The focus of American Pharmacists Month is often on patients getting to know their pharmacist. This October, the focus of the Thriving Pharmacist blog is going to be on pharmacists themselves.
A lot of what is written on the Thriving Pharmacist echoes the changing landscape of pharmacy practice. In order for a pharmacy to keep up with this changing landscape, individual pharmacies also need to embrace change. Unfortunately, not all pharmacies are prepared to make these changes. Some time ago, my business partner visited with a chain pharmacy corporate executive at a college football tailgate party. During the discussion, the question was asked of the chain executive: “How many pharmacists do you think we have at our store on a Monday?” The answer is five. The chain executive’s response was “that’s four too many.” They further indicated that this was not the direction his chain would be going.
This is both disappointing and exciting at the same time. Disappointing because I truly believe that pharmacy needs to move in the direction of patient care and outcomes and not continue to focus only on inexpensive drug distribution. It is also exciting as a lack of competition from some chain operations opens the door for motivated pharmacies and pharmacy owners to create, develop and define the future of pharmacy in a professional image.
But change is hard. Just wanting to thrive is not enough. It takes both hard work and guidance. The new pharmacy landscape is much like the wild west. There are currently not a lot of examples upon which to pattern success.
The tide may be changing in some chains. The CVS / Aetna merger has created talk providing more care in the pharmacy, including from the pharmacist. But talk is cheap, and the implementation is going to be a challenge without a roadmap.
Today marks the start of American Pharmacists Month and the Thriving Pharmacist wants to challenge all pharmacies, and even pharmacy chains, to make a commitment to the advancement of their practices. There is a great opportunity that, coincidently, aligns with American Pharmacists Month.
Thrive Pharmacy Transformations is offering an October Cohort for the Make Every Encounter Count (TM) 30-week course.
Make Every Encounter Count is a 30-week transformative course that guides you through a process of transforming your community pharmacy practice site. Position your community pharmacy to participate in preferred pharmacy networks and elevate patient care.
MEEC was created through trial and error of what REALLY works, and we’ve distilled out the secret sauce to share with you! Made up of 10 modules, we’ll take you step-by-step through creating a practice that yields better patient care, a more organized workflow for dispensing, and a bottom-line that will power your business to do more. Professional and practice resiliency – including more time to work on your business – will result!
A free introductory module of this program is available through grant support from the Community Pharmacy Foundation (CPF). It explains the program goals and content. A new cohort for this educational program, which includes continuing education hours, starts this month. Register today! Thrive Pharmacy Transformations will also be offering their Thrive Subscribe program at no cost during the month of October.
So make YOUR American Pharmacists Month Count! Do something to move your practice forward. Start to practice at the top of your license. Make Every Encounter Count!
About the Photo: The image was taken in Bath, UK. The writing was uncovered under the current façade and belonged to a chemist, the European equivalent of a pharmacist. The writing dates back at least 100 years.