Why are pharmacies allowed to do this?

[giantsfan2016]

I've been wondering about this for a while. How come when a pharmacy or a store with a pharmacy inside it closes, they're allowed to sell your prescriptions to another pharmacy without your permission?

Examples:

When Shaw's Supermarket was going through their closing in Bristol, Connecticut back in '09 there was a sign that said "Attention Pharmacy Customers Your Prescriptions have been transferred to Price Chopper 121 Farmington Avenue Bristol". (Price Chopper is next door to where Shaw's was).

Walmart Neighborhood Market closed in the same building as Shaw's in 2017. Sign said "Your Prescriptions have been transferred to Walmart 1400 Farmington Avenue." (That's pretty far from that building"

When both Rite Aids in Southington closed - "All prescriptions have been transferred to Walgreen's 359 Main Street."

The independent Plantsville Pharmacy in Southington closed. "All prescriptions have been transferred to Walgreen's 359 Main Street."

It shouldn't be up to the store where the prescription gets transferred to. It should be up to the customer.

[TheFugitive]

Short answer:  Because they have acquired that business, and those prescription files are
considered to be an asset of that business (really its most valuable asset).  So in theory the
new pharmacy is continuing to serve you just like the old pharmacy as they are technically
the new owners of that.

You as the consumer do, of course, always have the option to take your prescription
business to some other pharmacy.

[BillyGr]

Most likely they would want to do it that way so you never have an issue of not being able to get something you need (say you were due for a refill the day after the store was closing - it might take more time if you had to try to contact someone at that closing store to get it switched elsewhere).

And, as TheFugitive said, you could always go to another place you prefer and have them contact the pharmacy it was transferred to and switch it to that other place without having to deal with the store it was transferred to (if that was a concern).

Of course, in two of those examples it's not much of a switch (one Walmart to another, probably the next closest one they have with a pharmacy?, and the Rite Aid to Walgreens as those were most likely stores that Walgreens had acquired and then decided to close due to overlaps, so really from one now Walgreens location to another). 

The other two didn't have that option (since Shaw's was leaving the state entirely and the independent wouldn't have another location), so they'd have to go with someone else outside their brand.

[TheFugitive]

My uncle had a friend who sold his drugstore to Eckerd, which in turn was acquired
by Rite Aid.  The prescription files were the most valuable part of the deal.  In fact
where Eckerd was concerned they were virtually the ONLY valuable part of the deal.
They had little interest in the dusty backstock on the shelves of his store.

Those files contain valuable customer data, and, presuming the buyer is able to
retain most of those customers, rolls a fair bit of income right onto the bottom line.