Published by Computachem Services

P.O Box 297.
Alstonville. 2477
NSW Australia

Phone:
61 2 66285138

It doesn't take a genius to realize that the Role of Pharmacy in health care profession and in the community has changed considerably in the last fifty years. No longer merely the stockist of prescription medication, and cough and cold relief, pharmacy has found itself a new niche through the DMMR system, better collaboration and the proposed disease state management.
Of course this is not "new" as such, with many pharmacies and pharmacists providing less formal versions of these innovations before governmental financial incentives were offered

Allow me to digress.

While recently wandering through the local supermarket, I noticed that they had a small sign at the counter enlightening customers that they process films.
Very competitive prices.
Ready the next day.

I asked the person manning the customer service desk how long they had been doing film processing. Apparently, they had done it for eighteen months, as had most of that particular chain of supermarkets. They had tried to enter the film processing market, just as they had with supply of meat, the supply of baked goods and the supply of alcohol.
I was told that very few films were processed through them, probably three per fortnight.

I began to think how under promoted the film processing was through that particular chain.
Was it worth it in the long term to provide that service in that supermarket?
My guess is no.
But was it profitable for supermarkets to introduce a fresh bakery section when people still went to the bakery for their fresh bread?
Probably not in the short term, but the assortment of breadgoods has certainly exploded into profits no doubt.

How many members of the general public associate supermarkets with film processing?
Not many.
And why?
Because the supermarket is where you go to buy your groceries.
Some will experience and benefit other services of the supermarket, but on the whole, one goes to the supermarket to collect grocery items.

And isn't the same true of community pharmacy?

Patient goes to doctor, doctor writes prescription, patient takes prescription to pharmacy, pharmacist takes ten minutes (sometimes longer) to type out label and select a bottle of pills from the shelf.

Patient gets offered information on their medication.
Patient has already spent one hour waiting in doctor's waiting room, consulting with doctor, and waiting for pharmacist to select drugs and type labels.
Enough time wasted, thanks anyway.

Patient gets offered information on their specific disease state, and correct management.
Patient wonders precisely what the pharmacist would know about medical conditions
(Pharmacy is a degree course?
Four years?
Why would a pharmacist go to university for four years to put labels on bottles?
These are common responses when I answer that question).
Patient politely declines, as disease state management is probably best left with the doctor.

Patient is offered symptom relief to go with their antibiotic medication, or complementary therapies that may assist in any given condition.
Patient incorrectly (or correctly?) misunderstands the glint in the eye of a keen clinical pharmacist trying to help a patient with that of dollar signs appearing in the pharmacist's eyes.

Worse still.

Patient begins to see the pharmacist who has always stayed within the dispensary suddenly leaping out to offer them all sorts of new information on their disease state and medications.
Something has changed.
Patient suspicious.

Pharmacy's provision of information push is not only for the sake of the customer, but is also to protect the turf from supermarkets.

Supermarkets that have their own meat section with a faceless butcher; pastrygoods section with a faceless baker; fresh produce section with a faceless greengrocer. People who would have years ago gone to the butcher's shop, the bakery, the greengrocer's, the newsagency and the pharmacy in one shopping trip have found themselves able to undertake almost all their activities at the one place, and convenience will play a big role in consumer attitudes if and when "Coles Pharmacy" opens.

Pharmacy has painted itself into a corner, with too big a change in attitudes required by the next Guild government agreement, in too short a period of time.
I certainly hope we get there, but an "easy does it" approach should be undertaken, with customers informed of the new cognitive services that pharmacy can offer.
Perhaps informing the public as to what happens between when the prescription is handed in and when the labeled medication is returned could help pharmacy's profile as a provider of healthcare, and not a shop.

But then again, are all pharmacies primarily the providers of healthcare?

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