Ohio falls below 2,000 pharmacies for first time in more than a decade

The Ohio Pharmacy Access dashboard utilizes Board of Pharmacy licensing data to provide users with a visualization of where pharmacy openings and closures are occurring.

“As the pharmacy market evolves in Ohio, it is imperative that we have a tool to help policymakers and local community leaders alike stay up to speed and even get ahead of emerging trends,” Schierholt said.

The dashboard offers insights into where closures are impacting access to pharmacy services in Ohio, including highlighting pharmacy deserts, or areas where residents have to travel to access their medications.

“This new dashboard is a convenient tool that aims to provide insights into where gaps may exist, with the ultimate goal of improving access to pharmacies to as many Ohioans as possible,” Schierholt said.

Last year, 191 pharmacies closed in Ohio. All of them were large chain locations, according to the Ohio Board of Pharmacy.

As a result of those closures, the total number of pharmacies in Ohio decreased by 7%, from 2,009 to 1,869, in 2024. It is the first time the state has had fewer than 2,000 pharmacies in more than a decade, the pharmacy board said.

In Montgomery County, 13 pharmacies closed in 2024, the highest number of pharmacy closings in the county in more than a decade, according to the state’s new dashboard. In other recent years, Montgomery County had two closings in 2023 and six in 2022.

The state recorded two new pharmacy openings in Montgomery County in 2024, and another is coming this year, with Ziks Family Pharmacy opening its third location at Homefull, 807 S. Gettysburg Ave., Dayton.

The numerous closings of retail pharmacy locations brought more customers to Ziks, particularly with the chain pharmacies working to transfer prescriptions directly to Ziks.

“With the closings of the pharmacies, we’ve actually been inundated by patients looking for a pharmacy home,” Jackie Nappier, marketing director at Ziks Pharmacy, said during Homefull’s recent grand opening of its Gettysburg Grocery.

Ziks was able to take on their new customers with little disruption to people’s care when CVS and Walgreens partnered with them to transfer west Dayton community members' prescriptions to them.

“When Walgreens closed on Hoover Avenue, we were able to absorb most of those patients,” Nappier said.

The new dashboard – available at Pharmacy.Ohio.gov/Trends – allows users to view data on pharmacy access around the state.

The dashboard will be updated monthly. It was created through a partnership between the Ohio Board of Pharmacy, the InnovateOhio Platform, and the Ohio Department of Health.