Russell s Pharmacy and Shoppe opened in East Durham two years ago to fill this exact need. You re looking at a historically marginalized area, there are a lot of people who don t have as much transportation, they don t have as many ways to get access, to just drive down to the CVS or Walgreens or the Walmart, so they need something in the community that is very close to them that they have access to, said Dr. Darius Russell, the pharmacy manager and owner.
The nearest pharmacies to his business are both chains and are a 30-minute walk away.
Russell said being in the community also offers him a chance to form relationships and trust with his patients; a relationship that can help in the COVID-19 vaccination effort.
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) Most people in East Durham know Darius Russell by name. People trust us especially when you look at Black and brown communities, Russell said. There s a lack of trust. Maybe even more that we have to build relationships.
Russell and his wife own the independent drug store on Angier Avenue that bears his name. He s also the pharmacist. You think about just how pharmacies help physicians give out flu and shingles shot, he said. We re not trying to step on anyone s toes but I think we can be part of this as healthcare providers in the state, in this community here in Durham and in the country.
For Already Struggling Independent Pharmacies, Blue Cross Program Brings More Pain
Darius Russell of Russell s Pharmacy
North Carolinaâs largest health insurance provider announced in November that it would mail more than $200 million in health and wellness retail debit cards to its members.
But as small businesses struggle to stay afloat amid rising COVID-19 infection rates, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina has made accessing this juggernaut of financial benefits near-impossible for the wellness-focused companies that need it most: independently owned pharmacies.
Last month, writer and gardener Frank Hyman called Russellâs Pharmacy & Shoppe in historic Old East Durham to ask about using the $500 gift card he had received in the mail from Blue Cross.
Pharmacist Darius Russell, owner of Russell’s Pharmacy and Shoppe in Durham, hopes to stop losing money on helping patients.
Russell is an independent pharmacist, and he has little negotiating power with the middlemen that control the supply chain of prescription drugs. But change is coming.
The U.S. Supreme Court gave states the power to regulate the companies that negotiate between insurers and pharmacies, otherwise known as pharmacy benefit managers the jargon for middlemen. The court unanimously ruled in favor of Arkansas’ regulatory reforms Thursday, Dec. 10.
The ruling has cleared the way for more aggressive state regulations. Depending on who’s talking, the Supreme Court gave states the opportunity either to reform crony monopolies, or to empty consumers’ wallets.
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