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The good news: More and more independent and small chain pharmacy operators are beginning to realize the need to belong to a larger group-a group such as Care Pharmacies, which in its District of Columbia home base of operations, is second only to CVS in terms of the number of stores it operates in the region. Especially as changes in Medicare Part D and Medicaid continue to make it increasingly more difficult for smaller operators to turn a profit.
The bad news: More and more independent operators are less profitable. And that makes finding suitable candidates to add to its growing network of operators a challenge in itself for Care Pharmacies executives.
"It's a double-edged sword," Care Pharmacies chief executive officer Gerson Serody told Drug Store News. "In one respect, [Medicare Part D] has made independents more aware that you need to have some sort of involvement in a group, but I believe there will be [some] stores that...