EDITORIAL

Holding your breath while hurtling along at breakneck speed is one analogy as Pharmacy gears itself for a pitched battle with its arch-enemy Woolworths (and their ilk).

It is a tribute to pharmacists and their organising skills that up to this date, they have been able to withstand innumerable thrusts from their big-business competitors, yet still have been able to tap dance their way into market niches through a cottage industry structure, complete with self-imposed restrictions and protective legislation.

Recent events, illustrated through this edition of i2P E-Magazine, highlight that we may be staring down the barrel, with no way out. Legislation can be enacted, and as we have seen, reversed with amazing swiftness.

I just wish that pharmacy leaders would get out there, not just to defend pharmacy's entrenched position with a siege mentality, but to open up opportunities with proper vision and planning. thus putting Woolworths and their ilk into a position of having to defend their territory
Instead, we are having a lot of options imposed on us with a diminishing ability to manage them.
Even our "core business" of dispensing is becoming harder to manage each grinding day we have to handle ever expanding volumes with minimal return.
We are playing right into the hands of our enemies.
All they have to do is wait until we collapse under the weight of our collective processes, and then there will be little argument as they pick up the pieces.

This month we introduce a new writer, Les Brener, who will be explaining the digital imaging market to readers. This is a natural market for pharmacists, and one that has long traditions of association with pharmacy in its old silver halide format.
Consumers have suddenly tumbled to the advantages of digital imaging, processing prices are falling, and the stage is set for a rapid market expansion.
We have some advantages.
Will we use them or allow Woolworths to kick us aside once more?

Another digital success is Brett Clark's ePharmacy.
Read with interest how he competes on knowledge management and why he is beating his competitors, it seems, with consumate ease.
Rollo Manning is back with his column "Pharma-Goss", and from comments addressed to me at the recent Australian Pharmacy Summit Conference, Rollo must be the most widely read pharmacy commentator in Australia.

And the rest of the "gang" continue to present high-quality, well-researched articles for your consumption. These people are dedicated to their calling, and work over and above a normal working week, hoping to better their profession.
Over four years of contribution, they have built up a goldmine of insights, strategies and suggested solutions.
As the pressure builds on pharmacy, their material may just make a mark as it influences pharmacy leaders. My thanks to Ken Stafford, Heather Pym, Karalyn Huxhagen, Con Berbatis, Val Johanson, Simon Rudderham and James Ellerson who have all made important contributions this month.

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