Remote license approved as Imperial Pharmacy works to open

By Jan Schulz
Imperial Republican Correspondent
A new sign with a new name went up this month at 513 Broadway as Imperial’s main street pharmacy looks to open this year.
Brian Wilson of Ogallala, who also owns the USave Pharmacy there, is the new owner of Imperial Pharmacy, acquiring the property and inventory in Imperial in October 2024. The pharmacy formerly operated as Adams Drug when it closed last summer.
Getting the pharmacy open and also providing over-the-counter products has been Wilson’s No. 1 priority since taking over ownership, he said in an interview Monday.
While his hope was to hire a full-time pharmacist in Imperial, that has not materialized, he said.
“We have tried for a year to find a pharmacist and that has been unsuccessful,” he said.
His only other option was to open as a remote, or tele-pharmacy. The license for that was approved just last week on Aug. 20, he said.
“We want to be open in Imperial and we had to do it one of two ways,” he said.
As a remote or tele-pharmacy, Wilson said customers will be able to submit prescriptions locally as they have in the past or have physicians call them in. A Certified Pharmacy Technician will be on site and fill prescriptions with oversight from Wilson.
From Ogallala, Wilson will give final verification to the prescription after reviewing a series of pictures from the technician showing the prescription order, pills counted out, the bottle and label, he said.
Wilson added that it will possibly take a little longer to get meds filled remotely than it would when there is a pharmacist present, all subject to the workload of the Ogallala pharmacists.
“We would hope people would be patient with the process and understand that waiting an hour or two at least allows them to have a pharmacy in their town,” he said, adding he understands that some prescriptions are more time-sensitive than others.
USave is currently delivering prescriptions to Imperial on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and will continue to do that until they can fully transition to filling everything for Imperial at the Imperial Pharmacy. He’s not sure how long that transition will take considering all of the requirements in the process.
The license requires that customers have access to a pharmacist during the hours it is open. If a customer has questions about the prescription while in the store, they will be able to visit with Wilson on the phone or with face-to-face communication through a kiosk that is being set up inside Imperial Pharmacy, he said.
Wilson said the license requires that he, as the Pharmacist in Charge, be on site in Imperial once a month.
He plans for Imperial Pharmacy to be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“We definitely are working hard to open. We want to provide Imperial with a pharmacy,” Wilson said. “But, there are lots of steps to take.”
That includes complying with both state and federal regulations, as well as contracting with customers’ insurance companies.
Wilson gave no specific opening date, but hopes that happens in a couple of months.
And, he plans to continue seeking a full-time pharmacist for Imperial, he said.
In addition to Ogallala, Wilson also owns a USave Pharmacy in Sterling, Colo.