Independent Pharmacies at a Crossroads: Dimple Lagdiwala on Why Policy Reform Matters For decades, independent community pharmacies have been anchors of patient care, particularly for people battling complex conditions like cancer. But in 2025 those pharmacies find themselves at a crossroads, squeezed by low reimbursements, powerful middlemen and a regulatory maze that makes it harder—not easier—to get life‑saving medications into the hands of patients who need them. A recent report in Pharmacy Times describes medically integrated dispensing (MID) pharmacies as being at a “critical crossroads.” These pharmacies, which combine oncology practice with medication management, face unsustainably low reimbursement rates, restrictive pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) practices, new interpretations of anti‑kickback rules that limit their ability to deliver oral cancer drugs, and financial headwinds tied to the Inflation Reduction Act. Each factor on its own would be burdensome; t...
