Are Retail Pharmacies Well-Positioned to Address Future Public Health Crises?

Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers addressed a packed room of National Association of Chain Drug Stores Total Store Expo (NACDS TSE) attendees at the Business Program on Sunday morning, Aug. 28, to discuss the health and economic challenges facing the United States.

We will undoubtedly face another pandemic, he warned, but retail pharmacies are well-positioned to address the health needs of the public. Further, pharmacies can play a key role in reversing the trend toward shortened life expectancies in the United States, which substantially lag behind that of many European and Asian countries.

“I know from my own experiences … that you are willing and ready to be important to make our country a leader in health again, and I thank you for that,” he said.

He then turned his attention to the economy. “I wish … I could be highly optimistic, but that is unfortunately not my view,” he said. In the early days of the pandemic, “it was right to think that the risks were of not doing enough … rather than doing too much,” but we stayed at it for too long, he said, leading to the current 9% inflation.

That rate will undoubtedly come down, he said, but it’s not going to be easy. “Economic history teaches that soft landings are like what George Bernard Shaw said of second marriages: a triumph of hope over experiences.” He said he expects to see a recession start within the next two years.

The United States is facing great challenges at home and abroad, but Summers is ultimately optimistic. “What I believe Churchill … would have said is that the U.S. always does the right thing — but only after exhausting the alternatives.”