2 Walgreens stores fined for negligence related to temporary closures

Two Walgreens pharmacies in Iowa have been sanctioned by the state for negligence with regard to temporary closures and customer service.

The Iowa Board of Pharmacy recently charged a Walgreens store in Burlington and a Walgreens store in Fort Madison with negligence in the practice of the profession and failure to engage in the business for which they are licensed.

With regard to the Burlington store, the board alleges the pharmacy temporarily closed on Oct. 23, 2025, due to a shortage of pharmacists needed to staff the business. The store allegedly steered all customers’ prescriptions to a Walgreens store in Fort Madison but failed to communicate that information to the public, the store’s customers or even the Walgreens staff.

According to the board, as late as Dec. 10, 2025, the Burlington store’s website indicated the store’s pharmacy was open for business although phone calls to the pharmacy at that time were answered with a message indicating it was closed. That message included no information as to where customers could have their prescriptions filled, the board alleges.

“No notice was given to anyone,” the board alleges, adding that this not only inconvenienced customers but also caused delays in customers receiving their medications.

Because some of the prescriptions had already been filled at, but not yet dispensed from, the Burlington store, customers who went to other pharmacies to obtain their medication were still unable to get their prescriptions filled, the board alleges.

According to the board, the exact same set of difficulties occurred when the Walgreens pharmacy in Fort Madison temporarily closed on Nov. 7, 2025, due to a purported lack of staff.

Each of the stores was fined $1,000 by the board and ordered to develop new policies that will supplement the existing policies the two stores allegedly ignored in 2025.

The publicly available board records identify the precise location of the two stores only by Walgreens’ internal store-numbering system. The company’s online records suggest the two stores are located at 2639 Avenue L in Fort Madison and 3245 Agency St. in Burlington.