The fully licensed pharmacy provided accessible medication at reasonable prices with pharmacists who were available to answer questions.
Students were notified via email of the closure May 15, stating pharmacy records and prescriptions will be transferred to the Walgreens located at 1700 Old RR 12, San Marcos. Dr. Emilio Carranco, director of the Student Health Center, said the pharmacy also communicated the closure via email to all customers who had been seen in the past two years.
“It was important for us to make sure that our students would be able to access their prescriptions and that they'd be able to access them anywhere, and I think that's one of the advantages of transferring all of their prescriptions to Walgreens. Our students can go to any Walgreens and access their prescriptions,” Carranco said.
Carranco said a combination of factors led to the closure, including increased competition with other pharmacies, such as Walgreens, CVS and H-E-B. Other factors were declines in insurance reimbursement and low prescription volume.
“It was a combination of all of those factors that led to the decision that we need to close the pharmacy,” Carranco said.
Despite the closure, Carranco noted having other pharmacies in the area is reassuring.
“I think the fact that we do have all those pharmacies available to our students right on the edge of campus is reassuring because we know that our students will still be able to access pharmacy services in a fairly convenient location,” he said.
It is undecided how the extra space will be used, but the health center is considering several options.
“We are talking about possible expansion of the facility, but, again, no decisions have been made,” Carranco said.
