Innovation Meets Access

Key Points:

• Pharmacy deserts affect millions of Americans, especially in low-income areas. 
• Micro-access pharmacies enable Federally Qualified Health Centers to serve more patients in high-risk, underserved regions. 
• Eastern Iowa Health Center’s new pharmacy in Cedar Rapids is the first in the Midwest to use McKesson’s CountMate™ technology. 
• The new Health Mart pharmacy helps a community with 70% of residents below the poverty line. 

Pharmacy deserts are often seen as silent gaps in healthcare, where access to essential medications and expert advice is as scarce as a desert oasis.

This reality is faced by millions of Americans living in areas where pharmacies are few and far between. But there’s hope on the horizon.  

With a focus on empowering community pharmacists and helping to improve access to high-quality care, McKesson is building on its commitment to implement pharmacies in areas that need them the most.  

Supported by McKesson’s Global Impact Organization (GIO) and Health Mart, Eastern Iowa Health Center (EIHC) celebrated the grand opening of their first pharmacy, located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The pharmacy is situated in an area that has gone without access to the range of services provided at pharmacies and where nearly 70% of residents live below the poverty line.  

“It was inspiring to see how quickly EIHC recognized the pressing need for a new pharmacy in their neighborhood,” shares Christina Kunz, pharmacy sales consultant serving Community Pharmacy and Health customers at McKesson. “Their proactive approach and dedication were instrumental in ensuring we could address this critical need effectively.” 

To help EIHC open their new pharmacy, our GIO team provided seed funding as part of its Micro-Access Pharmacy initiative that supports Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in opening pharmacy locations. 

“By supporting the establishment of new pharmacies in existing FQHCs, we’re leveraging the trust they’ve built with their community and helping them reach even more people in high-risk areas,” says Niki Shah, vice president, Impact Innovation and Activation, part of the GIO.

And as EIHC was establishing their pharmacy business, they chose the Health Mart franchise for their suite of pharmacy tools and resources including help to establish EIHC’s Children’s Vitamin program. 

“We were thrilled to partner with EIHC to celebrate the grand opening and highlight the valuable community resource they’ve established,” shared Renee Dudek, manager of Local Marketing, Health Mart.

Powered by McKesson's CountMate^TM

The new pharmacy is built with efficiency in mind, equipped with robotic technology, including CountMate™.  A next-generation, vial-filling system, CountMate^TM dispenses a fully labeled, patient-specific prescription every 20 seconds, using dual robotic arms, biometric security and real-time canister replenishment. 

EIHC’s new pharmacy in Cedar Rapids is the first in the Midwest to use McKesson’s CountMate™ technology.

"It allows us to do more education with the patients," said Dr. Aaron Sackett, pharmacist in charge at EIHC."Just spending a little more time at the pharmacy counter rather than counting out the prescriptions yourself." 

This story is a powerful reminder of how technology and purpose-driven leadership can transform healthcare delivery. By leveraging state-of-the-art technology, we are helping pharmacies to enhance access, streamline operations and deliver high-quality service to the communities it serves. 

EIHC’s mission is rooted in access and innovation, two pillars that resonate deeply with our values. By integrating advanced systems and automation, we are able to reduce wait times, improve medication adherence and help ensure that under-resourced populations receive the care they need.