'Pharmageddon' Could Close Pharmacies: What To Know In Maryland

MARYLAND — Residents of Maryland who need to get their prescriptions filled could be in for a wait as hundreds of pharmacists across more than a dozen states participate in the “Pharmageddon” protest of working conditions at CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid drug stores.

Staff and organizers in multiple states confirmed to CNN that the walkouts have begun and will take place, but it remains unclear if any actions will take place in Maryland.

Aliyah Horton, executive director of the Maryland Pharmacists Association, said she is not aware at this time of any planned walkouts among pharmacists in Maryland.

Similar to the arguments of the national organizers of the pharmacist protests, though, Horton said there is a concern among pharmacists, especially at chain pharmacies, about mistakes being made that could affect patients due to the deterioration of working conditions over the past few years as companies seek to cut costs.

"At the end of the day the walkouts are No. 1 about patient safety," Horton said.

Horton added that working conditions tend to be better at independent pharmacies compared to the national chains.

The actions in the at least 15 states participating in the Pharmageddon sick-out are being organized on social media. The pharmacists aren’t asking for better pay, the sticking point in labor protests over the last several months.

Rather, they are asking employers to hire more pharmacy staff and eliminate policies encouraging them to work harder, NBC News reported.

The New York Times, citing a former Walgreen pharmacist involved in organizing protest efforts, reported 25 stores closed on Monday in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Florida, Texas and Illinois. A Walgreens statement obtained by the outlet countered that source's assessment of the situation, saying that only three pharmacies closed and "no more than a handful of pharmacists" walked out.

Protests at Walgreens and CVS corporate headquarters in Deerfield, Illinois, and Woonsocket, Rhode Island, respectively, were planned Wednesday.

American Pharmacists Association CEO Michael D. Hogue said in a statement Monday that the group stands with the striking pharmacists.

“For far too long, employers have made the situation worse than it needed to be,” he wrote, adding that quotas requiring pharmacists to fill a certain number of prescriptions or administer large numbers of vaccinations are destroying their relationships with patients.

“Supervisors who are not pharmacists do not understand the needs of care teams and make unreasonable demands on time-based productivity,” Hogue said.

This summer, the Maryland Pharmacists Association passed a policy statement on workplace conditions and became the first state association to endorse the American Pharmacists Association's Fundamentals Responsibilities and Rights, Horton said.

The Maryland Pharmacists Association's policy statement supports efforts to reduce personnel burnout caused by workplace issues and advocates for employers of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy personnel to provide fair and equitable working conditions. The policy statement also calls for management models that ensure the safety of patients and minimizes distractions.

Complaints about quotas and inadequate staffing have been common among pharmacists for years, but worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Pharmageddon sick-outs started attracting attention when pharmacists at about a dozen CVS pharmacies in the Kansas City, Missouri, area refused to come to work in mid-September.

In statements, spokespeople for both CVS and Walgreens told Reuters the drug store companies are working to resolve the issues with pharmacists. CVS said it is in “continuous two-way dialogue” with pharmacy workers, while Walgreens said it is focusing on recruiting, retaining and rewarding its pharmacy staff.