Catholic pharmacy shuts down in Va. (lack of customers)

[gam197]

Saw this on Lifesite News…

Situated next to a Catholic bookstore, the founders hoped to attract clientele from St. Timothy and St. Veronica, two nearby Catholic parishes totaling 20,000 members. Within five miles were four other booming churches with 30,000 Catholics. And it was situated in the fast-growing Diocese of Arlington with 428,417 adherents.

But regular customers never materialized in great numbers
washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/07/catholic-pharmacy-shutters-in-virginia/

I’ve posted articles about this in the past but never did change my own prescription. Does anyone know if these pharmacies accept private healthcare coverage?? (I get the prescription in the mail and it works find so I am not concerned about the mailing.)

Here is a link to Pharmacists for Life…

pfli.org/

 

[Dale_M]

The Washington Times:

But most customers only needed occasional medications and DMC never connected, he said, with patients needing the kind of maintenance medications that are the bread and butter for most pharmacies.

Plus, DMC never got into the heavy retail items, such as cosmetics, toys and fast food, that help keep similar pharmacies afloat. It did develop a mail-order business that, by the time the pharmacy closed, comprised almost 50 percent of the practice.

Independent pharmacies have a very difficult business model. Its hard to compete with the the buying power of chain pharmacies. The three independent pharmacies I am familiar with have survived for two reasons. They have been around for decades, and have a loyal customer base. And they have a relationship with a local hospital or medical clinic which has the pharmacy fill their prescriptions.

The letter DMC Pharmacy went to its customers mentions that the closing of the pharmacy does not affect the other Divine Mercy Care facility, which is a pro-life OB-GYN practice.
dmcpharm.com/uploads/documents/DMC_Benefactors_CLosing_Letter.pdf

 

[gam197]

originally posted by Dale_M
The letter DMC Pharmacy went to its customers mentions that the closing of the pharmacy does not affect the other Divine Mercy Care facility, which is a pro-life OB-GYN practice.

Thanks for the letter but why weren’t there enough customers from the pro-life OB-GYN group.? It probably just needed some outsiders and that is why finding out how our prescription plans works is necessary.

 

[Dale_M]

Thanks for the letter but why weren’t there enough customers from the pro-life OB-GYN group.?

I guess it wasn’t enough. The pharmacist posted on the pharmacy’s website, prior to its closing, that they needed 5000 customers, but they only had 1000.
catholicnewsagency.com/news/pro-life_pharmacy_in_d.c._area_closes_due_to_financial_difficulties/

 

[silentstar]

Could this be related to the difficulties that independent bookstores are having?

I am aware of 2 really good independent bookstores near where I live, one in DC and one in Baltimore. They carry many popular books as well as other interesting ones, such as books on art that I don’t see anywhere else.

However I used to browse 2 other independent bookstores that have closed. In both those cases, the selection was very poor. One store called itself a “literary bookstore” but when I asked about classics such as Remembrance of Things Past, they often did not carry them and would have had to place an order. There was no reason for me to order a book given that Borders or Amazon would have it.

 

[Kardinal]

Thanks for the letter but why weren’t there enough customers from the pro-life OB-GYN group.? It probably just needed some outsiders and that is why finding out how our prescription plans works is necessary.

(Thread resurrection at work here)

I think it’s a simple matter of convenience. People go to Tepeyac Family Center (DMC’s pro-life OB/GYN group) once or twice a year when they’re not pregnant, and 4-5 times when they are. In those circumstances, which are rare, it’s no big deal to drive 30-60 minutes for an appointment. You schedule around it, it’s not a big deal. My wife is a patient there, but we also live about 10 minutes from there.

Driving out to Chantilly , which is located in the Northernmost part of the Arlington diocese, 2-3 times a month was inconvenient for many people. AND they had to go to the bother of transferring all of their prescriptions there.

I worked in Chantilly at the time, and was one of DMC’s 1000 customers. I go to know Bob and his daughter, who worked there, pretty well. But I can understand why many Catholics in the area never did transfer. I understand it, but I don’t think it was a valid excuse. Not at all.

 

[BVM_1221]

(Thread resurrection at work here)

I think it’s a simple matter of convenience. People go to Tepeyac Family Center (DMC’s pro-life OB/GYN group) once or twice a year when they’re not pregnant, and 4-5 times when they are. In those circumstances, which are rare, it’s no big deal to drive 30-60 minutes for an appointment. You schedule around it, it’s not a big deal. My wife is a patient there, but we also live about 10 minutes from there.

Driving out to Chantilly , which is located in the Northernmost part of the Arlington diocese, 2-3 times a month was inconvenient for many people. AND they had to go to the bother of transferring all of their prescriptions there.

I worked in Chantilly at the time, and was one of DMC’s 1000 customers. I go to know Bob and his daughter, who worked there, pretty well. But I can understand why many Catholics in the area never did transfer. I understand it, but I don’t think it was a valid excuse. Not at all.

Could it have been money? As an independant pharmacy, how did their prices compare with the chain pharmacies? For seniors, and the other poor, even a dollar in differance can be important. :sad_yes:

 

[ConstantineTG]

I guess today’s business model favors wholesale more. So chain stores have the advantage of being able to order more at a cheaper price, then sell lower. I used to own a PC store. Even at a time when PC sales are booming, it was difficult to compete with bigger, better funded businesses. For every 10 components you can order, they can order a hundred or more at a lower price. Then basically sell for the same price as your cost price.

And with fincances as difficult as it is, people won’t consider much other than price in their decision to buy something. So a Catholic drug store cannot rely on religion for its customers. And Catholics won’t buy from a store just because its a Catholic store. If they can get the same merchanidse cheaper elsewhere, they would. Thats just how things are.