| The Latest from ideaShare 2012: An Interview with Health Mart’s Chuck Wilson | | Print | |
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ComputerTalk's Will Lockwood got the chance to check in with Chuck Wilson, VP of operations for Health Mart, at ideaShare 2012. Wilson grew up in a family that owned an independent pharmacy and gained experience working in operations for several of the big chains, including a 13-year stint at Target, during which he grew the pharmacy business from 114 to 1,400 locations and studied the ins and outs of branding and running retail establishments. In this interview, he talks about what's been happening with Health Mart over the last year and plans to help support community pharmacies as they forge ahead in today's competitive and uncertain healthcare market. CT: What have been the highlights for Health Mart over the last year?
Wilson: I think that if you talk to our customers, the launch of the Health Mart private brand has been the biggest, most visible change. We started with the diabetic category last October, and we wrapped up with incontinence and personal diagnostics in July. It's been very well planned and very well staged and executed. We've made every effort to make this as easy on our customers as we could have. We send support in every month, cut in the new items, and process the returns of all the old product. It's been a success, I feel. We've SKU-rationalized it, which means we've reduced the number of items available. Our original private label, Sunmark, has about 600 items available. We cut this down to 330 and edited out the items that were, quite honestly, not selling. This could be the third flavor or the one additional size of product. By us editing the assortment, it makes it easier for customers to come in to shop. They don't have to debate which item to buy. We cut it down to the number-one product in the number-one flavor and size. So we helped with that. The independent pharmacy always wants to be everything for everybody, and it can take time for them to understand the value of being more selective.
CT: So it's a matter of educating the pharmacist about why this more selective approach to OTCs works.
Wilson: Right. And we also tell them not to go out and try to find another source for the products we've cut out. We tell them that they are going to get the sales and more, and we've shown that, with sales up 10% on a dramatically reduced SKU count.
The other focus we've had over the past year has been on simplification. These guys are busy and spend too much of their time in their business as opposed to working on their business. We put the marketing toolkit through a whole reinvention process, not only adding content but making it much easier to find the tools. Use of that went up pretty dramatically. Now these pharmacists are doing a little more marketing and bringing more people in.
Last year we launched an online operations manual, but the content wasn't as robust as we wanted it to be. So we've spent the last 12 months adding a significant amount of content to it. My catch phrase is "simplified self-sufficiency." We want to give them access to the information they need in an easy-to-manage way, when they need it.
We added a bunch of content to our Health Mart University, and our usership went up pretty dramatically. What we learned is that once customers start using it, they come back time and time again. The problem was getting them to start. And we provide them with a lot of the annual update trainings that are required for fraud, waste, abuse, and HIPAA. It's all in there, and it's all free of charge. Some of our customers were going out and paying for this training. We really made an effort to let them know what was available in Health Mart University. We also reorganized it so that the content is arranged by team member, so if you have a new technician or pharmacist or cashier starting, you just go in, click the role, and there's all the training the person needs. We've really simplified the use of the tool.
CT: This kind of training resource sounds critical for community pharmacy, particularly considering all of the regulatory requirements and the need for strict policies to meet them.
Wilson: I think it is vital. And everyone has to understand their role. The pharmacist should really be focusing just on the professional, legal side of what they have to do. Unfortunately, a lot of pharmacists are still down in the technical process. In order for them to have the capacity to take advantage of some of the new revenue opportunities that are coming along, they can't be wrapped up in the technical details of filling a prescription. So you need to make sure that the team you train understands what they are supposed to do and has the skill set to do it. The pharmacist can then pull himself away from the computer and get in front of the patient.
CT: This really fits into the theme of changing the pharmacy workflow in order to change the pharmacist's role in the pharmacy and in healthcare.
Wilson: In fact, the most successful business management tool is when your best practices are supported by technology. We present a lot of our best practices independent of any kind of technology or computer support because we want to make sure pharmacists understand the process first, but the success rate goes up dramatically when we can add some technology to it. A great example is the pharmacy intervention program. You have to have the proper workflow to take advantage of those interventions when they come across. We hear a lot about mail order and other challenges, but to me it's the direct patient contact that you get that really differentiates the community pharmacy. If you miss opportunities to do that, not only are you giving up potential revenue, but you are giving up a way to differentiate yourself. And it makes sense from a financial perspective. The pharmacy intervention program paid out $1,000,000 in fees to McKesson customers in the last year. That's great. But the additional fills are where the real value is. If you look at COPD patients, those that participated in the intervention program got two additional fills on an annual basis. Diabetes patients got four additional prescriptions.
CT: This speaks to the overall effort to increase adherence. And when this process is supported by technology, it puts community pharmacy on the road to being able to show the value it's providing to patients.
Wilson: That's right, and that's kind of the next step. A lot of preferred networks have care requirements, and if you are going to participate you have to be able to show that you are meeting them. So we need to make sure that pharmacists have the capacity to do this.
CT: I believe that community pharmacy has proved that it provides patient care that improves outcomes, but this is something that will have to be proved continually to payers and plan sponsors.
Wilson: A lot of the focus in the business of pharmacy has been on the commoditization of the business, the $4 prescriptions and that kind of thing. And for some models where prescriptions are just a small part of the overall revenue, you can do this. But in the community pharmacy, where prescription volume is the lifeblood, you can't afford to let patients move to a different pharmacy because you aren't delivering the care they need.
CT: So community pharmacy has a real opportunity if it can get the operational aspects down, although most pharmacists aren't really that comfortable with marketing and merchandising, or they're on a steep learning curve.
Wilson: Right. It's not part of their education, and when it's only maybe 5% of their business, they don't want to spend a lot of time to figure it out. That's where we have to help them. Some of them get it, and peer-to-peer interaction is a great way to learn from those pharmacists who are good at this. Our customers can then take a face-to-face interaction, from ideaShare for instance, and take it one step further to our McKesson Connect Community platform to leverage these relationships. There are a handful of guys out there on this platform, and they are chiming in on all the threads and starting them. I call them super-users.
CT: So this is a social network that is really going to help a group of professionals.
Wilson: Yes. And quite honestly, I didn't expect it to be quite as big as it got. I thought people would dabble, and that it would be a complaint center. But it really hasn't been that. It has been more solution focused. Sometimes someone from McKesson will join a thread, but it is primarily peer-to-peer interactions.
CT: What are you hearing from Health Mart pharmacies about what they need and want?
Wilson: I'd say ScriptAlert as the first thing. It may not be a competitive disadvantage to not have it yet, but it very soon will be, as the population becomes more and more comfortable with text messaging and the mobile aspects of life. Smartphones and tablets are more and more prevalent. You can absolutely drive adherence and improve outcomes when you sign people up for automatic refills and message them when they are ready. You can even provide medication reminders. That's one of the biggest things we can go out and use to create a competitive advantage and stay out front. I think the improvements to the Web portal we offer our Health Mart pharmacies are pretty significant, too. We had this before, but it was pretty basic. Now with the IVR interface you can link patients in with tools that will really help them manage their healthcare. I know from experience that this drives up engagement and refill rates. It helps tremendously. We've also been updating our physician outreach network.
CT: That last one really interests me. If you are collecting information on the interactions you are having with patients and you then have the ability to understand who the prescribers are in your area, you then have the chance to do some really effective marketing to them.
Wilson: Some of our pharmacists are taking it to this extreme. You know where your scripts are coming from, so you can focus on serving your heavy writers the best you can, on the one hand, and then some owners have even hired detail staff to go out and market to the rest of the prescribers. The portal itself gives pharmacists the opportunity to create some marketing materials, but then they have hired people to actually go out and do the work so that the pharmacists can keep a presence in the pharmacy.
CT: What else is coming?
Wilson: One thing that's going to take a little longer to build is providing the business intelligence side of things. We want to know what the key metrics are that our pharmacies want to measure. Today they can probably look at an annualized view of their own numbers, but they can't benchmark against like-volume stores or like-model stores or like-demographic stores. I look at this as part of the foundation of what Health Mart is going to provide. We just need to help our customers understand that if they can help us get some of the information, that there will be tangible value in it. |
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My name is
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Pharmacist and owner Jimmy Yuen recently installed dispensing automation at his Advance Medical Pharmacy in Walnut Creek, Calif. In this audio slide show, he talks about the decision process that led him to select Kirby Lester’s new KL60 and his decision to to invite his independent colleagues for a first-hand look at this technology.| Pharmacy System Data Storage: The Case for a Standard |
by Brad Ordener With each passing year healthcare and other industries are becoming more and more reliant on technology. Pharmacy is one industry that is particularly dependent on new innovations to keep up with increasing demand. As this reliance on technology increases some unique problems are emerging that are slowing progress and making it difficult for pharmacy owners to change pharmacy systems. The technological landscape in pharmacy could be improved significantly with ... | |
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| Pharmacy Training On Demand |
 In this interview, pharmacist Jay Lalkiya talks about how he's using
a tool called myPharmacyTrainer to educate his staff at Apalachin
Pharmacy about how to improve store operations and how best to interact
with customers. This tool offers 22 modules that recreate scenarios
commonly encountered by pharmacy staff and employs an interactive,
audio/visual educational approach.
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| Technology Perspectives: Pharmacy and Healthcare Reform |
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In this podcast, McKesson Pharmacy Systems President Stanton McComb
covers a range of topics surrounding pharmacy, technology, and the
current drive for healthcare reform. He offers his take on what new
roles pharmacy may play as a result, the growing role of clinical care
in pharmacy, and what’s on the horizon for technology for the pharmacy
and for the patient. Also part of the discussion: What MTM means for
retail pharmacy right now and what it ...| The 90% Nightmare |
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For the last twelve months, many independent pharmacies have
struggled over the decision of whether to register their pharmacy under the 90% Rule, or invest in an IIAS certified point-of-sale. For one reason or another, many pharmacies opted for the 90%
Rule. It seemed like a logical
choice. No expensive
point-of-sale, no major changes, just a little complicated paperwork and it is
back to business as usual. For some,
this has worked out. For others,
FSA card declines have ...| Boost Front-End Sales with Proper Merchandise Placement |
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Pharmacies already have OTC items in their stores, and with a little
planning and proper placement, those standard items can turn into added sales
at the POS.
| Some More Thoughts on Paperless Pharmacy |
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This letter from Integra CEO Kevin Welch is in response
to the article written by Kapali Eswaran in the September/October 2009 issue of ComputerTalk
regarding "What to Look for in a Paperless System."
| Perspectives on E-Prescribing: Pharmacist and Physician |
Sponsored by Emdeon
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| E-Prescribing: An Update |
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In this interview, eRx Network's VP of Clinical Services, Rick Sage, talks to ComputerTalk senior editor Will Lockwood about where he sees ePrescribing right now and the role companies like eRx play as adoption increases. &... | |
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| Strategies for Managing Prescription Pricing and Patients’ Prescription Costs |
Sponsored by Emdeon
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| Technology and the Pharmacy School Curriculum |
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The mobile technology initiative in | A New Online Resource for Ownership Transition |
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Long-time independent pharmacist Bob Graul has made some big changes and taken a new direction recently. In this interview with ComputerTalk senior editor Will Lockwood, Graul talks about the process of selling his pharmacies and how this motivated him to get involved in his current project: | Reorganizing the Pharmacy: Learning from a Distribution Model |
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| Operating Systems: The Developer’s Perspective |
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| A Nice Side Benefit of IIAS: Easier Giving |
QS/1 user Richard Stryker, of Bayshore Pharmacy in Atlantic Highlands, N.J., anticipates that his IIAS-compliant POS system is going to help his customers help others. Here's how he tells this story.
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| Meeting the FSA Challenge with flexTRAX |
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You're probably aware that as of January 1, 2009 there will be new rules for pharmacies processing payments for items eligible for FSA/HRA spending. If you have a point-of-sale (POS) system, you'll need to make sure it is IIAS compliant and that your system has been certified. If you don't have POS, then you may be looking for another solution. In this interview, Retail Management Solutions President Brad Jones and KeyCentrix ...| Automating Front-End Tasks with POS |
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Managing a pharmacy's front-end can be a time-consuming and complex task. But there are ways to make life easier. In this interview with ComputerTalk's Maggie Lockwood, ECRS President Peter Catoe talks about how the company's Supplier Gateway can connect its Catapult point-of-sale (POS) system with supplier ordering systems to reduce the time spent on ordering, pricing, and other activities.
| Better Marketing: You Can Start Now |
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| Summer Roundup: Technology Support Services on Call |
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In this interview with ComputerTalk's Will Lockwood, DAA VP for business development Abrar Kazmi talks about the company's new OnClickTech Support offering, which offers remote PC support. This is a joint venture with Team 9 Global Serivces, and is something a little different for ...| Summer Roundup: Introducing McKesson EnterpriseRx |
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McKesson Pharmacy Systems' (MPS) president Stanton McComb took time during the most recent McKesson Trade Show in Las Vegas to answer a series of questions from ComputerTalk's Will Lockwood about what the centrally-hosted EnterpriseRx pharmacy management product, already deployed in the chain setting, offers for independent pharmacy.
| Summer Roundup: Automation and the Successful Pharmacy |
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Pharmacist Doug Kaleugher opened Med-Fast Pharmacy 1990. Since then the business has expanded to 22 pharmacies in western Pennsylvania, with a mix of standard prescription services, retail, long-term care, and compounding. In this interview with ComputerTalk's Will Lockwood, Kaleugher talks about the big role dispensing automation has played Med-Fast's growth. He also offers strategies for introducing automation into your pharmacy and his take on the benefits of some of the newest dispensing technology out there.
| Summer Roundup: Investing Wisely in Workflow |
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Dave Burke R.Ph, M.B.A., pictured at left in blue, owner of Dave’s Pharmacy in Marysville, Ohio, took some time out at the recent Cardinal RBC to talk with ComputerTalk's Will Lockwood about his decision to a install a workflow management system and the benefits he has seen. Dave’s Pharmacy fills an average of 400 prescriptions per day, with peaks on some ...| Summer Roundup: How to Tighten Up Your Inventory |
 Jonathan Rider, owner of Rider Pharmacy in Fairmont, W.Va., is a firm believer in perpetual inventory. He took a few minutes at the Cardinal RBC in Orlando, Fla., to talk to ComputerTalk’s Will Lockwood about Cardinal Inventory Management (CIM), how he uses Kirby Lester counting technology to speed through the daily counts that are the basis for this inventory tracking method, and the financial and operational improvements he’s seen.
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| Pharmacy Facing New Compliance Challenges |
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Joe Ross, director of business services at McKesson Pharmacy Systems, talks in this interview with ComputerTalk senior editor Will Lockwood about existing and anticipated regulations that are changing what drug sales pharmacists are required to log. State and Federal regulations that require tracking the sale of non-prescription methamphetamine precursors have contributed to a demonstrable reduction in the illegal use of these drugs. More regulation may be in store, since the FDA is currently considering a behind-the-counter class of ...| Five Questions: The Buzz Around E-Prescribing |
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Here is an overview of the big questions about e-prescribing that
pharmacists were asking Speed Script’s Heath Reynolds during the 109th
NCPA meeting in October. Reynolds, director of business development,
talks here of the nuts and bolts of taking e-prescribing from theory to
practice.
| Outbound Messaging: Expanding Your Phone’s Potential Workflow Role |
| The benefits of automating phone communications are no longer just at the front end of the prescription-filling proces. Pharmacists are now putting their phones to work managing outbound calls that help with such tasks as will-call management and opt-in automatic refill programs. | |
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| Workflow and the LTC Pharmacy |
Pharmacies serving the long-term care market are likely to have special workflow requirements. Read on for vendors' views on the key elements to maximize LTC safety and efficiency. | |
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| What's New: The Latest Workflow Features |
Workflow technology is constantly evolving. Here are some details on the latest enhancements that vendors have added to their offerings. | |
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| Beyond Claims Adjudication: Why to Expect More from Your Switching Service |
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ComputerTalk senior editor Will Lockwood caught up recently with Marc Cohen, senior director of marketing for RelayHealth, to talk about what's happening in the world of claims processing and switching services.
It turns out that there are some interesting new additions being made that build on the transactional expertise and connectivity that are the core elements of these services.
| Differentiating Independent Pharmacy: Natural Health, Loyalty Programs, and a Real Web Presence |
In this interview with ComputerTalk senior editor Will Lockwood, PharmacistsOnLine CEO David Knaggs offers his views on how independent pharmacists can improve their competitiveness by turning their attention to tested marketing tools and to product lines that have not traditionally been a big part their business. | |
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| Pharmacy Viewpoint: McKessons Stanton McComb |
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McKesson Pharmacy Systems (MPS) President Stanton McComb sat down with ComputerTalk
senior editor Will Lockwood at the McKesson Pharmacy Strategies
Conference and Trade Show in Boston in July to talk about recent
changes at MPS resulting from the Per-Se Technologies acquisition, the
newest technology that MPS is offering, and the changes he sees ahead
for retail pharmacy practice.
| Five Questions On: Trends in Technology for the Consultant Pharmacist |
In this interview with ComputerTalk's Maggie Lockwood, the American Society of Consultant Pharmacist’s Carla Sexton, R.Ph., CGP, assistant director, policy and advocacy, along with consultant and ASCP board member Shelly Spiro, R.Ph., FASCP, talk about the ways evolving technologies, from web-based interfaces to the LTC e-prescribing pilot, are impacting the consultant pharmacist. | |
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| Parata RDS On Tour |
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Parata brought its RDS robotics directly to ComputerTalk recently, courtesy of its new mobile unit. The concept was developed over the past year as a way to reach out to busy community pharmacists.
| Trends in Dispensing Automation |
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