A year ago, I started this petition because many of us believed this issue was about software choice.

It is now clear that the issue is much bigger than software.

McKesson is now requiring independent pharmacists operating under the Medicine Shoppe banner to use a third-party managed app that handles Personal Health Information. That means patient information may be placed into a platform the pharmacist-owner did not independently choose, even while the pharmacist-owner may still remain professionally and legally responsible for privacy, compliance, and the proper stewardship of that information.

That is no longer just a private business issue.

That is a public-interest issue.

Independent pharmacist-owners are not just business operators. They are regulated healthcare professionals trusted with patient safety, privacy, pharmacy operations, and legal compliance.

If the pharmacist-owner remains responsible for the privacy, security, and lawful handling of patient information, but McKesson is directing the use of a third-party system they did not freely choose, then a serious public question arises:

How can responsibility stay with the pharmacist-owner if meaningful control over the systems handling PHI is being pushed elsewhere?

This is not about opposing technology.

It is about accountability.

Patients trust pharmacies with some of their most sensitive personal information. That trust should not be weakened by mandatory third-party systems without transparency, legal clarity, and proper public scrutiny.

If pharmacist-owners remain legally and professionally responsible for patient information, then that responsibility should remain meaningfully connected to control over the systems that handle it.

That is why this issue matters.
That is why McKesson’s decision deserves scrutiny.
And that is why this petition remains necessary.