"Team Up" the theme of post-pandemic pharmacy: NCPA

“Team up!” was the theme of the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA)’s annual conference, and virtually every session over the four-day event reinforced that theme. Pharmacy owners were encouraged to bring their teams to the conference, which kicked off with a keynote by Michael Abrashoff, a former U.S. Navy commander and author of the best-selling book, It’s Your Ship which details how as an inexperienced officer he led a transformation which turned the Navy’s worst-performing ship into the top performer. It was the crew, not him, who accomplished this, he said: he simply empowered every individual crew member to suggest improvements and take ownership as a leader. This kind of teamwork will be essential for pharmacies to survive in the post-pandemic, recessionary environment, noted NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hooey. After pharmacists stepped up so impressively, and to life-saving effect, to the demands imposed upon them throughout the pandemic, there is no turning back, he said. Preparing for new importance “Pharmacy’s vision has never been so clear," said Hoey. "There is a primary healthcare crisis and pharmacists are going to save the day. “The future of pharmacy care is primary care services and getting paid fairly for the medications that pharmacists are uniquely qualified to manage.” To that end, Hoey described current and upcoming initiatives of the association, which represents and advocates for independent community pharmacy in the U.S. One urgent project is a national survey by the University of Southern California to detect and map “pharmacy deserts,” or areas where pharmacy shutdowns due to lack of profitability have reduced patients’ access to a pharmacy. An ongoing priority is working with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to try and rein in the power and influence of large pharmacy-owned pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). The NCPA has lobbied for almost a decade to have the mergers and practices of PBMs examined as anti-competitive and unfair. Recently the FTC, under the leadership of new chair Lina Khan, agreed to investigate the practices of the country’s largest PBMs, most of which are owned by the country’s largest pharmacy chains. Frequently-changing cost-cutting policies, and rules that favour the PBMs’ own banners have dramatically impacted the profitability of independent pharmacies in recent years. Khan, who attended the NCPA conference and participated in a Q&A with Hoey, said the FTC has received more than 24,000 patient complaints about PBM practices, which forcefully brought home the need to investigate the entire model. “When bigger is not better, but instead is coercive and oppressive,” that is a signal that the system is not working, said Khan. READ: Independent US pharmacies take quasi monopolies to task The power of social media An audience favourite at the conference was Will Flanary, MD, better known internationally as Dr. Glaucomflecken. With a social media audience of 2.5 million, Flanary is beloved for his ability to make short humorous videos about the many frustrating, inconvenient and sometimes even dangerous aspects of every day healthcare. Although his videos are meant to be funny, Flanary noted that often the issues he and other healthcare professionals raise can be solved through exposure on social media. Companies do not want to be the subject of social media finger-pointing, said Flanary. When something is not fair and should be changed, and no one seems to be listening, don’t be afraid to speak out on social media and enlist others to help you share your message. Educational sessions empower teams This year’s conference featured four days of educational programming, with most sessions touching on ways in which pharmacy viability can be enhanced through the use of the right people in the right role. Pharmacists are being asked to do more than ever before in history. A theme throughout the conference was that the only way a pharmacy can maximize the work of its pharmacists is by optimizing the work of everyone else on staff and sharing the workload. And the best way to ensure this new way of working succeeds is to create a sense of empowerment, ownership and excitement in every staff member. READ: Why I attend Pharmacy U—and why you should too

"Team Up" the theme of post-pandemic pharmacy: NCPA

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