Shortage of Pharmacists Raises Pay
New York is facing what some are calling a shortage of licensed pharmacists.
The shortage has driven starting pay for graduates of four-year pharmacist programs into the six-figure range.
"That guy who can barely tie his shoes is making $120,000," said Ian Ginsberg, the owner of C.O. Bigelow Chemists, a 170-year-old apothecary in the West Village. He was referring to employees of pharmacy chains.
Mr. Ginsberg described a rivalry among the chains, which have been known to recruit pharmacists away from competing stores. "They can't staff enough. People are overworked and overstressed," Mr. Ginsberg said. "In the end, the quality of care on the chain level is diminished."
In the five boroughs, there are 4,936 licensed pharmacists, a number that is growing, according to the New York State Department of Education. In 2006, the state issued 702 new licenses, up from 662 in 2005.
Eclipsing their growth, pharmacists said, is the number of prescriptions being filled. Nationwide, Americans fill about 3.3 billion prescriptions each year. In 2006, New Yorkers filled 210 million prescriptions, up from 192 million prescriptions in 2003. Residents of only three states — California, Texas, and Florida — filled more prescriptions, according to data obtained from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
In response to a shortage of licensed pharmacists, Touro College plans to open a new College of Pharmacy in September. The college will be housed inside the school's College of Osteopathic Medicine in Harlem, which opened this year.
Touro administrators said they expect to attract 35 faculty members and at least 60 students in the coming months. "A new pharmacy school is not something that would have any difficulty getting a class enrolled," the school's dean, Stuart Feldman, said.
Some pharmacists warned that more stores does not equal better quality.
"A cashier just doesn't cut it," the owner of several pharmacies in New York City and on Long Island, Donald Cantalino, said. "When you're filling twice as many scripts as you should be, it takes away from patient-centered care. This is supposed to be taking care of a patient, not filling 400 scripts in a single shift."
"There are more access points, but the quality of the services is going down," said Mark Brandell, the manager of an independently owned pharmacy on the Upper East Side, the Madison Avenue Health Mart Pharmacy. Mr. Brandell said his colleagues employed by pharmacy chains are working toward a paycheck, and little else. "They're just filling a shift," he said.
Mr. Brandell said pharmacists' reputations were suffering as a result. "Being a pharmacist is portrayed as being anything but glamorous these days. It's kind of nerdy, people think you only count pills," he said.
Representatives from Duane Reade declined to comment for this article, and a spokesman for CVS pharmacies, Michael DeAngelis, said he did not want to fight with independent pharmacists. "The service we provide to our customers is one of convenience and access to pharmacists," he said. The company operates 108 stores citywide.
Mr. DeAngelis acknowledged that CVS employed technicians and support staff in order to free up time for pharmacists. But he said despite a nationwide shortage of pharmacists, there is a waiting list of pharmacists who want to work for CVS in New York.
"In New York City, we're not having any issues in terms of having pharmacists available to staff our stores," he said.
To be competitive, independent pharmacists are leveraging their customer service capabilities.
"If we're going to play their game, we're never going to win," Mr. Ginsberg said. He said he aims to preserve the relationship between pharmacists and customers, to stock every medication, and to accept every insurance plan. "I'm going to try to be everything to everyone and try to maintain that experience that people remember," he said.
The growth of chain pharmacies also has paved the way for independent stores to find niche markets. Last month, Mr. Cantalino opened a boutique pharmacy opened in DUMBO, the Brooklyn neighborhood where developers have been converting old manufacturing buildings into luxury residences.
The store, Bridge Apothecary, carries high-end cosmetics and hair care products. "It's a Madison Avenue pharmacy," he said.
"I've been doing this since the 1980s, I know my patients by first name," Mr. Cantalino, who is the president of the Pharmacists Society of the State of New York, said. "There is a personal relationship there."
