Nationwide pharmacy staffing shortages are forcing major retailers to rethink their strategies. Here's how three pharmacy giants—CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart—are responding to current staffing challenges. 

Pharmacies struggle with staffing shortages

When COVID-19 vaccines first became available to the general public in February 2021, pharmacies onboarded additional pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to help drive efforts to vaccinate as many people as possible. During that time, job postings for pharmacists surged, with drugstore chains offering large signing bonuses of up to $20,000 to attract workers.

However, like the rest of the healthcare industry, challenges with burnout and workforce retention have made it difficult for pharmacies to overcome staffing shortages.

In a summer 2022 survey by the National Community Pharmacists Association, 76% of independent community pharmacies said they were having a "difficult time" filling staff positions.

How 3 major retailers are tackling staffing challenges

CVS

To address the ongoing shortage of pharmacy staff, CVS said it will be "adjusting hours in select stores" starting in March to conduct a periodic review of "operating hours to make sure we're open during peak customer demand."

According to a CVS spokesperson, this move will affect roughly two-thirds of the company's approximately 9,000 retail pharmacies. The company is making the schedule changes to "ensure our pharmacy teams are available to serve patients when they're most needed," the spokesperson noted.

"If a pharmacy is closed, a patient can visit any open CVS Pharmacy location for assistance with their immediate prescription needs," the spokesperson added.

Last year the company also started closing most of its pharmacies for 30 minutes every day to provide a daily lunch break for staff members.

Walgreens

In October, Walgreens announced that it was limiting pharmacy hours, citing ongoing labor shortages. To address staffing issues, Walgreens has hired thousands of pharmacists and increased pharmacy workers' pay.

According to a Walgreens spokesperson, the company also recently started using "robots" in automated facilities to fill prescriptions.

The company noted that its efforts seem to be working and the issues are subsiding. "We have seen positive staffing trends for the past several months as we work to return more stores to normal operating hours," Walgreens said. 

Walmart

Walmart is also reducing hours at its pharmacy locations to improve "work-life balance" for its staff.

"Walmart is committed to helping our associates live better. Walmart has a strong and incredible pharmacy team, and we are making this change to not only enhance their work-life balance but also to maintain the best level of service for our customers," Walmart said.

Previously, Walmart pharmacies were open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays. Now, they close at 7 p.m. on weekdays. According to Walmart, the schedule change is based on feedback from pharmacy staff and customers. 

"By positioning our teams in the hours where our customers say they want to visit our pharmacy, we are better able to deliver excellent customer service and support our associates as they continue to serve their communities every day," Walmart said. 

In addition, Walmart announced in mid-June that it would also adjust wages for more than 36,000 pharmacy technicians, increasing their average hourly pay to over $20. (Tyko, Axios, 1/27; Cerullo, CBS News, 1/27)