Revenue in Community Pharmacy

Bruce Kneeland discusses the opportunities for revenue in community pharmacies with Kevin DeMass, RPh, president of the Apothecary Shoppe in Salt Lake City, UT.

Bruce Kneeland: And a profit’s reasonably important in this business, isn’t it?

Kevin DeMass, RPh: Profit’s very important because profits are shrinking, so you’ve got to do more for less. We’ve got to work on the amount of medical spend that is going on in our country, and so there’s always cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, and so we have to be very efficient with what we do so that we can continue to provide the services that we have.

Bruce Kneeland: With that as a foundation, there’s a lot going on in the profession right now. You’re not what you would call a typical independent, but you are an independent. What do you think are some of the opportunities that most of your peers are overlooking right now in the profession?

Kevin DeMass, RPh: I think the big problem is people are just trying to open the door and fill prescriptions. And you know, you come to the drug store, that’s what we do. You come here and you can buy drugs, right? But now we’re changing it—now it’s information-driven and it’s data-driven, and now, in 2019, patients need that drug information just as much as they need that drug. They need to know how to take it, what can they take it with, what do they want to avoid, how long do they take it, and what should their expected outcome be. If I take this drug for this amount of time, where is that going to get me? And that’s my job and my staff’s job to be able to educate them—this is what you can expect. If you follow these steps this is what you can expect, and we can give you the best possible outcome.