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EDITORIAL

Woolworths Pharmacy Service
NEIL JOHNSTON
A Management Consultant Perspective

On the 8th May, 2003, a press release was launched announcing that since its successful move into petrol marketing, Woolworths is investigating setting up stand-alone pharmacies within its supermarkets, as part of a plan to tap into the $8 billion pharmaceutical market.
The press release gave further details of a trial being undertaken in two of its Sydney stores at Macquarie Centre in North Ryde, and at Kellyville.
The entire range of health and beauty aids is being set up in "pharmacy-like" surrounds within these stores.

See Rollo Manning's article for additional Woolworths research

Here and There
This section contains a range of items of pharmacy interest.

* FIP Publication for September By Geoff Miller
* First Impressions of a New Field Officer By Terry Irvine
* New Website for Tiwi Island Project By Rollo Manning

Pan-Demonium
PATRICK GALLAGHER
An IT Consultant Perspective

Editor's Note: In some ways, it is very frustrating for people like Pat Gallagher, other i2P writers and myself, to know that problems exist out there in pharmacyland and nothing is being done about them.
Complacency, narrow mindedness and downright stupidity all come together to put off having to make a decision. This is the malady of bureaucracies!
Patrick's article for this edition shows just how prophetic he was, but I think even he was overwhelmed by the size of the PAN catastrophe.
Makes you think--would you really like to be in partnership with the gentleman pictured below?
You are, in practical terms, in partnership or alliance with all your suppliers.
Use this opportunity to review all your suppliers and the products offered for retail sale, because, as you discovered, you are the face of the Pharmaceutical Industry, you are at the coalface, and you will collect most of the mud, irrespective of the initial cause.

Cognitive Service Deficiencies
KARALYN HUXHAGEN
From a PSA Councilor Perspective

The past two weeks for me have involved talking to pharmacists and looking at pharmacies in three different states of Australia. The one thing that stood out wherever I went was that community pharmacists are keen as mustard to embrace the new cognitive services. These services are the enticement for us all to stay in community pharmacy and not take up driving taxis in Melbourne. (I have many horror stories on taxi drivers).

Consultant Pharmacist Shortage
JON ALDOUS
Hospital Pharmacist Perspective

There is an apparent shortage of accredited consultant pharmacists in my local area.
There are a few very experienced pharmacists who have a range of different backgrounds undertaking this work, but they aren't enough to meet the needs of the local community pharmacists who rely on them to provide HMRs.
There is a pool of pharmacists in this area who would like to be involved in this process and become accredited but at the moment there are barriers to entering the consultant field.

The Mandatory Two Years
DEBBIE RIGBY
AACP Director Perspective

I would like to respond to the article written by Lachlan Rose:
the FAQs concerning MMRs.
As an accredited pharmacist since 1997, member of the National Advisory Group and Director of Australian Association of Consultant Pharmacists (AACP), I have heard this argument that recent graduates have all the competencies to conduct medication reviews the minute they leave University.
Competency encompasses skills, knowledge and attitudes.
To suggest that undergraduates achieve this, as Lachlan states, in a five hour period over six weeks, confirms the very reasons why there is a mandatory requirement for 2 years experience, before sitting for accreditation to conduct medication management reviews.

MMR Wars--Episode III
LACHLAN ROSE
From a Student Perspective

May I refer you to the article "The Mandatory Two Years" contributed by Debbie Rigby, an AACP Director Perspective.
I thank Ms Rigby for her response to my previous article, The FAQs concerning MMRs and the valuable debate that has followed.
I am a final year student, and am also a committee member of the NSW PSA Young Pharmacist Group (NSWYPG).
The NSWYPG has more than 170 pharmacist members who are less then 35 years of age or have been registered as a pharmacist for less than 10 years.
It is objective of the group to represent the views and interests of young pharmacists and present them to the wider profession.
At our May meeting we discussed the issue of the compulsory two year delay between graduation and being able to apply for accreditation to conduct MMRs.

Globalisation Downbeat
NEIL JOHNSTON
A Management Consultant Perspective

I recently received my international management consultant journal (C2M- Consulting to Management June 2003) and I was struck by an article written by David Bushko.
He is the CEO of Aegis Communications Inc. and president of First Think, the Aegis consulting division.
Under the "Issues and Trends" column of C2M he delivered an article entitled "The Self Devouring Economy: Can Robots Pay the Bills".
What he has written is both sensible--and chilling!

Acne Treatment
ANDREW SNOW
Compounding Pharmacist Perspective

Today, there are hundreds of treatment options for acne.
It is a massive market for most teenagers, which can be seen by the large amount of advertising for brands such as Clearasil.

Is Pharmacy its Own Worst Enemy?
KEN STAFFORD
Consultant Pharmacist Perspective

Is the pharmacy profession its own worst enemy?
I've asked myself this question a number of times over the past month.
We seem to have a death wish in relation to pharmacy and its survival in its current form.
The first time I asked the question was when the Pan Pharmaceuticals crisis hit the airways. This problem, created by apparent lack of appropriate overview by the TGA, cast the profession in a bad light as pharmacies are major distributors of Pan complementary medicines.

Quality Use of Anything
HEATHER PYM
A Division of General Practice Perspective

It always amuses me (sometimes annoys) that the laws, regulations, guidelines, rules etc. etc. that are applied to the practice of medicine and pharmacy (highly regulated) are glibly overlooked by the legal and regulatory affairs for practitioners of 'natural' therapies.
Added to that many of these therapists now assume the courtesy title of 'Dr' to practice under the guise of the acceptable medical mode?

In the Business of Abuse
SIMON RUDDERHAM
Newly Registered Pharmacist Perspective

I used to be a people person, but then I began to work in retail.
It seems that every day, I am abused on at least three non- consecutive occasions. Not nearly often enough I'm sure many of you are thinking. It is particularly frustrating when it is because I refuse to break the law that I become the target of abuse.

Shopfast- a Pharmacy E-Commerce Stimulus?
JAMES ELLERSON
Marketing Consultant Perspective

Have you noticed that not a lot is heard about active pharmacist e-commerce retail websites these days?
Since the furore has died down surrounding the first real entrant from pharmacy, those that initially made the grade, quickly realised that to run an e-commerce site properly, you had to create a separate business and do all the things that you would normally do for a business start-up.
The most obvious requirement, even before going to a presence on the Internet, is the preparation of a business plan, detailing the normal elements- a vision statement, a list of goals and objectives, a detailed and chronological list of tactics and strategies required to achieve goals, a subset containing a detailed marketing plan and most importantly a one to three year budget, with proper lines of credit secured before launching.
To not go through this exercise is to risk early failure.

Rx-Woolworths
ROLLO MANNING
An Indigenous/Rural/Isolated/Remote Perspective

The question of who should own a pharmacy is one that is always in the news.
The discussion arises whenever a big player in retail utters a mention of wanting a slice of the pharmacy market.
Rollo Manning reviews the most recent utterance by Woolworth's.
From B & T Weekly edition 17th May 2003

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