In a healthcare system where affordability often feels out of reach, one pharmacist is rewriting the rules—with a pharmacy that doesn’t even have a cash register.
Ritesh Shah, a 30-year pharmacy veteran who’s filled shoes from CEO to seven-store owner, decided during COVID-19 that his next business venture would be less focused on profit and more on people.
That purpose was rooted in a promise to his late sister, Raina. And today, it lives on through the Ritesh Shah Charitable Pharmacy, a not-for-profit pharmacy in Red Bank, New Jersey that has dispensed over $2 million in free medications to more than 500 patients living below the federal poverty line.
“This is the story of a pharmacist from behind the counter to the frontlines,” Ritesh explains.
It’s also a story of how pharmacists can fulfill their oath: to serve patients and, as Ritesh emphasizes, prevent the most vulnerable from slipping through the cracks.
Since he immigrated to the US 30 years ago from India, Ritesh has been interested in charitable work.
He’s served on committees, ran vaccine clinics, and led outreach efforts all while managing the demands of running seven pharmacies and leading a GPO of 700+ locations across 15 states.
But it was personal tragedy that shifted his mission into high gear.
In 2020, Ritesh lost his sister Raina, a fellow pharmacist, to COVID-19. She had always dreamed of helping underserved patients access medication, so Ritesh made a promise: he would build a pharmacy in her honor to do just that.
The need was clear. In Monmouth County alone, Ritesh estimates that 18,000 prescriptions go unfilled each year simply because patients can’t afford them. Many fall just above the Medicaid threshold—earning too much to qualify, but not enough to pay premiums or hundreds of dollars for monthly medications.
Those are the patients, Ritesh says, that he wanted to serve.
With this newfound calling, Ritesh drew plans to start the pharmacy. He partnered with several people, including his wife Asha (also a pharmacist), two children Krina and Sarthak, and the pharmacy’s now-president Joseph Howe to make it happen.
Asha serves as pharmacist-in-charge, focusing on patient engagement and education not only for individuals but for families at large. Both Krina and Sarthak are trustees for the pharmacy and bring their own interests—law and medicine, respectively—to the table.
From the beginning, the pharmacy was built by family—and built to make a family out of the community it serves.
“It’s very unfortunate that I lost a precious human in my life [my sister], but God always has a plan,” Ritesh says.
In the three years he’s had his doors open, Ritesh has learned that running a not-for-profit pharmacy can be tough business. But with the right partners, it’s possible.
Over the years, Ritesh has developed a formulary that allows him to have life-saving medications at lower (or even zero) acquisition costs. For example, Eli Lilly works with the pharmacy (through Cardinal Health) to supply eight different kinds of insulin at no cost.
Through wholesalers like Legacy Health, Ritesh is also able to stock life-saving medications like metformin, heart medications, blood thinners, and cholesterol medications.
But medication access is only part of the equation.
When it came to software, Ritesh—a lifetime BestRx user—knew who he could call for support. Hemal Desai, SVP of Community Pharmacy at RedSail Technologies, jumped on board immediately and made sure that Ritesh could use BestRx for free, for life.
“I had no words,” Ritesh recalls, “I had tears in my eyes.” He goes on, “I know where [BestRx and RedSail]’s heart is, and I applaud how much [they] give back. Those kinds of things make [the pharmacy’s] kind of mission stronger.”
But as Hemal says, that commitment goes well beyond BestRx. “It’s not just a BestRx thing. It’s an entire RedSail thing. It’s been in their DNA since well before we joined the RedSail family,” Hemal says.
Today, BestRx powers everything from workflows to patient eligibility forms synced straight from the website to and everything in between. These tools help the pharmacy serve hundreds of patients and dispense thousands of prescriptions (and did we mention there’s no cash register?).
Ritesh is also able to work with pharmacy students to keep the business going and to show them how pharmacy and philanthropy can go hand in hand.
He relies on donations to the Ritesh Shah Charitable Pharmacy Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that puts all proceeds towards medications for patients. Finally, Ritesh’s book, Pills to Purpose: From the Pharmacy to the Frontlines: Healing Beyond the Counter, also supports the foundation.
“It’s God’s work,” Ritesh says. “As a mission, it’s been joined by so many brave souls. I would put it this way: it’s a temple for us.”
Today, Ritesh Shah Charitable Pharmacy serves 500 patients below the federal poverty line and has dispensed a whopping $2 million worth of drugs. But Ritesh isn’t stopping there.
Plans are already underway to open a second and third location, expanding the reach of his mission to even more communities in need. And the impact goes far beyond prescriptions.
Ritesh is often touched by patient stories, but one in particular sticks out.
A patient he had last seen 15 years ago came to the pharmacy after falling on tough times, losing his business, becoming homeless, and struggling with serious health issues. He came to the pharmacy and got access to insulin medication—which enabled him to stabilize his health and start rebuilding his life.
It’s stories like these, Ritesh says, that remind him of why medication access isn’t just about medication—but about making real changes in patients’ lives.
As part of this effort, Ritesh and the team continue to set up vaccination drives, set up patients with food pantry/toiletry access, and partner with local colleges to share the importance of philanthropy.
It’s clear, then, that the pharmacy is about more than just dispensing medication but fulfilling a mission.
Ritesh Shah’s story is one of pain, but it’s also one of purpose—and a purpose that more pharmacists can get behind.
Even if you don’t have the means to start a free pharmacy, Ritesh encourages pharmacists to do their part to make a mark on the healthcare system, whether it’s volunteering your time, partnering with established health orgs, or simply advocating for patients at the legislative level. Every action counts.
“If I can save one patient’s life after losing someone in my life, my mission is complete,” he says.
At BestRx, we’re proud to support pharmacists like Ritesh who are redefining what pharmacy can be. Because when technology meets purpose, the possibilities are endless.
Watch the full interview with Ritesh Shah on the Catalyst Pharmacy Podcast.