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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
People in a timely manner.”Chase agreed that even when the national supply chain is stable, localized logistics often remain the bottleneck. “What will delay you getting that drug is cold chain logistics and pharmacies buying it—or not buying it—where you’re located,” Chase explained. Rural areas, in particular, often experience longer delays due to the additional challenges of transporting and storing temperature-sensitive medications. “It’s more difficult to get cold chain products in more rural locations. It takes longer because of the way you have to maintain the drug,” she said.This sentiment was echoed by the pharmacy technician at a Walgreens in rural Minnesota, who described the practical challenges pharmacies face when storing and distributing GLP-1 medications. “We have probably about a 10- or maybe 15-cubic-foot refrigerator,” he explained. “And a good quarter to third of it at any given time now is the GLP-1s. … We routinely don’t have space for all of them” in alphabetically ordered containers, “so we’re tucking them between other drugs just to try to get them in the fridge.” If a patient needs a dose he doesn’t have in stock, he said, “I can almost always order it and get it quickly.” He added this “wasn’t the case six months ago” — back when GLP-1 drugs were in shorter supply. Corporate policies, however, have created additional barriers to patient access, he said. Walgreens recently instituted a policy limiting patients to one-month fills of GLP-1 prescriptions, regardless of their doctor’s orders or insurance coverage, he said. The
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