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Effective April 2026, the Kroger Co. will be closing 18 The Little Clinic in-store locations in the state of Georgia and at least 1 in Ohio. The company has not given any details behind the decision. There’s reason to believe the company may be banking on the possibility of a new model in the market, in which pharmacists would have expanded scope of practice to recommend treatment and prescribe medications. Such a model is now up and running in the Wells Hometown Drug retail pharmacy in Iowa. Thanks to new legislation, pharmacists in Iowa can now run “test-to-treat” services for a limited list of concerns, such as strep, flu, COVID-19, and uncomplicated urinary tract infections, for example. Ohio is considering similar rules. However, Georgia’s current legislative proposals only focus on expanding specific prescribing privileges for contraception and HIV pre-exposure and postexposure prophylaxis, rather than a broad “test-and-treat” authorization for pharmacists.
Clinics that remain open: Nationwide, Kroger has 2,700 grocery locations operating under its various brands, and about 200 The Little Clinic rooftops will remain open after the Georgia and Ohio locations shutter.
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