An independent pharmacy is a retail pharmacy

Pharmacy

Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...

 that is not directly affiliated with any chain of pharmacies and is not owned (or operated) by a publicly traded company. Independent pharmacies are pharmacist

Pharmacist

Pharmacists are allied health professionals who practice in pharmacy, the field of health sciences focusing on safe and effective medication use...

-owned, privately-held businesses in varying practice settings. They include single-store operations, pharmacist-owned multiple store locations, franchise

Franchise

Franchise generally means a right or privilege. It may refer to:*Suffrage, the civil right to vote*Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business, such as:...

, compounding

Compounding

Compounding is the mixing of drugs by a compounding pharmacist to fit the unique needs of a patient...

, long term-care (LTC), specialty, and supermarket pharmacy operation. Independent pharmacy owners generally have high standards of customer service and strive to outperform chain pharmacy competitors.

Independent Pharmacy in the United States

In 2007, there were 23,348 independent pharmacies in the U.S. Independent pharmacies dispensed 1.4 billion prescriptions annually accounting for 41% of the retail prescriptions. Average total sales are $3.6 million per location and Average prescription sales are $3.49 million per location. Over 30 percent of independent pharmacy owners have ownership in two or more pharmacies. The average independent community pharmacy location dispensed 61,087 prescriptions(196 per day) in 2006, up slightly from 61,071 in 2005.

External links

• National Community Pharmacists Association, organization representing independent pharmacists in the United States