The independent pharmacy opportunity pharma marketers are overlooking

Medication non-adherence is hardly a new challenge for pharmaceutical companies.

Despite the billions of dollars spent annually on prescription drug marketing, nearly a third of patients fail to fill their first prescription, and over half of novel therapies go unfilled, often due to benefit design and high out-of-pocket costs.

However, another glaring issue is the overreliance on traditional direct-to-consumer marketing. While these campaigns promote medication awareness, they don’t drive patient action. Marketers need to reach patients at critical decision points and address access barriers to truly move the needle on adherence.

Over the years, I've found that pharma marketers underestimate the value of independent pharmacies in this effort. Marketing strategies tend to prioritise large national chains, yet, from 2015 to 2025 the number of US independent retail pharmacies increased while chain pharmacy locations decreased by 14%. Not to mention, independent community pharmacy represents a nearly $103 billion marketplace.

So, how can pharma companies begin capitalising on independent pharmacies? It starts with understanding what sets these providers apart.

Why are independent pharmacies an underleveraged channel for pharma marketers?

Independent pharmacies are patient-centred by nature — agile, flexible, and able to meet the needs of community members where they are.

For example, consider independent pharmacies’ role in the COVID-19 response. Community pharmacies provided more than 300 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines between early 2021 and May 2023, representing more than two of every five doses administered in the United States. Since the pandemic, pharmacies have continued to expand their role as a primary vaccination channel, delivering just under half of flu vaccines.

Equally important, independent pharmacies disproportionately serve vulnerable and high-need populations, such as patients living in rural areas, adults over 65, and individuals belonging to low-income households. With higher staffing levels and longer-term relationships with their patients, they have the capacity to deliver more thoughtful, personalised support that prompts patient action.

Given all of this, it's fair to ask why independent pharmacies haven’t played a larger role in pharma marketing. In my experience, it isn’t that marketers question the value or clinical expertise of independent pharmacists. Rather, marketers have historically focused on national pharmacy chains because they could activate thousands of stores through a single partnership.

But today, advances in pharmacy technology make it possible to achieve that same scale across independent pharmacies, delivering consistent engagement programmes regardless of a pharmacy’s individual operating model.

How pharma marketers can adjust their strategies to engage independent pharmacies

The opportunity to reach millions of patients through independent pharmacy networks is there. However, pharma marketers must make three core shifts to engage this trusted healthcare channel.

1. Design outreach around real-world adherence barriers

Patients can lapse in therapy due to a variety of barriers. Often, financial factors like health plan cost-sharing or deductibles can influence how patients fill their medications. On the other hand, patients may hesitate to receive vaccines due to misinformation or concerns about side effects.

I've seen firsthand how independent pharmacies help pharma marketers reach patients at these friction points. Because independent pharmacists often have trusted relationships with their patients, they're uniquely positioned to guide patient action.

For example, our pharma customers that support automated voucher programmes at the point of sale can enable pharmacists to target cost-driven drop-off. Likewise, equipping pharmacists with vaccine education materials supports them to have thoughtful conversations that address patients' concerns.

By designing outreach and resources around key friction points, marketers can leverage independent pharmacies as an active intervention channel, not just a dispensing point.

2. Adjust segmentation based on independent pharmacy patient populations

Independent pharmacies often serve unique patient populations such as long-term care patients, homebound individuals, and patients with high medication needs. They also have access to patient markets that may be hard to reach through other healthcare channels, like patients living in rural areas and pharmacy deserts.

With this in mind, pharma marketers should focus on reaching specific patient populations that independent pharmacies care for. For example, I’ve seen a pharmaceutical company partner with our independent pharmacy network to target older adults with multiple chronic conditions by delivering tailored refill reminders and co-pay support at the point of sale.

Remember that independent pharmacists are relationship-driven and deeply invested in personalised patient care. Marketing messages that clearly demonstrate patient value and emphasise positive outcomes will motivate pharmacists to carry that message forward.

3. Use pharmacy data to continuously optimise patient engagement

Traditional pharmacy marketing approaches typically rely on static materials, such as provider education and patient leave-behinds. But marketers need visibility into how these efforts impact patient behaviour to refine future outreach.

Modern pharmacy technology helps pharma companies create a closed-loop patient engagement process. If pharma companies embed targeted prompts in pharmacists' workflows, independent pharmacies can capture behavioural data, such as tracking how patient messages impact fill rates or how voucher amounts influence abandonment. In turn, pharma companies can use these insights to fine-tune their engagement strategies.

However, numbers only tell part of the story. Programmes can benefit equally from the recommendations of independent pharmacists who have hands-on experience with patient communications and successful workflow approaches.

The independent pharmacy advantage starts with strategy

For pharma marketers, the value of partnering with independent pharmacies is clear.

Access to a growing network of trusted providers with direct reach to high-need patient populations offers a clear path to address adherence challenges. And as technology makes consistent engagement across independent pharmacies more achievable than ever, the only remaining barrier is strategy.

In my view, the marketers who focus on targeted outreach, partner closely with independent pharmacists, and optimise their programmes based on pharmacy insights are best positioned to drive adherence by reaching patients when it matters most.

About the author

Andrew Maurer is chief executive officer of RedSail Technologies. He is a seasoned leader who has spearheaded the development and growth of companies in the healthcare and technology sectors. Prior to RedSail, he was co-founder and CEO of Trellis Rx, now part of CPS Solutions. There, Maurer played an integral role in leading the company's operations, and forging partnerships with 18 health systems nationwide, covering over 60 hospitals and 420 clinics. Maurer holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Finance from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. His leadership has been recognised through a variety of awards and accolades, including Private Equity International's Operational Excellence Awards, The Inc. 5000, Managed Markets Insight & Technology's Specialty Pharmacy Patient Choice Award, and the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy's Strategic Channel Partner of the Year.