Pharmacy U news

I recognize that pharmacies are businesses, but pharmacists are frontline healthcare providers. The pharmacists, technicians and support staff who spend countless hours each day helping patients navigate their benefits plans don’t want to put their patients through the inconvenience of having to pay out-of-pocket and submitting.

I am so appreciative of all the comments (both private and public) that followed my blog from December 11th regarding the monthly user fee being imposed on community pharmacies by Express Scripts Canada (ESC).

Spend time building meaningful patient relationships instead of focusing on the empty calories of transactions. Transactions pay off once, while relationships pay off repeatedly. Even if each individual payoff is smaller than each individual transaction, the sum of all the relationships over their much longer lifespan will come out further ahead.

Within the world of pharmacy, we must be intentional to show the value that is provided to our patients. In the absence of recognizing the value, a patient can become disengaged with his care.

Wow, there has been a lot going on in pharmacy in Canada. I was starting to write a completely different blog, but that update simply had to wait, given the recent communication from Express Scripts Canada (ESC) introducing a monthly service fee to pharmacy providers beginning January 1, 2024.

Wow, there has been a lot going on in pharmacy in Canada. I was starting to write a completely different blog, but that update simply had to wait, given the recent communication from Express Scripts Canada (ESC) introducing a monthly service fee to pharmacy providers beginning January 1, 2024.

In the pharmacy, there are countless ways of being a set-up person. For example, you can leave a proper note, count out the meds in anticipation of the door-crasher tomorrow morning, allow staff to make their own schedule within set parameters, give people freedom to make workflow decisions, do the dishes from the compounding sink, check your fair share of blister packs or organize the paperwork for tomorrow’s appointments.

If your experience is anything like mine, the ability to add value to our patients and customers is a seismic shift! I wish I could say it is just as easy as offering value-add programs, but it not. Adding value is an intentional effort to make a relevant impact in the lives of the patients we serve. Adding value is key to leading patients to better health.