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Where Women in Pharmacy Shine | Cardinal Health™ Counter Talk™ Podcast · Pharmacy Podcast Network

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Speaker 2: The testimonials appearing in this podcast reflect individual experiences, and
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Speaker 2: The Cardinal Health counter Talk podcasts and collaboration with Pharmacy
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Speaker 2: future of pharmacy. Join me your host Jason colorI, for
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Speaker 3: Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Cardinal Health counter
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Speaker 3: Talk podcast. I am your host, Jason colorI, and today
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Speaker 3: I'm very excited to bring you an episode highlighting how
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Speaker 3: women are driving innovation, improving patient care, and leading independent
1:22
Speaker 3: pharmacies to a changing healthcare landscape. So today we will
1:26
Speaker 3: hear some great stories and find out where women in
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Speaker 3: pharmacy shine. Joining me today if this moderators are Michelle Britt,
1:32
Speaker 3: SVP of Retail Independent Sales and Chelsea Waite, Regional director
1:36
Speaker 3: of the Pacific Northwest, who will help guide today's discussion
1:39
Speaker 3: and add their unique perspectives.
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Speaker 4: We also have.
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Speaker 3: Special guests Monica nick Surist, owner pharmacist of Meticaf Pharmacy
1:47
Speaker 3: Number eight four six in Glenwood, Iowa, and Melissa Benji's,
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Speaker 3: owner of Hood's Pharmacy and Traubert's Pharmacy.
1:54
Speaker 4: Welcome to the show everyone.
1:56
Speaker 5: Thank you, it's a pleasure to be here.
1:58
Speaker 4: Really excited to talk to you guys.
2:00
Speaker 3: I want to start really with both Melissa and Monica here.
2:03
Speaker 3: When you think about women in pharmacy shining, what does
2:06
Speaker 3: that look like in your day to day work?
2:10
Speaker 5: Yeah? Thanks, Jason, I'll go ahead and kind of chime
2:12
Speaker 5: in here. So I lead a very incredible team, but
2:18
Speaker 5: a lot of us are women, and so it's really
2:21
Speaker 5: great to be able to elevate them and their respective
2:24
Speaker 5: roles and to be able to lead a team of
2:26
Speaker 5: very fun, high achieving women and also just helping our
2:31
Speaker 5: community every day as well. It's been very rewarding in
2:34
Speaker 5: the last five years since coming back home and running
2:37
Speaker 5: the family pharmacy.
2:38
Speaker 6: What about you, Melissa, So I will add to that
2:42
Speaker 6: because we also are heavily women run pharmacies. I have
2:46
Speaker 6: two men, God love them, otherwise they're early outnumbered, but
2:52
Speaker 6: both pharmacies. We are high energy. We feed off of
2:56
Speaker 6: each other. Everybody has great ideas and just to add
3:01
Speaker 6: to like a lot of us are moms and so
3:03
Speaker 6: we're multitasking. We bring that to the pharmacy to set
3:08
Speaker 6: goals and achieve them and it creates a good blend
3:12
Speaker 6: that works for us.
3:14
Speaker 5: Absolutely.
3:16
Speaker 4: No, I love to hear that.
3:17
Speaker 3: It's it's pretty funny about you know you have There
3:18
Speaker 3: are a couple guys in there just holding on, but
3:24
Speaker 3: that's pretty well. Yeah, that's pretty cool, Chelsea. Do you
3:28
Speaker 3: have a you have a follow up? I believe right,
3:30
Speaker 3: I do.
3:30
Speaker 7: Yes, Thank you Monica and Melissa so much for sharing.
3:33
Speaker 7: Just to follow that up, was there a moment in
3:35
Speaker 7: your career when you realize your voice of leadership or
3:39
Speaker 7: your leadership rather really made an impact.
3:43
Speaker 6: Yeah, I can comment on that. So you know, everybody
3:48
Speaker 6: was impacted during COVID and that was a time where
3:53
Speaker 6: there was a lot of unknowns and so it was
3:57
Speaker 6: there were a lot of facets going on. We have
4:00
Speaker 6: a huge compounding department that we were fortunately able to
4:03
Speaker 6: make things like can't sanitize her that were out that everybody.
4:06
Speaker 8: You know is fully aware of.
4:09
Speaker 6: And then you know, we had COVID testing and vaccines
4:12
Speaker 6: all going simultaneously, and being able to step in and
4:18
Speaker 6: really impact people through a lot of different avenues in
4:23
Speaker 6: the pharmacy was huge for us. And so without my team,
4:28
Speaker 6: we would not have been able to do that. But
4:29
Speaker 6: I had certain people, you know, in the compounding that
4:34
Speaker 6: were excelling, and then I had a whole different team
4:37
Speaker 6: that was doing all the clinical aspects out front, and
4:41
Speaker 6: so I was able to lead and provide. We provided
4:45
Speaker 6: really great service. I'm very proud of my team during
4:48
Speaker 6: that time. So I would say that was a that
4:51
Speaker 6: was a great point for us in a really hard
4:54
Speaker 6: time for our community.
4:57
Speaker 4: Yeah.
4:57
Speaker 7: Absolutely, thank you so much for sharing. It's hard to
5:00
Speaker 7: believe when we talk COVID that seems like yesterday, right manys,
5:05
Speaker 7: So we appreciate the coact that you were able to
5:08
Speaker 7: have on your community as you contributed in multiple ways,
5:12
Speaker 7: is there anything you'd like to add as well, Monica,
5:16
Speaker 7: I mean I.
5:16
Speaker 5: Would just say Melissa, absolutely, and kudos to you for
5:19
Speaker 5: being in the compounding realm. I will be honest, we
5:22
Speaker 5: are not in the compounding realm, but I mean really
5:26
Speaker 5: just you know, beyond medication and really just seeing how
5:30
Speaker 5: our team can really impact our community and really elevate
5:34
Speaker 5: their quality of lives and be able to be the
5:37
Speaker 5: connector in our community and connect them to different resources,
5:41
Speaker 5: connect them to you know, different social opportunities to prevent
5:46
Speaker 5: isolation and home health care and social determines of health.
5:50
Speaker 5: And so really just having our team be able to
5:54
Speaker 5: step beyond you know, medication dispensing and really provide holistic,
5:58
Speaker 5: whole person healthcare is something that you know, we're really
6:01
Speaker 5: proud of.
6:02
Speaker 4: Yeah.
6:02
Speaker 3: I think going back to COVID, so many things came
6:05
Speaker 3: out of COVID what what to do, what not to do.
6:07
Speaker 3: Obviously it was a big learning code for everyone, especially
6:09
Speaker 3: independent pharmacists, but a lot of that came a lot
6:12
Speaker 3: of things came out of COVID, especially you know, you know,
6:16
Speaker 3: offering new services, expanding, expanding revenue streams, so I'll start
6:21
Speaker 3: with you, Monica this time. What are some of the
6:22
Speaker 3: most impactful clinical programs you've implemented and you know, how
6:28
Speaker 3: did you decide to pursue those?
6:30
Speaker 7: Yeah?
6:31
Speaker 5: Absolutely, so, you know, I think the pandemic especially showed
6:35
Speaker 5: how versatile independent pharmacies are as well as how crucial
6:39
Speaker 5: we are. And so we're very lucky to be operating
6:42
Speaker 5: under now in Iowa, a standard of care model that
6:46
Speaker 5: started last fall, and so really all of my team's
6:49
Speaker 5: professional you know, satisfaction rates skyrocketed because now we can
6:54
Speaker 5: really practice at the top of our training, expertise and
6:58
Speaker 5: education and be able to more gaps. And one that
7:03
Speaker 5: really is highlighted for us is what's called our Medipack
7:06
Speaker 5: Wellness program. It started with a patient that we identified
7:11
Speaker 5: and he just kept ongoing, you know, recurrent hospitalizations over
7:16
Speaker 5: and over again. And when we figured out got to
7:18
Speaker 5: the root cause, it was because of you know, non adherence,
7:22
Speaker 5: getting medications confused, which lead it, you know, led to
7:26
Speaker 5: adverse effects. And so we're like, well, what if we
7:29
Speaker 5: paired our provider you know, status and eligibility to bill
7:35
Speaker 5: and get reimbursement for pharmacist clinical knowledge with our bubble
7:40
Speaker 5: packing services with our free delivery, with the appointment based
7:45
Speaker 5: model of care. What if we wrapped all that up
7:48
Speaker 5: to help bridge care and fill preventative healthcare gaps and
7:53
Speaker 5: decrease readmission rates. And we created the Medipack Wellness program,
7:57
Speaker 5: which now we utilize our Medicaid provider status. We get
8:02
Speaker 5: paid for the time and expertise that we provide as
8:06
Speaker 5: pharmacists and recognize providers. And so I meet with probably
8:10
Speaker 5: about thirty patients on a chronic patient basis, whether that's
8:14
Speaker 5: monthly or quarterly, and we offer medication packaging and preventative
8:19
Speaker 5: type hell screenings and services social determines of health to
8:23
Speaker 5: really provide holistic care. But making sure that we do
8:26
Speaker 5: that with being reimbursed is so that has been a
8:32
Speaker 5: really helpful and sustainable model, on top of our cash
8:35
Speaker 5: based services that we provide through same day care visits
8:40
Speaker 5: and chronic care management as well.
8:42
Speaker 4: So, yeah, wow, it's interesting.
8:45
Speaker 3: I actually I applaud you on meeting with that many
8:49
Speaker 3: pharmacists on a weekly basis.
8:51
Speaker 4: That's pretty incredible, or meeting with that many patients, I.
8:54
Speaker 5: Should say, yeah, And it's been really rewarding and being
8:58
Speaker 5: able to provide collaborative care with the different clinic sets
9:02
Speaker 5: in our communities as well as with public health and
9:07
Speaker 5: just really addressed those barriers to It's so much more
9:10
Speaker 5: than just putting, you know, taking a pill. Education is
9:13
Speaker 5: the key of healthy living. That's what my mom als
9:16
Speaker 5: always used to say. And I think is probably on
9:18
Speaker 5: a poster somewhere in this pharmacy. But you'd be surprised
9:21
Speaker 5: when that light bulb clicks what that means for people.
9:24
Speaker 4: So love that, melyss So what about you?
9:28
Speaker 6: Yeah, so, I just like Monica was saying, educating the population.
9:35
Speaker 6: It's amazing that in Iowa they have provider status. We
9:38
Speaker 6: hopefully will have that here eventually. But we implemented point
9:44
Speaker 6: of care testing, so it initially initially was just flew
9:47
Speaker 6: in strap and so patients could come in and we
9:52
Speaker 6: were on a fee for service module.
9:54
Speaker 8: So setting that bar what made sense for my population.
9:59
Speaker 6: We are in like an old steel town, like if
10:02
Speaker 6: you think of like Pittsburgh area, we're not far from there,
10:05
Speaker 6: and so you know, our population is a very elderly population.
10:09
Speaker 6: Unfortunately it's a low literacy area, and so educating patients
10:15
Speaker 6: allowing them to have access to care, but something that
10:18
Speaker 6: is affordable is also you know you is a good
10:23
Speaker 6: balance there. So we did implement point of care testing
10:27
Speaker 6: fluent strip years ago and then we added COVID when
10:30
Speaker 6: that came in, and so it is still fee for service.
10:35
Speaker 8: We always anytime we see.
10:37
Speaker 6: Patients, especially like okay, if they're coming in for a
10:40
Speaker 6: flu swap, did you get your.
10:41
Speaker 8: Flu vaccine this year? So we kind of feed off
10:44
Speaker 8: of that.
10:44
Speaker 6: And that's something that I stress to my team is
10:47
Speaker 6: when you do have interactions with patients, we are so
10:50
Speaker 6: accessible as pharmacists to be able to get to the
10:54
Speaker 6: root cause of problems, see what other help they need,
10:58
Speaker 6: So that would lead to vaccinations, and vaccines are.
11:02
Speaker 8: A huge part of our day. We do a huge variety.
11:06
Speaker 6: Of them, and I take that time to talk to
11:09
Speaker 6: patients see what else they need. Like Monica was saying,
11:12
Speaker 6: as well, you know, whether that's adherence programs.
11:16
Speaker 8: We have a huge adherence program.
11:17
Speaker 6: We offer various types of adherence like this spill packaging
11:22
Speaker 6: or those packaging, or we do pillbot We'll set up
11:27
Speaker 6: pill boxes for people so no matter what their need
11:30
Speaker 6: is or what they prefer, we'll kind of adapt to
11:33
Speaker 6: that and then we have free delivery.
11:35
Speaker 8: So some of these people this.
11:37
Speaker 6: Might be your one point of contact to be able
11:40
Speaker 6: to get as much information out of them as possible
11:44
Speaker 6: and to see really what their needs are and how
11:47
Speaker 6: we can help them have better overall health.
11:49
Speaker 8: So you know, you get people on adherence.
11:52
Speaker 6: Packaging, it does decrease readmissions into the hospital, it can
11:57
Speaker 6: get them back on track. So kind of lumping them
12:01
Speaker 6: all together and feeding.
12:02
Speaker 8: Off of the services really.
12:05
Speaker 6: Helps us get to what that particular patient need. And
12:09
Speaker 6: as we know, everybody's not the same, so it's it's
12:12
Speaker 6: very personalized what direction we go with each patient.
12:17
Speaker 4: No, yeah, I love that. I know Michelle and Chelsea
12:19
Speaker 4: had a couple follow up questions for you.
12:21
Speaker 9: Yeah, so so for me, you know, I wanted to
12:24
Speaker 9: actually comment on some of the work you all do.
12:27
Speaker 9: Not only am I in awe of the retail independent space,
12:30
Speaker 9: each and every day I applaud you both.
12:32
Speaker 10: You're clearly working beyond the script.
12:35
Speaker 9: Impacting your community, operating at the top of your license.
12:39
Speaker 9: You're playing a valuable role in healthcare. You're constantly evolving
12:44
Speaker 9: into clinical services. You know, you talked a lot about access, adaptability,
12:49
Speaker 9: the passion you all bring and the level of care
12:53
Speaker 9: is well beyond what many even realize and I know
12:57
Speaker 9: firsthand that my retail independent pharmacy is an integral partner
13:02
Speaker 9: in my family's healthcare journey. So I just wanted to
13:06
Speaker 9: spend a few few minutes thanking you for what you do.
13:09
Speaker 9: The role you play in your communities goes well beyond
13:12
Speaker 9: any well beyond your your day to day and I
13:18
Speaker 9: just applaud you for for that role you're playing in
13:22
Speaker 9: your communities, in your businesses.
13:24
Speaker 5: Thank you, Thank you, Michelle.
13:26
Speaker 3: I want to go back to basically your your operation,
13:30
Speaker 3: because you you talked, you guys talked about a lot.
13:32
Speaker 3: You talked about not only vaccination adherence programs, meeting with patients,
13:37
Speaker 3: free delivery, but you're building those really important points of
13:42
Speaker 3: contact right with your with your patients. So how do
13:45
Speaker 3: you balance your clinical services with the operational demands of
13:48
Speaker 3: running a pharmacy. I'm sure it's after adding all of
13:51
Speaker 3: these different services, it can or unless you I guess.
13:54
Speaker 4: You, maybe you have it running like a well rolled machine.
13:57
Speaker 4: But what is that like? What is that like? What
13:59
Speaker 4: is that like? For you guys? I'll start with you, Melissa.
14:02
Speaker 6: So sometimes it's a well oiled machine and then sometimes
14:06
Speaker 6: you know, you have those breakdowns. But first I would
14:10
Speaker 6: love to applaud my team, because without amazing technicians, I
14:15
Speaker 6: cannot do.
14:16
Speaker 8: All of the great ideas.
14:17
Speaker 6: Especially I'll come back from conferences RBC and you see
14:21
Speaker 6: something and you're super excited to start implementing it, and
14:25
Speaker 6: you could kind of get that, oh, it's one more
14:27
Speaker 6: thing we're going to do, but they jump on board
14:32
Speaker 6: with me and it is great. So having technicians around
14:36
Speaker 6: you that can really.
14:38
Speaker 8: Help with the workflow of that.
14:40
Speaker 6: We've upgraded our computer system and we take advantage of
14:44
Speaker 6: it being able to do some of you know, like
14:47
Speaker 6: the documentation that's needed and faxing providers, so it can
14:51
Speaker 6: all be done automatically if you allow it to be.
14:55
Speaker 6: But getting your techs on board and getting them excited
15:00
Speaker 6: about different things is very helpful. And I have a
15:03
Speaker 6: couple that would swab, you know, can swab patients and
15:08
Speaker 6: do testing. They can do vaccines right there alongside with me.
15:12
Speaker 6: And then you know, we've during COVID we did vaccines
15:17
Speaker 6: and testing out of a tent, and we've gone to
15:20
Speaker 6: different nursing homes or different assisted living homes, so that
15:24
Speaker 6: can in and of itself, you can take care of
15:28
Speaker 6: twenty thirty patients that you might have seen throughout your
15:32
Speaker 6: day that they may have thought the greatest time to
15:34
Speaker 6: come was on a Monday morning, and I didn't think
15:37
Speaker 6: that was the greatest time. So now I'm going to
15:39
Speaker 6: them on maybe a Thursday afternoon, when I know it's
15:43
Speaker 6: a little slower in the pharmacy, I have extra help.
15:45
Speaker 6: So now I can go to them, get all of
15:48
Speaker 6: that done, and continue to build relationships with them. It
15:52
Speaker 6: allows me to not feel like I have to get
15:54
Speaker 6: back to the bench because this is my designated time
15:58
Speaker 6: to be with those patients, accinate them, offer the services
16:02
Speaker 6: to them, you know. So capitalizing on opportunities like that
16:06
Speaker 6: has has really helped us.
16:08
Speaker 8: Absolutely.
16:08
Speaker 5: I would just echo essentially everything that Melissa said, especially
16:12
Speaker 5: starting with our team. So we're really proud and I'm
16:15
Speaker 5: so so proud of our incredible team for not only
16:19
Speaker 5: you know, working in workflow, but also being able to
16:23
Speaker 5: expand professionally and be able to pursue those extra certifications,
16:28
Speaker 5: you know, be comfortable with taking vitals, be comfortable with
16:31
Speaker 5: communicating with patients, and you know, triaging as appropriate. That
16:35
Speaker 5: has been huge, especially as a one pharmacist store. Back
16:41
Speaker 5: until just six weeks ago, my husband and I have
16:43
Speaker 5: started to have overlap. He's the other incredible pharmacist here
16:47
Speaker 5: shout out to the one of two men similar to Melissa,
16:52
Speaker 5: but you know, being able to delegate to my incredible
16:57
Speaker 5: team members. And also so I would also just like
17:01
Speaker 5: to mention setting patient expectations and boundaries that are super
17:06
Speaker 5: hard for independent pharmacists because we are always accessible, We're
17:11
Speaker 5: always that smiling face, and we always will continue to be. However,
17:16
Speaker 5: setting the expectations that, oh, actually Monica's in clinic right
17:19
Speaker 5: now with a patient that's going to be you know,
17:22
Speaker 5: twenty minutes instead of maybe a typical ten minutes, and
17:26
Speaker 5: kind of adjusting those expectations of our community because now
17:31
Speaker 5: we are a well missed destination, you know. So kind
17:34
Speaker 5: of shifting the perspective of patients too has been incredibly
17:38
Speaker 5: helpful because now they understand, oh, when it's my turn
17:41
Speaker 5: and I need you know, Monica or the care team
17:45
Speaker 5: to take care of me and my family for you know,
17:48
Speaker 5: other chronic or acute conditions, then they're going to spend
17:52
Speaker 5: that dedicated, uninterrupted, you know, twenty minutes or however long
17:57
Speaker 5: the patient appointment lasts with me. So that has also
18:01
Speaker 5: been super helpful in addition to my incredible team.
18:05
Speaker 10: Yeah, that is truly amazing.
18:09
Speaker 9: How do you evaluate the ROI on the patient outcomes
18:14
Speaker 9: when choosing some of these programs?
18:16
Speaker 5: Absolutely so. In terms of I think of it as
18:21
Speaker 5: diversifying our portfolio. So think of it as you know,
18:25
Speaker 5: any investment fund or any other model of business. We
18:29
Speaker 5: look at diversification and especially sustainability, and so I would
18:35
Speaker 5: say I will say I lead with my heart a lot.
18:38
Speaker 5: So first I'm like, okay, well, what's the benefit of
18:42
Speaker 5: you know, offering these services from an emotional standpoint and
18:45
Speaker 5: from a community standpoint. But also I have to use
18:47
Speaker 5: the other half of my brain as an owner and
18:49
Speaker 5: be like, well, is this a sustainable model for you know,
18:52
Speaker 5: our community or our business model. So I really look
18:57
Speaker 5: at diversifying and spreading out a lot of incremental rollouts
19:03
Speaker 5: of different programs. Right now we are almost ready to
19:06
Speaker 5: roll out. I became a Fulebottomist, I'm a pharm of Flebottomist,
19:10
Speaker 5: so we're getting ready to be a lab draw center
19:12
Speaker 5: for patients as well. And so just diversifying the services
19:17
Speaker 5: that we offer and not always putting our eggs in
19:19
Speaker 5: one basket is super important as an innovative pharmacy team.
19:24
Speaker 3: Well, bottomists, what what's what's that?
19:27
Speaker 4: Yeah, not to get too deep into that, but what
19:30
Speaker 4: is that?
19:30
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's that's incredible.
19:35
Speaker 5: Yeah, we don't have a hospital in our county and
19:40
Speaker 5: we are starting to see a lot more telehealth patients
19:43
Speaker 5: that are like, well, where do I go to get
19:46
Speaker 5: my lab drawn? Will come to Medica Pharmacy. So I
19:50
Speaker 5: was like, well, I used my incredible fellow women technicians.
19:55
Speaker 5: They're like, oh, yeah, you can use me, you know,
19:57
Speaker 5: as your practice, you know patients. So we have partnered
20:01
Speaker 5: with the lab that recognizes pharmacists as being providers to
20:04
Speaker 5: order labs, but then also patients self ordering labs and
20:07
Speaker 5: then we collect a draw fee for that service. So
20:12
Speaker 5: it is both a sustainable business model and also meeting
20:16
Speaker 5: a need in our community.
20:18
Speaker 7: Very cool, interesting, Thank you so much for sharing. I mean,
20:23
Speaker 7: I think we've touched on a couple of big buzzwords
20:25
Speaker 7: so far, but what really stands out is how, of
20:28
Speaker 7: course it's critical as a retail independent pharmacy to always
20:31
Speaker 7: be adapting to the industry and the needs of the community,
20:34
Speaker 7: and Monica you touched on that with the unique component
20:38
Speaker 7: of being able to provide blood work in terms of
20:42
Speaker 7: the need of that community. So I commend you there.
20:44
Speaker 7: What I would ask is what type of advice you
20:47
Speaker 7: would have potentially for others that are interested in considering
20:51
Speaker 7: similar programs. I'm sure there's been growing pains and potential
20:55
Speaker 7: bumps in the road when implementing new strategies and you've
20:57
Speaker 7: had to pivot here or there. What could you really,
21:01
Speaker 7: you know, share with our listeners today as to advice
21:04
Speaker 7: if they're looking to get into these types of models
21:06
Speaker 7: as well, I.
21:09
Speaker 5: Would say, start small. You know, nothing happens overnight. Necessarily,
21:14
Speaker 5: I will say, we push the envelope and you know, incrementally,
21:18
Speaker 5: but pretty aggressively, but definitely start small. You know, all
21:22
Speaker 5: you can do is offer the services. Does it mean
21:24
Speaker 5: that the whole world will be your buyers? But all
21:27
Speaker 5: that we can do is to offer that critical service
21:30
Speaker 5: and touch point. And then also just ask yourself why not?
21:33
Speaker 5: You know, my my professional happiness and I like to
21:37
Speaker 5: think my teams as well, has really increased by providing,
21:42
Speaker 5: you know, and being able to diversify the opportunities that
21:47
Speaker 5: we have. And our day to day looks a lot
21:50
Speaker 5: different and is very diverse. So just ask yourself why not?
21:54
Speaker 5: And start small, but you got to start is kind
21:57
Speaker 5: of my recommendation.
22:00
Speaker 6: Right, I'd love to add to that, and Monica, that's
22:04
Speaker 6: amazing that you are a probotomist now, not to go
22:08
Speaker 6: back to that, but that is amazing that you guys
22:11
Speaker 6: are able to have that piece in there as well.
22:14
Speaker 6: But I agree diversifying your pharmacy is it's not going
22:19
Speaker 6: to it's never going to be a downfall to the pharmacy,
22:24
Speaker 6: and you are going to have I've had plenty of
22:26
Speaker 6: ideas that I thought were great ideas, we thought, we
22:29
Speaker 6: implemented them well and it just didn't work for us,
22:32
Speaker 6: But that doesn't mean that we didn't try the next thing.
22:35
Speaker 6: So if somebody is looking to make their pharmacy more diverse,
22:40
Speaker 6: I would just say keep growing and keep going because
22:44
Speaker 6: you don't want to be stagnant. Especially in our profession.
22:48
Speaker 6: It's always changing and as long as you adapt to
22:51
Speaker 6: what the needs are, then you're going to be successful.
22:54
Speaker 6: And that's kind of what we have found. When we
22:57
Speaker 6: need to provide a certain service to the community, we
23:02
Speaker 6: do and then whenever that is need is met, then
23:05
Speaker 6: we move on to the next thing. And that doesn't
23:06
Speaker 6: mean that we're not doing that it just kind of
23:09
Speaker 6: like COVID it it kind of fizzled out and then
23:13
Speaker 6: we moved on to the next thing, and.
23:15
Speaker 8: There will always be opportunities.
23:17
Speaker 6: And thankfully pharmacy is advancing forward, so more states are
23:21
Speaker 6: having provider status and able to do more. And it
23:25
Speaker 6: really shows that because that pharmacists are able to handle it,
23:29
Speaker 6: they would not allow us to keep doing this if
23:31
Speaker 6: it if it didn't work out, and it is so
23:34
Speaker 6: I'm very excited for the future for more availability to grow.
23:41
Speaker 9: You both are spot on retail independence, are constantly at
23:45
Speaker 9: the forefront of patient care. The fact that you adapt
23:48
Speaker 9: and all the examples you've given. You know, I think
23:51
Speaker 9: COVID opened a lot of doors if we look back,
23:54
Speaker 9: but even before that, just adapting to the needs of
23:58
Speaker 9: patients in.
23:58
Speaker 10: Your community, it's it's truly amazing.
24:01
Speaker 9: I think you're both going to be excited because at
24:03
Speaker 9: RBC this year, a Retail Business conference in Orlando, we're
24:06
Speaker 9: really focused on wellness as a destination and opening doors
24:12
Speaker 9: for others across the country to diversify their portfolio. We're
24:18
Speaker 9: going to be sharing a lot of best practices. We
24:20
Speaker 9: have different content tracks because people are at different levels
24:24
Speaker 9: of their learning curve and what they want to bring
24:26
Speaker 9: into their pharmacy and offer to into their community. And
24:30
Speaker 9: we even have some areas of support. So I think
24:33
Speaker 9: you're really going to be excited and it's really really
24:36
Speaker 9: nice to hear about all you all are doing.
24:39
Speaker 10: Thank you.
24:41
Speaker 3: So we've talked about and touched on a lot of
24:43
Speaker 3: different things you guys are doing within your pharmacies, but
24:46
Speaker 3: I really want to take a little bit of a
24:47
Speaker 3: deeper dive into not only your specific pharmacies, but your
24:51
Speaker 3: specific communities. You have some really impactful clinical programs that
24:56
Speaker 3: you've implemented, but how do you can share a patient
25:00
Speaker 3: story that really highlights the impacts of the services that
25:04
Speaker 3: you're providing and also tell us a little bit about
25:07
Speaker 3: your your respective communities and why you decided to maybe
25:11
Speaker 3: bring those or these specific programs and solutions and phlebotomists
25:17
Speaker 3: into your into your into your community specifically.
25:21
Speaker 4: I'll start with Melissa.
25:24
Speaker 6: Yeah, so I kind of alluded to it earlier that
25:27
Speaker 6: we are in elderly you know, I have a strong
25:30
Speaker 6: elderly population.
25:31
Speaker 8: We're in an old steel town.
25:32
Speaker 6: It's that is why all of my services are kind.
25:37
Speaker 8: Of geared toward that toward that population.
25:41
Speaker 6: And so you know, blood pressure checks, UH, diabetes monitoring,
25:46
Speaker 6: anything like that that can help patient care. It's going
25:51
Speaker 6: to help the patient stay well. So we have a
25:54
Speaker 6: lot of people that can't cannot physically get a ride
25:56
Speaker 6: to a physician's office that might be in the next
25:59
Speaker 6: town up. You know, we're small, rural area and so
26:04
Speaker 6: we are there's you you asked about a patient story.
26:08
Speaker 6: I could probably give you, you know, several of.
26:11
Speaker 8: Kind of the same realm of story.
26:13
Speaker 6: But you know, people trust pharmacists and they are, you know,
26:18
Speaker 6: like Monica had stated, they want your time, and having
26:22
Speaker 6: that boundary there is necessary. But they do come in
26:26
Speaker 6: and they want to be helped to the best.
26:30
Speaker 8: Of your ability. So I've given blood.
26:33
Speaker 6: Pressure screenings, diabetes screenings, you know, and I have I
26:37
Speaker 6: have a particular patient that she would keep coming back
26:40
Speaker 6: and she's having She She's an elderly lady.
26:43
Speaker 8: She lived on her own, she had nobody to care
26:46
Speaker 8: for her.
26:46
Speaker 6: And unfortunately I've had several UH situations like hers.
26:50
Speaker 8: But I do remember her blood pressure.
26:52
Speaker 6: Was sky high, and you know, I got involved. I
26:56
Speaker 6: called her physician. You know, I would tell her the
26:59
Speaker 6: tell them the reading. She would walk over to my
27:00
Speaker 6: pharmacy every day and I would check her blood pressure,
27:03
Speaker 6: we would monitor it, we would you know, document her
27:06
Speaker 6: symptoms she was having for the day.
27:09
Speaker 8: Eventually, I believe my.
27:11
Speaker 6: Delivery driver drove her to her physician's office one day
27:15
Speaker 6: and then we were able to get her the right
27:18
Speaker 6: medication and the right treatment, and I was able to
27:21
Speaker 6: follow along until she felt comfortable and we were able
27:26
Speaker 6: to keep her independent.
27:27
Speaker 8: She was at her own home.
27:29
Speaker 6: She was happy with that, and you know, the alternative
27:32
Speaker 6: was she was going to go to and assisted living
27:34
Speaker 6: or long term care facility. And it's just scenarios like
27:38
Speaker 6: that that really keep you going with the community because
27:42
Speaker 6: if you can keep these people independent, you know, it's
27:45
Speaker 6: everybody is happier and healthier in the community. And that
27:49
Speaker 6: is success to me. And like I said, that particular patient,
27:53
Speaker 6: I remember her. She was near and dear to my heart.
27:55
Speaker 6: She since passed away, but you know there are several
27:57
Speaker 6: of them that come in and use our services in
28:01
Speaker 6: the same manner that she did.
28:04
Speaker 4: That's incredible, Monica. What about you?
28:06
Speaker 5: I mean that is incredible, Melissa. I mean, kudos to
28:09
Speaker 5: you and your team. That is honestly, like the number
28:13
Speaker 5: one thing that with independent pharmacists, we just we do
28:16
Speaker 5: what we need to do for our patients and that
28:19
Speaker 5: you know, the delivery driver driving to the positions I
28:22
Speaker 5: mean absolutely.
28:24
Speaker 8: And independent pharmacy right exactly.
28:26
Speaker 5: That's what my dad did and that's what you know
28:29
Speaker 5: we do and you know, kudos and so for for
28:35
Speaker 5: us and our team, I would say our biggest, most
28:38
Speaker 5: impactful full circle moments have definitely been where we're really
28:42
Speaker 5: proud to serve kind of as a safe space for
28:44
Speaker 5: our community. And we have referred about I think eight
28:50
Speaker 5: patients since December that we've identified during screenings or just
28:57
Speaker 5: them presenting to us. Unfortunately in a mental health crist
29:00
Speaker 5: and it's all about meeting the patient where they're at,
29:03
Speaker 5: and so we have been able to kind of be
29:05
Speaker 5: that liaison for them to feel comfortable reaching out to
29:09
Speaker 5: the mental health crisis line and kind of being able
29:13
Speaker 5: to sit with them, be with them while our crisis
29:17
Speaker 5: response team came from our county and we're able to
29:21
Speaker 5: connect them with care and so having those regular touch
29:25
Speaker 5: points and I think us as independent pharmacists knowing what
29:28
Speaker 5: our patient's spaceline is and then when them they present,
29:32
Speaker 5: not even having to administer any type of screenings, just
29:35
Speaker 5: kind of looking at so and so as a human
29:38
Speaker 5: and being like, hey, are you okay and then being like,
29:41
Speaker 5: actually I'm not and being able to be that liaison.
29:44
Speaker 5: I'm really proud of our team because I truly do
29:47
Speaker 5: feel that we've saved lives and by connecting them to resources.
29:51
Speaker 5: And I know that we are just one of many, many,
29:54
Speaker 5: many across the nation that are providing those key connections.
29:59
Speaker 5: So I would say that that has been the most
30:02
Speaker 5: rewarding an impactful, you know, community connection and safe space
30:06
Speaker 5: that we've been for for our community.
30:09
Speaker 3: Don Chelsea, I know you guys, how did you guys
30:11
Speaker 3: have a couple of Cathollop questions?
30:12
Speaker 7: I would just ask really back to Melissa, you know,
30:17
Speaker 7: going the extra mile for your aging population when you
30:19
Speaker 7: were sharing that story, I really could put a face
30:22
Speaker 7: to that patient, and I think it would be a
30:24
Speaker 7: fair assumption that that you know, elderly woman probably looked
30:29
Speaker 7: forward to her time with you in the pharmacy each
30:31
Speaker 7: and every day as you checked her blood pressure. That
30:33
Speaker 7: was probably really a positive point for her. And it
30:37
Speaker 7: just goes to show the culture that you're building in
30:39
Speaker 7: terms of your community, but also within the pharmacy and
30:43
Speaker 7: being you know, that extra extension of healthcare that we
30:46
Speaker 7: so often do in retail independent pharmacy, but potentially don't
30:50
Speaker 7: get that credit for.
30:51
Speaker 10: I guess my follow up question.
30:52
Speaker 7: To you around that would really be around how do
30:55
Speaker 7: those stories shape how you continue evolving your services today?
31:00
Speaker 6: So I don't you have these scenarios? And yes, and
31:06
Speaker 6: I tell my team, you know, with with patients like
31:09
Speaker 6: the one I described, we may be their only conversation
31:13
Speaker 6: or we may be the only people they see for
31:15
Speaker 6: the day, And so there is an aspect of these
31:18
Speaker 6: people are still people, they are patients. You know, they
31:21
Speaker 6: may be more needy, it might not be something even
31:24
Speaker 6: health related, but we might be the only people they
31:27
Speaker 6: talk to today and that may brighten their day and
31:30
Speaker 6: keep them going. And so my team will hear that
31:33
Speaker 6: frequently that you know, it keeps you, It keeps you
31:38
Speaker 6: going and excited because you know that you are making
31:41
Speaker 6: their lives better and whether like I said, that's medically
31:46
Speaker 6: or just being there as somebody to go to like
31:49
Speaker 6: you said she did, she was excited to come in.
31:52
Speaker 6: She my patients all ask me how my children are
31:54
Speaker 6: doing things like that that you know you do really
31:58
Speaker 6: build relationship, and whenever you build relationships and you have
32:03
Speaker 6: good relationships with people you can't help but want to
32:07
Speaker 6: do that for more patients than anybody that walks in
32:10
Speaker 6: the door.
32:12
Speaker 10: It really is personal.
32:13
Speaker 6: You know.
32:14
Speaker 9: I have really enjoyed hearing all the stories you all
32:17
Speaker 9: have shared and how you just continue to evolve your
32:22
Speaker 9: reach in the community to meet your customers where they're at.
32:26
Speaker 9: Can you talk to me a little bit about what
32:28
Speaker 9: systems or workflows have made a difference in helping you
32:32
Speaker 9: offer these support in your communities to your patients.
32:36
Speaker 5: Yeah, I would say when we I mean when we
32:38
Speaker 5: talk about workflow, I am a big believer that like,
32:42
Speaker 5: structure drives function. So it's not a rare occurrence to
32:46
Speaker 5: see Monica running around unplugging computers, moving things around to
32:52
Speaker 5: make sure that it's like, oh, does that not make
32:54
Speaker 5: sense for where it's at, Like what do you think?
32:56
Speaker 5: And then they're like, oh, actually, it'd be really helpful.
33:00
Speaker 5: Maybe we scooch this computer down so then patients feel
33:02
Speaker 5: a little bit more welcome, and you know, so I'm like, okay,
33:06
Speaker 5: let's do it. So that would be one in terms
33:09
Speaker 5: of workflow, is that structure drives function. So just make
33:11
Speaker 5: sure that your workflow is you know, set up to
33:16
Speaker 5: accommodate for those and then also make sure that you
33:20
Speaker 5: have you know, Melissa kind of briefly mentioned about some
33:23
Speaker 5: of the technology that she's integrated into her workflows too
33:26
Speaker 5: to kind of help assist is to, you know, the
33:29
Speaker 5: appointment based model of care and having a calendar feature
33:33
Speaker 5: for patients to be able to go online and schedule
33:35
Speaker 5: on their own or call us. So then I, as
33:38
Speaker 5: a clinician know kind of what to expect day to day,
33:41
Speaker 5: what my schedule looks like, and things like that has
33:43
Speaker 5: been very helpful.
33:47
Speaker 10: Thank you. What about you, Melissa?
33:50
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean everything that Mana has stated on so
33:56
Speaker 6: the utilizing technology, I would say is just the key
34:00
Speaker 6: to the workflow. So we did upgrade like I alluded
34:04
Speaker 6: to earlier that let it work for you and let
34:08
Speaker 6: it help you manage what your day is going to
34:10
Speaker 6: look like and the time that you have to spend
34:14
Speaker 6: doing a certain task. So yeah, and hopefully it only
34:18
Speaker 6: gets better from here and you can continue to implement
34:22
Speaker 6: different services that are offered on the technology side of things.
34:27
Speaker 9: Yeah, I think that's great. There's so much technology out there.
34:30
Speaker 9: I know, I've learned so much this year on a
34:33
Speaker 9: lot of different AI technologies that are out there, just
34:36
Speaker 9: to continue to improve and allow you all to really
34:39
Speaker 9: focus on the customer and take some of those little
34:42
Speaker 9: tasks off your plate so that you can focus on
34:45
Speaker 9: your patients.
34:46
Speaker 10: I know, I've learned a lot, and there's so much
34:48
Speaker 10: out there.
34:50
Speaker 4: And don't be.
34:53
Speaker 8: Don't be afraid of it.
34:54
Speaker 6: Not to pick on my two boys, but they're older
34:57
Speaker 6: and they come sometimes are scared and I have to
34:59
Speaker 6: hold their hand and.
35:00
Speaker 8: We get through it. But everybody can.
35:03
Speaker 6: Learn it, and you know it makes things so much
35:06
Speaker 6: better in the long run.
35:08
Speaker 10: Well, you're you're right.
35:09
Speaker 9: Change can be uncomfortable, right, We like the creatures of
35:12
Speaker 9: habit correct but that change, that change comes with growth
35:18
Speaker 9: and could make a big impact. And I feel like
35:20
Speaker 9: once you once you put it into action, it really
35:24
Speaker 9: it really gets you from point A to point B.
35:27
Speaker 9: And Monica, I really love your structure drives function because
35:30
Speaker 9: you constantly have to look at the way you're doing things.
35:33
Speaker 10: If it's working, continue.
35:34
Speaker 9: But if it's not, you know, where are those areas
35:36
Speaker 9: of improvement and really allowing your pharmacy staff to be
35:40
Speaker 9: part of some of those changes as well. Because they
35:42
Speaker 9: may have really great ideas to help drive you forward.
35:48
Speaker 5: Absolutely ninety nine percent of the ideas are from my
35:52
Speaker 5: staff and being able to have you know, the leadership
35:56
Speaker 5: that absolutely I see in Melissa and in all dependent
36:00
Speaker 5: pharmacists is that if you have an idea, the beauty
36:03
Speaker 5: of independent pharmacy is that we can we can make
36:05
Speaker 5: it happen. So just really encouraging team members to speak
36:09
Speaker 5: up because their their voice is absolutely valuable and their
36:12
Speaker 5: ideas are valuable.
36:14
Speaker 3: Yeah, we've done episodes and chatted with other pharmacists and
36:19
Speaker 3: about investing in their teams at their at their independent
36:22
Speaker 3: pharmacies and how valuable that is really making them feel
36:26
Speaker 3: seen and heard and becoming a huge part of not
36:30
Speaker 3: only the pharmacy, but even a little idea like you
36:33
Speaker 3: guys had mentioned, could change someone's life, especially especially for
36:38
Speaker 3: you guys because you're meeting with so many patients you know,
36:41
Speaker 3: day to day. It really is an incredible thing. So
36:44
Speaker 3: I definitely applaud you guys for that. Going back to
36:46
Speaker 3: that and kind of getting into where what you guys
36:49
Speaker 3: are doing and future and the future of pharmacy going forward,
36:53
Speaker 3: We've talked about technology a little bit, you know, to
36:56
Speaker 3: Michelle's point, will be you know, expanding and focusing a little.
36:59
Speaker 4: Bit about that, you know and RBC this year.
37:02
Speaker 3: But where do you see the role of independent pharmacists
37:04
Speaker 3: evolving over the next three to five years. Obviously there's
37:08
Speaker 3: you know, I guess you could say there's other circumstances
37:14
Speaker 3: outside of that when you talk about, you know, what
37:16
Speaker 3: happens within our government and anything legal on top of that,
37:20
Speaker 3: But just within your doors, where do you see the
37:23
Speaker 3: role of independent pharmacists evolving over the next three to
37:26
Speaker 3: five years For you guys personally, I'll start with you, Monica.
37:29
Speaker 5: Thank you. Yeah, I would say I like to relabel
37:33
Speaker 5: the PCP to primary care pharmacist. I see a lot
37:38
Speaker 5: of opportunities, especially like I mentioned before, being under standard
37:43
Speaker 5: of care now in Iowa, as being able to be
37:46
Speaker 5: a primary care pharmacist for different individuals. You would be surprised.
37:52
Speaker 5: That really opened my eyes how many people are walking
37:55
Speaker 5: down the street with no type of primary care when
37:59
Speaker 5: it to anything, whether that's lab work, whether that's oh
38:03
Speaker 5: my gosh, I woke up with pink eye. There's no
38:06
Speaker 5: urgent care. Who do I call to cancer prevention screenings?
38:11
Speaker 5: So I really see us not only continuing to be
38:16
Speaker 5: that steady access point in our community, but also continuing
38:22
Speaker 5: to elevate and be that trusted source in a newfound light.
38:26
Speaker 5: That we are clinicians, we do practice at the top
38:30
Speaker 5: of our training and expertise, and we know when did trioge.
38:34
Speaker 5: We know what's outside of our scope. But start with us,
38:38
Speaker 5: start with the pharmacist. You do that anyway. But luckily
38:41
Speaker 5: we've been granted that opportunity from standard to care. Not
38:46
Speaker 5: necessarily that that all payers have recognized that quite yet,
38:51
Speaker 5: but we are primary care pharmacists and can be if
38:55
Speaker 5: we're given that opportunity. So that's kind of where I
38:57
Speaker 5: would envision that happening.
39:01
Speaker 4: That sounds great, Meliss, What about you?
39:03
Speaker 6: So, because we have not been granted provider status and
39:08
Speaker 6: we don't have that standard of care for myself and
39:10
Speaker 6: my pharmacy, I you know, look forward to hopefully gaining
39:14
Speaker 6: that in the next several years, so that we can
39:18
Speaker 6: be that access point for our patients. Like Monica touched
39:21
Speaker 6: on where we already are and so for to be
39:24
Speaker 6: able to do preventative screenings add on to the portfolio
39:29
Speaker 6: that we've already built and be able to help patients
39:33
Speaker 6: even further, we have pharmacy is very different than what
39:37
Speaker 6: it was. My grandfather bought this pharmacy or the pharmacy
39:41
Speaker 6: that I work out of, seventy years ago, and Probert's Pharmacy,
39:45
Speaker 6: our other location that we purchased several years ago, they.
39:48
Speaker 8: Too are over seventy years old.
39:50
Speaker 6: And so if my grandfather were alive and you were
39:53
Speaker 6: to ask him what pharmacy was like back then, it
39:56
Speaker 6: obviously looked very different. And so for all the evolution
40:02
Speaker 6: through the years, you know, nobody ever would have thought
40:05
Speaker 6: that we would have been where we were, So you know,
40:08
Speaker 6: who knows what the future holds either, And I think
40:11
Speaker 6: we've proven to handle anything that has been thrown at us,
40:14
Speaker 6: and we find a way and we.
40:16
Speaker 8: Adapt, and so I'm excited.
40:19
Speaker 6: To see what else that legislative allows us to do,
40:22
Speaker 6: or what new programs can make their way into my pharmacy.
40:27
Speaker 5: Yeah.
40:27
Speaker 7: Absolutely, sticking with the theme of future of pharmacy, and
40:31
Speaker 7: we talked a lot about change and really being comfortable
40:33
Speaker 7: in the industry could be looked at as being complacent,
40:36
Speaker 7: and just the needs to evolve. Seventy years in business
40:41
Speaker 7: quite wild. So Melissa, I'll stick with you that's amazing
40:45
Speaker 7: to hear. And to your point, I'm sure things changed
40:47
Speaker 7: every every few years for sure as the industry grew
40:50
Speaker 7: and expanded. But what I would ask is really what
40:53
Speaker 7: trends are you most excited about and or concerned about
40:57
Speaker 7: that are coming up.
41:01
Speaker 6: Trends, you know, just sticking with the clinical aspect, I'm
41:04
Speaker 6: always excited to see new programs, Like you all stated
41:08
Speaker 6: at RBC, it's a whole wellness program, you know, initiative.
41:12
Speaker 6: So I'm always excited about new things that we're able
41:15
Speaker 6: to do and that I can get my team on
41:17
Speaker 6: board with and concerns. Unfortunately, an independent pharmacy, you know,
41:22
Speaker 6: it's always the the PBM, the reimbursement. You know, am
41:26
Speaker 6: I am I gonna do all of this and get
41:28
Speaker 6: a return on investment, So you always have to juggle
41:31
Speaker 6: that and it's always going to be a business decision.
41:34
Speaker 6: But I just hope that moving forward, we can be
41:38
Speaker 6: on the side of, you know, being able to provide
41:41
Speaker 6: these services to patients and and not have to make
41:46
Speaker 6: a business decision.
41:47
Speaker 8: To to cut back or to to not provide it.
41:49
Speaker 6: So yeah, I mean, that's that's always going to be
41:52
Speaker 6: a concern when you own your business. But like we
41:55
Speaker 6: stated earlier, unless you start, you're you're not going to
41:58
Speaker 6: find out.
42:01
Speaker 7: Absolutely Monica, did you have anything to add in terms
42:04
Speaker 7: of what excites you or potentially concerns you with upcoming trends.
42:07
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think Melissa absolutely, you know, hit the nail
42:11
Speaker 5: on the head. I would absolutely agree that we just
42:14
Speaker 5: will continue to be evolve and work so hard to
42:19
Speaker 5: sustain seventy years. That's incredible. I love that and the
42:23
Speaker 5: grandfather you know, multi generation pharmacy where we want to
42:28
Speaker 5: preserve the pharmacy and the legacy that has our predecessors
42:33
Speaker 5: have left for us, but also be evolutionary too, And
42:37
Speaker 5: so I would just echo everything that Melissa.
42:39
Speaker 10: Said for that.
42:41
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think both of you guys are not only
42:43
Speaker 3: you know, bringing a great legacy to your pharmacy, but
42:45
Speaker 3: also your role as women in pharmacy and what you
42:48
Speaker 3: guys are doing. Monica, I'll start with you. You know, when
42:52
Speaker 3: it comes to not about just what most excites you
42:56
Speaker 3: about where pharmacy is headed, but where do you see
42:58
Speaker 3: women playing a bigger role. You guys have instituted some
43:01
Speaker 3: incredible programs again getting your teams involved, the building all
43:06
Speaker 3: those touch.
43:06
Speaker 4: Points to your patients.
43:08
Speaker 3: Where do you see women playing a bigger role in
43:09
Speaker 3: pharmacy going forward?
43:12
Speaker 5: I would say overall, especially as busy moms. I have
43:15
Speaker 5: a little eleven month old. But even if we're not moms,
43:19
Speaker 5: you know, we are mothers, sisters, caregivers, friends. We are
43:25
Speaker 5: you know a lot of times the heart of not
43:27
Speaker 5: only the communities and the pharmacies that we serve, and
43:30
Speaker 5: sometimes our families and everything like that. So I think
43:34
Speaker 5: that the compassion the great lens that we provide when
43:39
Speaker 5: it looks to healthcare and holistic care and people centered care.
43:44
Speaker 5: I think that just us as women, we set a
43:47
Speaker 5: vision and we have something that we want to achieve,
43:51
Speaker 5: and even though no matter how many balls we're juggling,
43:54
Speaker 5: we're going to make it happen. And so I think
43:57
Speaker 5: that the persistence and the follow through and the excitement, truly,
44:02
Speaker 5: I think is why pharmacy will continue to prevail, especially
44:07
Speaker 5: with with women being the primary driver drivers sometimes for sure.
44:14
Speaker 6: What about you, Melissa, Yeah, I would say everything that
44:17
Speaker 6: Monica has stated, we're resilient as mothers and like everything
44:22
Speaker 6: she said, caregivers, mothers, co workers, we will find a
44:26
Speaker 6: way to make things happen. If we have an idea
44:29
Speaker 6: and we hold the passion for that idea, then we
44:34
Speaker 6: we will make it happen, and we will we will
44:38
Speaker 6: continue to evaluate the decisions and move forward accordingly.
44:41
Speaker 8: And that will that will lead the way. Essentially.
44:47
Speaker 10: Yeah, I really love that.
44:49
Speaker 9: I you know, you all said so much that that
44:51
Speaker 9: really sparks a few things for me. You know, I
44:55
Speaker 9: look back and I think the majority of the care
44:59
Speaker 9: takers are women, and I feel like the need to
45:03
Speaker 9: take care of those women because sometimes they're carrying the load.
45:08
Speaker 9: I think that also opens opportunities for pharmacy, you know.
45:13
Speaker 9: I know there's a lot more on perimenopause right now,
45:16
Speaker 9: on menopause and just really taking care of ourselves so
45:20
Speaker 9: that we can take care of those around us, and
45:23
Speaker 9: I think that'll continue to evolve. But I do believe
45:27
Speaker 9: there's a role for pharmacy in that arena as well
45:30
Speaker 9: as those caretakers are coming into your stores. I really
45:34
Speaker 9: love that. I had one other question. What gives you
45:37
Speaker 9: the confidence about the next generation of women entering into
45:41
Speaker 9: the field.
45:43
Speaker 5: I think for me is the current women in the field.
45:47
Speaker 5: I think that I was really lucky to have such incredible, strong,
45:52
Speaker 5: powerful women in my life, both in and out of pharmacy.
45:57
Speaker 5: And you know, I lost my mom a few years
46:00
Speaker 5: ago early on in my professional career, and you know
46:03
Speaker 5: how she shaped me. And then looking at all of
46:06
Speaker 5: the women that rallied and came around and you know,
46:09
Speaker 5: both personally and professionally, I think I have confidence in
46:13
Speaker 5: the next generation because of my confidence in this generation
46:16
Speaker 5: and how strong of you know, cheerleaders and support and
46:22
Speaker 5: mentors that we all are to each other as colleagues,
46:25
Speaker 5: as you know, fellow women in a profession. I think
46:29
Speaker 5: I have confidence in the future because I have confidence
46:31
Speaker 5: in the now.
46:33
Speaker 10: Oh I love that, and really it takes a village.
46:35
Speaker 9: And I think that women are supporting each other more
46:39
Speaker 9: than ever because I know that it's necessary for so
46:43
Speaker 9: many reasons.
46:44
Speaker 10: Melissa, what about you?
46:46
Speaker 6: Yeah, I agree, just we all are very supportive of
46:51
Speaker 6: each other. And I you know, I have predominantly women
46:57
Speaker 6: students that come through that are are either about to
47:01
Speaker 6: be in pharmacy school or they're in pharmacy school, and
47:04
Speaker 6: they're all very excited to learn. And I can kind
47:08
Speaker 6: of show them things that have worked that haven't worked.
47:11
Speaker 6: We can discuss future and you know, you're building those
47:15
Speaker 6: that that generation whenever they enter the field. So honestly,
47:20
Speaker 6: you know, we can kind of shape that and get
47:22
Speaker 6: them excited and then add them into the mix that
47:26
Speaker 6: you know, it just becomes stronger.
47:30
Speaker 10: Well, thank you both for your inspiration. It's truly truly amazing.
47:33
Speaker 3: Jason, I was going to say, it's it's almost like
47:37
Speaker 3: you're you guys mentioned some really incredible mentors in your life,
47:40
Speaker 3: and now you're becoming the mentors. The mentees become the mentors,
47:47
Speaker 3: and you're just building the next amazing army of women
47:50
Speaker 3: that are just gonna you know, attack independent pharmacy and
47:52
Speaker 3: just keep building it and add another successful layer to
47:55
Speaker 3: your legacy.
47:56
Speaker 4: So again, thank you for that. We do have a
47:59
Speaker 4: little bit.
48:00
Speaker 3: Of a of a fun closing segment we want to
48:03
Speaker 3: do here. It's gonna be a little bit of a
48:05
Speaker 3: lightning round. So Michelle, Chelsea, you have the questions in
48:08
Speaker 3: front of you. Correct, Yes, okay, So that's what we're
48:12
Speaker 3: gonna do. We're gonna go right down the list. I'm
48:14
Speaker 3: gonna start with with A. Michelle, you take B, Chelsea,
48:18
Speaker 3: you take C. Then Michelle and Chelsea you can finish
48:23
Speaker 3: it out. But I want to ask the first question
48:24
Speaker 3: because This one's always interesting to me because I definitely
48:27
Speaker 3: have a have a strong feeling about one of these
48:30
Speaker 3: one of these choices.
48:32
Speaker 4: So here comes the lightning round Monica. Melissa.
48:34
Speaker 3: We're gonna ask you a few quick questions and you
48:36
Speaker 3: just give us your fast answers. You're ready, Yeah, all right,
48:42
Speaker 3: meliss I'm gonna start with you. Coffee or tea coffee?
48:47
Speaker 4: Yes, Monica, a diet coke? Okay, yeah, right, all right,
48:58
Speaker 4: so Monica is going off the grid.
49:00
Speaker 3: Okay, sorry, it's very much okay, Michelle.
49:04
Speaker 9: Next question, Yeah, favorite leadership book or podcast?
49:09
Speaker 10: Melissa, you go first.
49:10
Speaker 4: Love this question, So I don't.
49:12
Speaker 6: I'm nothing specific stands out, but anything that focuses on
49:17
Speaker 6: managing employees and the generational gaps, because you know, I
49:22
Speaker 6: have a wide variety in my pharmacy and anything that
49:26
Speaker 6: can help me understand both sides, I am all for.
49:31
Speaker 10: Great.
49:32
Speaker 5: What about you, Monica, I'd see the trail Blazers podcast
49:35
Speaker 5: that the Iowa Pharmacy Association hosts.
49:38
Speaker 8: I love that.
49:39
Speaker 10: I'll have to check that one out. I don't know it.
49:41
Speaker 5: Yeah, I just throw that one down too.
49:43
Speaker 10: Thanks for sharing.
49:44
Speaker 4: Yes, all right, Chelsea, you're up.
49:49
Speaker 8: Absolutely all right?
49:50
Speaker 7: My question will go Monica. First, one piece of advice
49:54
Speaker 7: you carry with you every day.
49:57
Speaker 5: I would say, take care of the patient. Everything else
50:01
Speaker 5: will follow. That's what my parents always taught me. That's
50:05
Speaker 5: a solid one.
50:06
Speaker 3: Someone's gotta someone gotta turn that into a poster or
50:09
Speaker 3: a T shirt or something.
50:10
Speaker 4: That's absolutely yeah.
50:12
Speaker 8: I like it, Melissa.
50:15
Speaker 10: What about you?
50:16
Speaker 6: So something that I say in my pharmacy all the
50:18
Speaker 6: time is like glass half full. So you know, we
50:22
Speaker 6: might have bad days, but we got to think of
50:24
Speaker 6: the good and you know, I try to have them
50:28
Speaker 6: do that even in their lives or if there's things
50:31
Speaker 6: not going so well or with the patient. So that's
50:33
Speaker 6: definitely my go to motto in the pharmacies glass half
50:38
Speaker 6: full perspective. Everything else will will fall into place. And
50:41
Speaker 6: as long as you have a positive attitude about it.
50:43
Speaker 4: Love that, Michelle. Next one, This one should be intriguing.
50:47
Speaker 10: Favorite snack, Monica.
50:50
Speaker 5: Oh man, I would say anything sour. I love like
50:56
Speaker 5: sour patch kids, or it's it's not very healthy by
51:00
Speaker 5: any means. Sorry patients that are listening to this, but
51:04
Speaker 5: anything sour were I'm a stucker for sour candy.
51:08
Speaker 9: Nice?
51:08
Speaker 10: What about you, Melissa?
51:10
Speaker 6: I can't go healthy either. So you know, we live
51:14
Speaker 6: in a small rural area. We have so many mom
51:17
Speaker 6: and pop ice cream stands, and we are on the
51:19
Speaker 6: go with my children a lot, and they love stopping
51:22
Speaker 6: and I don't stop them. So I would have to
51:25
Speaker 6: say little local ice cream vendors all for one.
51:30
Speaker 10: Oh I'm guilty of that as well, Chelsea take the
51:34
Speaker 10: last one.
51:35
Speaker 7: Yeah, Absolutely, anything to keep the kids happy. That's my motto,
51:38
Speaker 7: right right, Okay, last question of this lightning round. We'll
51:44
Speaker 7: go with Melissa first favorite way to wind down after work.
51:48
Speaker 6: So we'll go back to the two children that keep
51:51
Speaker 6: me very busy. I'm usually running to one of their
51:56
Speaker 6: many extracurricular activities.
51:58
Speaker 8: So I guess after.
51:59
Speaker 6: I get home from all of that, if I can
52:02
Speaker 6: get a good workout in myself, have twenty minutes to
52:05
Speaker 6: think about my day and really, you know, decompress. I
52:09
Speaker 6: tell myself, one day there'll be a day that I'm
52:12
Speaker 6: on a beach with a good book, But for now
52:14
Speaker 6: I will I will take that in my crazy life.
52:19
Speaker 5: Right there with you, Monica, Yeah, I would say. I
52:23
Speaker 5: mean has has to do with my son Carter. He's
52:26
Speaker 5: eleven months, but we got him a little push push car.
52:30
Speaker 5: So I'll just go home and I'll put him in
52:32
Speaker 5: his push car and walk him around the driveway, and
52:35
Speaker 5: you know, we're teaching him beat deep and so anything
52:38
Speaker 5: that involves you know, my husband and my little guy
52:42
Speaker 5: and my cats. Shout out to my two high maintenance
52:45
Speaker 5: cats as well. But just taking that time to not
52:48
Speaker 5: be in front of a screen and just be mom
52:52
Speaker 5: or wife or just Monica instead of pharmacists. Sometimes it's
52:57
Speaker 5: good to just disconnect to two.
53:01
Speaker 4: High maintenance cats. That's interesting.
53:03
Speaker 5: Yes, yeah, I let me know if you want pictures
53:06
Speaker 5: at RBC. Well, I'm happy to share.
53:08
Speaker 3: Yes, yes, so when we meet at RBC, I would
53:11
Speaker 3: love to see pictures of.
53:11
Speaker 4: These high maintenance cats. That sounds amazing.
53:13
Speaker 3: Actually, speaking of RBC, I do want to take this
53:16
Speaker 3: opportunity to tell all of our listeners, if you're with
53:19
Speaker 3: Cardinal Help, please join us for RBC twenty twenty six.
53:22
Speaker 3: We're thrilled to welcome independent pharmacy pharmacists and their families
53:26
Speaker 3: to the Orange County Convention Center down in beautiful Orlando, Florida,
53:30
Speaker 3: from Wednesday, July twenty second to Saturday, July twenty fifth.
53:34
Speaker 3: Along with that, and you know, on par with this episode,
53:37
Speaker 3: we will be hosting a win event at RBC which
53:40
Speaker 3: will be held Thursday, July twenty third, from eight am
53:44
Speaker 3: to nine am Eastern Time in the south Side Restaurant
53:47
Speaker 3: near the opening session for a nice meet and greet
53:50
Speaker 3: and a beautifully presented breakfast which we can't wait to
53:54
Speaker 3: give you guys. And with that, I do want to
53:57
Speaker 3: say thanks to both Monica and Melissa for talking about
54:02
Speaker 3: how their independent pharmacies are evolving through clinical services, innovation
54:06
Speaker 3: and patient centered care and what makes their pharmacies truly unique.
54:10
Speaker 4: Not only is this beneficial.
54:11
Speaker 3: For women in pharmacy overall to see the impact you
54:15
Speaker 3: can make, but for all independent pharmacists to take note
54:18
Speaker 3: of they are true pillars in.
54:19
Speaker 4: Their community and true leaders.
54:21
Speaker 3: Also big thanks to Michelle and Chelsea for their perspectives
54:24
Speaker 3: on all the substantial impacts women are making an independent pharmacy.
54:28
Speaker 4: So thank you guys, so much.
54:30
Speaker 10: Thank you, thanks for having us, thank you, thank you
54:33
Speaker 10: for joining us.
54:34
Speaker 3: So thanks for listening to today's episode of the Cardinal
54:36
Speaker 3: Health counter Talk podcast. And as a reminder, if this
54:38
Speaker 3: is your first time listening, make sure you subscribe and
54:41
Speaker 3: download the Cardinal Health counter Talk podcasts.
54:43
Speaker 4: Wherever you get your podcasts.
54:45
Speaker 3: See you on the next one, and take care everyone.
55:00
Speaker 6: The actor is Exa