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Time marches on and the mindset is changing

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Time marches on and the mindset is changing

Pharmacy needs to change its business to meet the tougher market environment, says Mike Smith 

Where is the year going? I notice with my advancing years that time seems to go by more quickly every year. We are almost at the end of the first quarter of 2014 and I still have not completed my list of jobs to do in January (well, actually, I still have some outstanding from January 2013).

This has been a very busy time for me and I would like to highlight some recent events.

I attended the Sigma conference in Mexico in February – an excellent event that provoked some very interesting debate. It also provided an opportunity for 400+ pharmacists to network with their professional colleagues, senior political figures and, of course, the pharmaceutical industry.

The details of the event have been widely reported across the pharmacy press, but I would add that I came away with the feeling that despite the economic pressures there is much optimism about the future.

This reflects a very significant change in the mindset of pharmacists – we are where we are and there is absolutely nothing to be gained from moaning about it. We are not alone in feeling the crunch. In fact, we are in a far better position than many and the conference illustrated some real opportunities for our profession.

But, I am disappointed that, as I write, we still have no offer from the Department of Health, although Sue Sharpe advises that we can expect something ‘very soon’. I understand that these are difficult negotiations – and I do remember from my days on PSNC just how difficult – but pharmacists need to make robust financial forecasts in these times of falling margins and rising costs. I hope for good news soon, but I will not hold my breath.

The other concern I picked up at the conference was the growing discontent that phar he ‘engine’ that drives our dispensaries, the suppliers are, of course, in a very strong position. But, this does not mean that they can impose such onerous conditions upon us. I join Fin McCaul of the Independent Pharmacy Federation with a call for contractors to push back on this issue.

Pharmacists need to make robust financial forecasts in these time of falling margins and rising costs. I hope for some good news soon

I also took the opportunity to visit some pharmacies on a recent holiday in the USA. The market is very different there with pharmaciesmacists have with their PMR suppliers over very difficult contracts. When you think that these systems are selling a much wider range of merchandise, such as groceries, alcohol and even cigarettes.

Of course, this model will never work in the UK. What is important, however, is the range of services available in their pharmacies. We can learn much from this and I am confident that in time such services will be further developed for independents under the banner of Alphega Pharmacy, both in the UK and the rest of Europe. The other important lesson for me is that they know exactly what their patients/customers want and they tailor the stores accordingly.

My final trip before writing this was to the European Pharmacists Forum in Geneva. You will be aware from my previous articles that the economic situation of community pharmacy in mainland Europe is even more challenging than in the UK. Again, the significant thing here is that the mindset of pharmacists is changing. The trick is to have a reality check, as have our European colleagues, then to change your business to meet the tougher market environment. The alternative is failure or even bankruptcy.

Looking ahead, I look forward to the British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association conference. And I’ll close with one of my quotations from my presentation in Mexico – ‘just do it!’.

Mike Smith is chairman of Alliance Healthcare.

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