Skip to Content
800-533-8762
  • Careers
  • Newsroom
  • Health Care Professionals
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
UPMC
  • Find a Doctor
  • Services
    • Frequently Searched Services
    • Frequently Searched Services
      Allergy & Immunology Behavioral & Mental Health Cancer Ear, Nose & Throat Endocrinology Gastroenterology Heart & Vascular Imaging Neurosciences Orthopaedics
      Physical Rehabilitation Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Primary Care Senior Services Sports Medicine Telemedicine Transplant Surgery Walk-In Care Weight Management Women’s Health
      See all Services
    • Services by Region
    • Find a UPMC health care facility close to you quickly by browsing by region.
      UPMC in Western Pa. Western Pa. and New York
      UPMC in Central Pa. Central Pa.
      UPMC in North Central Pa. North Central Pa.
      UPMC in Western Md. Maryland & West Virginia
    • See All Services
  • Locations
    • Locations by Type
    • Locations by Type
      UPMC hospitals
      Hospitals
      Physical Therapy
      Physical Therapy
      Urgent care
      Walk-In Care
      UPMC Outpatient Centers
      Outpatient Centers
      UPMC Imaging Services
      Imaging
      Community Health Centers
      Community Health Centers
      See All Locations
    • Locations by Region
    • Locations by Region
      UPMC in Southwest Pa. Southwest Pa.
      UPMC in North Central Pa. North Central Pa.
      UPMC in Northwest Pa and Ny. Northwest Pa. & Western N.Y.
      UPMC in West Central Pa. West Central Pa.
      UPMC in Central Pa. Central Pa.
      UPMC in Western Md. Maryland & West Virginia
    • See All Locations
  • Patients & Visitors
    • Patient & Visitor Resources
    • Patient & Visitor Resources
      Patients and Visitors Resources Pay a Bill Classes & Events Medical Records Health Library Patient Information
      Patient Portals Privacy Information Shared Decision Making Traveling Patients Visitor Information
      Man uses mobile phone
      Pay a Bill
      Nurse reviews medical chart
      Request Medical Records
  • Patient Portals
  • Find Covid-19 updates
  • Schedule an appointment
  • Request medical records
  • Pay a bill
  • Learn about financial assistance
  • Find classes & events
  • Send a patient an eCard
  • Make a donation
  • Volunteer
  • Read HealthBeat blog
  • Explore UPMC Careers
Skip to Content
UPMC
  • Patient Portals
  • For Patients & Visitors
    • Find a Doctor
    • Locations
    • Patient & Visitor Resources
    • Pay a Bill
    • Services
    • More
      • Medical Records
      • Financial Assistance
      • Classes & Events
      • HealthBeat Blog
      • Health Library
  • About UPMC
    • Why UPMC
    • Facts & Stats
    • Supply Chain Management
    • Community Commitment
    • More
      • Financials
      • Support UPMC
      • UPMC Apps
      • UPMC Enterprises
      • UPMC International
  • For Health Care Professionals
    • Physician Information
    • Resources
    • Education & Training
    • Departments
    • Credentialing
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Newsroom
  • UPMC >
  • Media Relations >
  • News Releases >
  • 072722 community pharmacy
Media Relations
News Releases
Central Pa. News
North Central Pa. News
Contact Us
Experts
Community-Focused News
Media Kits
Media RSS
Media Relations
News Releases
Central Pa. News
North Central Pa. News
Contact Us
Experts
Community-Focused News
Media Kits
Media RSS

9 out of 10 Americans Live Close to Community Pharmacy

For Journalists

Anastasia (Ana) Gorelova
Senior Manager, Science Writing
412-647-9966
gorelovaa@upmc.edu

Allison Hydzik
Director, Science and Research
412-647-9975
hydzikam@upmc.edu

Want to Make an Appointment or Need Patient Information?
Contact UPMC at

1-800-533-8762.

Go to Find a Doctor to search for a UPMC doctor.

2021 PITT HS stacked

7/28/2022

PITTSBURGH – Almost 90% of the U.S. population lives within 5 miles of a community pharmacy, but more than half of Americans have to commute for more than 1 mile to reach a pharmacist. A new nationwide analysis published online in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association ahead of print verifies an often-cited statistic that, until now, was not supported with peer-reviewed evidence.

The study, led by University of Pittsburgh and University of California San Diego researchers, is the first nationwide analysis of driving distance to community pharmacies. The results provide a better understanding of accessibility to U.S. drugstores and the essential services they provide.  

BerenbrokLucaspress“Community pharmacies are the front door to the health system. They’re often where people start their health care journey and are a gateway to connection with other health care services,” said first author Lucas Berenbrok, Pharm.D., associate professor of pharmacy and therapeutics in the Pitt School of Pharmacy. “Our study shows that most Americans live close to community pharmacies and that community pharmacists can reach a lot of people. This means that pharmacies should be an important part of public health initiatives, like COVID-19 vaccinations, testing, and treatment.” 

As community pharmacies move beyond their traditional medication-dispensing role to providing comprehensive medication management, disease screening and chronic disease management, immunizations, over-the-counter hearing aids, contraception and more, pharmacists are becoming increasingly important health care providers, particularly for rural residents who may have limited access to other health services. 

Hernandez_InmaculadapressAccording to Berenbrok, the frequently cited statistic that 90% of Americans live within 5 miles of a pharmacy had been difficult to verify. To examine whether the claim held water, Berenbrok teamed up with senior author Inmaculada Hernandez, Pharm.D., Ph.D., associate professor of clinical pharmacy at UC San Diego. The researchers and their team mapped all 61,715 community pharmacies in the U.S., including chains, regional franchises, independent pharmacies and government pharmacies. Next, they took a 1% representative sample of the U.S. population and mapped the driving distance from home addresses to the nearest pharmacy.  

“We found that 88.9% of the population lived within 5 miles of a community pharmacy, so we were surprised and excited to find that our analysis came very close to the famous statistic,” said Berenbrok. 

These findings suggest that the vast majority of Americans have access to pharmacies, but Berenbrok added that “not all 5 miles are created equal.” 

“Driving distance is not a perfect predictor of pharmacy accessibility,” he explained. “If you have a reliable car and can take time off work, then 5 miles may not be a problem. But the same distance could be a big deal for someone without a car or who lives in an area without good public transport.” 

While 96.5% lived within 10 miles of a community pharmacy, just 48.1% of the population lived within 1 mile of such a drugstore. 

The authors also looked at the distribution of pharmacy types across the U.S. In cities, 62.8% of pharmacies were chains, whereas in rural areas, 76.5% were franchises or independent pharmacies. 

“Our study demonstrates that community pharmacies, particularly those that are independent or franchises, play a major role in providing access to health care in rural areas,” said Hernandez.FigurePopulation5milesPharmacypress “These findings emphasize the need for reform of the drug reimbursement system to ensure the financial sustainability of these mom-and-pop shops — which are more at risk of closures than large chains. This is crucial to ensure equitable access to health care in rural and underserved areas.”

The analysis showed that 8.3% of counties in the U.S. had at least 50% of residents who lived more than 10 miles from a community pharmacy. These low access counties were primarily in Alaska, South Dakota, North Dakota and Montana.

Berenbrok and Hernandez hope their findings guide efforts to improve availability of pharmacy services in underserved areas. For example, public health planners could target pop-up COVID-19 or flu vaccine clinics to populations who have lower access to community drugstores. 

Other researchers who contributed to the study were Shangbin Tang, B.S., Nico Gabriel, M.A., and Nimish Patel, Pharm.D., Ph.D., all of the University of California San Diego; Jingchuan Guo, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Florida; Nasser Sharareh, Ph.D., of the University of Utah; and Sean Dickson, J.D., M.P.H., West Health Policy Center.


PHOTO INFO: (click image(s) for high-res version(s))

Top photo:

CREDIT: University of Pittsburgh

CAPTION: Lucas Berenbrok, Pharm.D.

Middle photo:

CREDIT: University of Pittsburgh

CAPTION: Inmaculada Hernandez, Pharm.D., Ph.D. 

Bottom photo:

CREDIT: Berenbrok, L. et al. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association (2022)

CAPTION: Map of the United States showing proportion of the population in each county who live within 5 miles of a community pharmacy.

 

UPMC
200 Lothrop Street Pittsburgh, PA 15213

412-647-8762 800-533-8762

Patients And Visitors
  • Find a Doctor
  • Locations
  • Pay a Bill
  • Patient & Visitor Resources
  • Disabilities Resource Center
  • Services
  • Medical Records
  • No Surprises Act
  • Price Transparency
  • Financial Assistance
  • Classes & Events
  • Health Library
Health Care Professionals
  • Physician Information
  • Resources
  • Education & Training
  • Departments
  • Credentialing
Newsroom
  • Newsroom Home
  • Inside Life Changing Medicine Blog
  • News Releases
About
  • Why UPMC
  • Facts & Stats
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Community Commitment
  • Financials
  • Supporting UPMC
  • HealthBeat Blog
  • UPMC Apps
  • UPMC Enterprises
  • UPMC Health Plan
  • UPMC International
  • Nondiscrimination Policy
Life changing is...
Follow UPMC
  • Contact Us
  • Website/Email Terms of Use
  • Medical Advice Disclaimer
  • Privacy Information
  • Active Privacy Alerts
  • Sitemap
© 2025 UPMC I Affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences Supplemental content provided by Healthwise, Incorporated. To learn more, visit healthwise.org
Find Care
Providers
Video Visit
Portal Login

Chat Keywords List

  • cancel or exit: Stops your conversation
  • start over: Restarts your current scenario
  • help: Shows what this bot can do
  • terms: Shows terms of use and privacy statement
  • feedback: Give us feedback
Continue
Chat with UPMC
RESTART
MENU
CLOSE