aspect of Family Pharmacy was the fact that it was the only pharmacy in town that provided a delivery service, which Raza said he was more than happy to provide to customers.
“We knew the people needed that and it helped a lot. One thing I must say is that people did not abuse it. The people who needed it the most, they asked for it,” he said.
Pahrump resident Linda Merryman said she was blindsided when she went to pick up her medications recently.
“I called in a prescription on Friday afternoon and they said it would be ready in 30 minutes and I told them I will come in tomorrow. When we showed up Saturday morning, the doors were papered over and there was a sign that said prescriptions have been transferred over to Walgreens. We loved them, they were a wonderful hometown business that went out of their way to help and did whatever it took to make sure their customers were satisfied,” she said.
Aside from what she called excellent customer service, Merryman also said that Family Pharmacy seemed to have the best price for her medications.
“The prescription that I got is generic and didn’t really cost a lot of money but it costs more at Walgreens. At Family Pharmacy, you call, they get it ready and go in the next day. At most, you had to wait three or four minutes. At Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, and Smith’s, there are always long lines and it was very impersonal. I like to have the personal touch and you couldn’t ask for better customer service,” she said.
Local resident Jim Gronemann echoed Merryman’s feelings about the pharmacy’s customer service.
He also said his prescription was misplaced when he went to another pharmacy in town to pick up his medication.
“I went to Family Pharmacy and there was a sign on the door saying that they transferred all prescriptions to Walgreens. With all of the Family Pharmacy people going to Walgreens, it was going to be worse than Walmart, so I went to CVS. CVS took all of my information and supposedly called Walgreens and they said I wasn’t in the system. With a last name like Gronemann maybe they got the wrong information. I was told the easiest thing to do was to have folks bring their medication bottles into Walgreens and that would make life a lot simpler because they would have all of the prescription numbers on them. Because who memorizes their prescription numbers?” he said.
Another loyal Family Pharmacy customer, Pam Thibault, said she has been with the pharmacy since day one.
“They had the lowest prices in town and Walgreens prices are outrageous. My husband was here just last week and nothing was said. The customer service was excellent. I don’t like the people who work in the pharmacy at Walgreens. I can get my medication transferred to someplace else. I’m just sorry they are gone because they were excellent,” she said.
On Tuesday, Walgreens spokesman Robert Elfinger verified that the retailer did indeed acquire Family Pharmacy.
“I can confirm that we have acquired the pharmacy files for Family Pharmacy. That store closed end of day Saturday, February 9. We are making this a seamless transition for customers of Family Pharmacy. All they would need to do is come into the Walgreens store with their prescription bottle and their prescription and we would have them on file and we’ll be able to quickly dispense their medications. A notice has gone out to all patients and again this will be a seamless transition,” he said.
Family Pharmacy had a staff of roughly five employees.
Raza said Walgreens promised to employ at least a few of them.
“I’m sure they will have to look at their demand and things like that. We were actually overstaffed just to serve the customers,” he said.
As far as opening another pharmacy, Raza said it’s still too early think about that. “I don’t know yet,” he said.
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- Selwyn Harris / Pahrump Valley Times – Pahrump resident Pam Thibault peers through the window of Family Pharmacy on Monday. Thibault is one of the pharmacy’s many customers who was disheartened by the unexpected closure of the business on Saturday.
There are issues that I have with the way this was done.
1) of all, the right to privacy MEDICALLY. I did not sign any release of information for Walgreens to obtain my files from Family Pharmacy, nor was I advised at any time in the past 2 years they had a right to sell my information.
2), I don’t like any “takeover” situation, it is MY RIGHT TO CHOOSE where I will do business.
3) I called the Family Pharmacy number on Sat to refill a script for my elderly uncle, the phone rang into Walgreens, and the person at Walgreens who answered didn’t know why Family Pharmacy was closed, and further stated they did not have the information input into their computers and could NOT fill his script. They said call back tomorrow, and maybe it will be ready.
4) Walgreens prices are outrageous for uninsured persons.
5) I do go into Walgreens, but standing in line for long periods of time, when there are only 1 or 2 people in line=ridiculous. Same thing at Walmart, you need more 0cashiers.
6) I believe it was pressure by a larger corporation Walgreens, on the FEDS, that wanted Family Pharmacy out of business, because the Walgreens is just down the street, & was losing business due to the fantastic customer service a small business supplied.
7) I believe in supporting your small hometown businesses whenever possible. If the community does not support these businesses, Corporate Greed will continue to reign. Keep you money local, support your local businesses!
1. The prescription is written by a doctor who controls it. It is their license. All pharmacies are an extension of the fill the meds under strict law.
2. You still have the right to fill your meds where you please. this didn’t prevent that.
3. Why would they know why? If you didn’t want Walgreens, you could take your scipt to any other place in town.
4. Maybe true depending on the medication.
5. There are NO cashiers in the pharmacy section only techs and pharmacists. By the front door is different story.
6. Walgreens gets heat too. The Feds are going after everybody on pain killers. Just look at the mess in Florida with the doctors writing too many pain killer prescriptions.
7. You are absolutely right, but I get the feeling that you will take your business to who is cheapest no matter what.
Nope, I don’t go for cheapest, that is why I avoid Walmart. I honestly try to shop local, but for me it’s all about the customer service. The beef I have with Walmart, is I am old enough to remember they built their name on “Made in the USA” & now, that motto has disappeared. Yes it sucks paying higher prices, but I do.
Some more food for thought, I called the phone number to Family Pharmacy.
Walgreens had the phone number transferred over to their store PRIOR to the close of business on Saturday. See the copy of the call I made below. At 9:18 in the morning Walgreens had already taken over, not at the end of the business day.
02/09/13 09:18 AM PAHRUMP, NV 775-751-1144
1
Total Minutes 7
Family Pharmacy was really screwed up. I turned in my scripts right before close on the day before they close all to go back the next day and them be closed for good?? Why couldn’t they say something like oh we don’t have this in stock might want to go somewhere else cause were not sure when we will get it back?? Instead they didn’t say anything at all and when I went to Walgreens to get my meds they tell me it will be about mid week next week in order for me to get them cause they had a lot of boxes and what not to go through still. I didn’t have bottles or anything as they were new meds. Really really irritating. I ended up calling my Dr. to send my scripts over to CVS instead.
Figures:
Don’t know why Walgreens couldn’t fill the meds unless FP had already filled them. Poor customer service at Walgreens if that was the case. From my experience, they don’t have enough people in the pharmacy to handle the regular workload without customers having to wait. They need more help, but I’m sure Walgreens could care less since they didn’t tell the PVT the truth about the closing of FP. If the phones were answering at Walgreens Saturday morning, then FP sure didn’t close at end of business day on Saturday. More corporate lies. The Walgreens spokesperson should be reported to his bosses for lying to us. I’ll take my business to any other pharmacy in town rather than deal with liers (Walgreens spokesperson).
The same fate happened to White Cross in Las Vegas, and others, too. Its the distributors that are squeezing independents, they don’t want to deal with them. Why is anyone’s guess. I suspect it has to do with pressure from the big pharmacy customers. Its just another step in the march to centralize business in the U.S. up to big business. Every year more small guys will be crushed. Not a good long term direction for country, great for big business.
I would like to add:
SUPPORT independent businesses.
SUPPORT made in the USA.
I’m sure Mr. Raza shopped his pharmacy list to CVS and the other pharmacies in town too. Several people talk about the wait times at Walgreen’s, but if noticed, there are a lot less people working there too. I’m skeptical that Walgreens will hire any of Family Pharmacy people. Heck, they don’t want to hire enough people just to handle they customers they do have without wait times. Sounds like Family Pharmacy was more like a legalized pusher who was getting squeezed.
I am very sad to see another local small business close its doors. As many above had said, please support our Pauhrump small businesses.
Why can’t I add my statement on here about Walgreens?
I tried to post Walgreens Nevada privacy statement, and PV Times said I was spamming. Isn’t this an ongoing discussion, right to free speech?
The internet is a linked information system. No need to post a message 15 times in different places on the web, just provide a link to the source. Nobody will believe you anyways if you post it in your own words, at least I wouldn’t.
With all due respect, your right to free speech does not extent to a privately owned entity such as PV Times.
Furthermore, you do not have the right to infringe upon copyrighted material from another organization (Walgreens). Yes, even their privacy statement is an implied copyright.
As another poster mentioned, you can link to it.
It was the link to their policy I was trying to post….I do know the copy write rules!
My apologies for the mistake.
No worry, desert cat, we are on the same page!
It’s moderated free speach!
I’m trying to wrap my head around……… “One of those issues dealt with the quantity of painkillers being dispensed compared to non-pain medications.” Family Pharmacy is not writing the prescription. The medical provider is.
First of all FP had the lowest prices for the meds I use.
I never had to wait in line like the sheep did at Wally Mart or Smiths.
The staff were very courteous and went above and beyond to explain medications and satisfy customers concerns.
This was truly an American dream for Ali and his family. He worked very hard to start and get his business to grow. I witnessed growth every time I went in thre. More new faces mingled with the original staff told me Family Pharmacy was taking huge numbers of people away from the big box and food chains.
I’m sure there is more to this closing than we will ever know. I never realized that painkillers could only be dispensed as a percentage of non painkillers. I would say a community with many elderly in there golden years would tend use a lot more painkillers than a young population community. No doubt that WallMart and Smith’s and Walgreens will dispense the same amount of painkillers that Family Pharmany did per switched over customer.
Is it possible that Ali was too successful and the competitors didn’t like that?
Is it possible that desert cat is correct and BIG PHARMA is moving to close down the little guys?
All those nice people out of work adding to the decay of America’s economy. More food stamps, anyone?
Only a government entity can infringe on your right of free speech, a private company cannot. They have the right to limit input, comments or whatever they deem to be appropriate or inappropriate.
Buy American? Most Generic drugs are not even made in the United States.India is a large provider of them and so are other third world nations. Buy local? No matter where you shop in Pahrump, it helps our tax base when it comes to property taxes and sales tax revenue.
The owners of Family Pharmacy were nice. Painkillers are not limited to older patients in Pahrump, or in Nevada. This has been proven before in other studies. There have also been medical providers that are no longer in this area that used to over write CII narcotic prescriptions that were not helping the matter. If a health care provider is writing narcotics for 9 out of 10 prescriptions, that makes it tough on a pharmacy. It also starts to attract a type of client base that is tough for a pharmacy to deal with. Pain killers are very strong, dangerous medications if they are in the wrong hands and they often end up for sale on the street by patients.
There are also new regulations going into place with the new Affordable Care Act (aka:Obamacare) which will increase the number of patients on state and federally funded programs. Those programs are very slow at reimbursement and tie up a lot of money for an independent pharmacy, just like a lot of our doctors in out town all now belong to one of two larger groups. The cost of business is going up and operations need consolidation.
It is true that Family Pharmacy closed at the end of their business day on Friday, not on Saturday as quoted in the article. I guess they were simply taking as much money from this “small town” back to Vegas with them (where they live) as they could before they closed the doors, and that is why they did not tell the patients they were closing in advance. If they would of started telling people, they would of lost customers earlier. It sounds like to me Family Pharmacy took the money and ran, but that is just my opinion. If anyone thinks BIG PHARMA is worried about what is happening in Pahrump and has an influence over the DEA, you might need to have your own medication evaluated.
The drug distributors are squeezing out independents. That’s a fact that you may not dispute. Don’t take my word for it, research it.
As far as if big pharmacy is behind it, that’s anyone’s guess.
Good article and an eye opener. The issue boils down to the number of druggies in town abusing the system, doctors over prescribing pain pills, drug stores not questioning the amount of pain pills a customer is buys, and the drug addicts buying pills from those with prescriptions. I couldn’t believe the number of pain doses that little old Pahrump has been consuming…talk about red flags and bells going off. And finally, it sounds like the feds were zeroing in on a pharmacy that was a main illicit drug source for the town. Oh…sure, the owner is a victim and did not know why all the stoners were shopping his place.
I have found it true especially here in pahrump the highest frequency of people using painkillers are those in there 20′s and 30′s at are never learned to work through their pain they star taking pills for everything from the time they are in diapers and progress eventhough they are of slight stature on to heavier and hevier narcotics. I have seen people that were coming in to Ali and discussing needing their prescriptions and every one of six prescriptions that they were asking about her narcotic painkillers and these were young people that were no more the 100 pounds. If they are taking that many painkillers you would ask why has not any of these people gone to a pain management doctor to see if other options were not availble to they because of the wholesale distribution of narcotic painkillers for minor aikes and pains our young people have become addicted to these narcotics, they they sale them to others they were not prescribed to and traffic they all over the valley and that is why the supply to pharmacies have been cut back