Phoenix pharmacies facing worker, drug shortages

Your local pharmacy might be seeing longer lines, longer wait times and drug shortages as pharmacy workers contend with a nationwide shortage.

In addition to performing typical duties, such as refilling prescriptions or handing out flu shots, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians have added COVID-19 testing and vaccinations to their ever- growing list of tasks. Combined with burnout from a two-year pandemic, a staffing shortage has taken hold of the industry.

According to a May 2021 study from the National Community Pharmacists Association, almost 90% of survey respondents said they can’t find a pharmacy technician and nearly 60% can’t find front-end employees to run the cash register or track inventory. About 25% had difficulty hiring delivery drivers, crucial at the height of stay-at- home orders, and more than 13% couldn’t hire enough staff pharmacists to handle prescriptions and patients.