The Medicap Pharmacy franchise began in 1971, with the opening of its first store in Des Moines, Iowa. Then called the Medicine Chest, this retail store served as the prototype for all Medicap Pharmacy locations to come. It combined several ideas into a concept that is still basic to the Medicap Pharmacy approach to pharmaceutical care – convenience, savings and a heightened level of patient care. It is from these fundamental ideas that the Medicap Pharmacy philosophy took shape.

In 1973 the company started franchising their concept and by 1981, the network of Medicap Pharmacy locations had grown to 28 in the state of Iowa. The network expanded for the first time outside the borders of Iowa in 1984, with the opening of a new Medicap Pharmacy store in neighboring Minnesota. Less than 10 years later, in 1993, an important milestone was reached when the 100th Medicap Pharmacy store opened for business.