The dynamics of the marketplace and changing consumer needs have resulted in an expanding role for Canada’s pharmacy industry in the country’s healthcare chains.
While government measures to control costs and the movement of drugs from prescription to over-the-counter (otc) use have greatly influenced the evolution, the change has been predominantly consumer-driven.
The consumer is focusing on maintaining good health and this has manifested itself in a trend toward self-medication and the demand for more healthcare information.
Greg White, president of Market Vision Research of Toronto, says his company’s 1995 Pharmacy 2000 Study shows that pharmacies have answered the demand and have begun to position themselves as ‘wellness centres.’
‘The pharmacy is no longer a store,’ White says
‘It’s an information resource, a proactive healthcare location,’ he says.
The Pharmacy 2000 Study, completed this past spring, was conducted along with Health Resource Group and CPC Loyalty Communications and surveyed more than 2,200 pharmacists across Canada.
‘A series of three statements relating to new directions in pharmacies asked: will the pharmacy become more involved in home healthcare; is the direction of the pharmacy becoming wellness centres, and will you become more involved in homeopathic medicine?
‘We have a majority of pharmacists in strong agreement with all three statements,’ White says.
Last month, Pharma Plus Drugmarts, which operates more than 145 stores throughout Ontario and in Winnipeg, introduced Pharma Answers, a counselling and information-based consumer service.
Robert Bruce, vice-president of marketing for Pharma Plus, says the company conducted six months of extensive consumer research before launching Pharma Answers.
‘The net of the research said, `As a drugstore, you could really differentiate yourself from the pack if you gave us information to help us better manage our health,’ ‘ Bruce says.
The program includes Pharma Answers Phone Line, a 1-800 number that provides 24-hours, seven-day-a-week access to a pharmacist.
Access to the files of the more than 25,000 Pharma Plus consumers who have registered for this service can be got via computer by the pharmacist on the line for individual counselling although anyone can dial the number for advice.
In-store patient counselling include Fact Sheets on medications and Pharma Answer shelf signs, which answer the most frequently asked questions about the 10 most complicated otc categories and more will be added.
Bruce says because there is a committed segment of the population that self-medicates rather than talking with a pharmacist, the signs describe symptoms of illness, and recommend color-coded medication.
Rochelle Stenzler, president and general manager of Pharma Plus, says she sees the position of the pharmacist, because of convenience of access, becoming greater and more connected with the rest of the healthcare environment.
‘Whether it will be through linkups in technology, I see the role we’re hoping to play is as the most accessible point for a patient to access a healthcare professional of anywhere in the system,’ Stenzler says.
‘In other words, you can walk into a drugstore any time it’s open and ask a professional a heathcare question and you’re not charged for it,’ she says. ‘It’s free advice.’
‘Part of why we’re working so hard at getting ourselves to the next level of service and training is because it will be more critical than ever to keep that visible sector, the pharmacists, best informed and best able to serve the customer.’
Marty Belitz, vice-president pharmacy marketing and operations for national chain Shoppers Drug Mart, says the role of the pharmacy has returned to the era when the pharmacist was a community health advisor.
‘The pharmacist is now saying, `I’m no longer a compounder of product but I’m a dispenser of information,’ ‘ Belitz says.
‘I am going to be accepting responsibility for outcomes and wellness, the same as a pharmacist 50 years ago,’ he says.
‘I provide information and advice on staying healthy, not just getting better.’
Shoppers began moving in this direction more than six years ago with its Health Watch brand of consumer programs.
They began with Health Watch magazine, a digest published by Telemedia and distributed through Shoppers stores.
A number of other programs also fall under this banner, including a 1-800 number providing the nearest Shoppers location; the Health Watch System, the chain’s computer system; and Health Watch Reminder, which is a computer-generated patient- and drug-specific information sheet.
Belitz says the brand will continue to expand and two new consumer programs are planned for the new year.
The first launches with a television campaign on Jan. 8, and the second will follow the first week of April.
Shoppers provides ongoing training to its pharmacists on prescription drugs, homeopathic remedies and health conditions.
Pharmacists, in turn, sponsor seminars for their customers on health conditions such as diabetes.
At the grassroots level, Catherine May, pharmacist owner of Shoppers locations in Stroud and Orillia, in Ontario, says she often is invited by employers to present wellness seminars to employees to discuss issues such as diet, blood pressure and cholesterol screening, and flu shots.
May, who is also president of the Simcoe County Pharmacy Owners’ Association, believes a lot can be accomplished within the community at an association level.
The Simcoe Association recently sponsored a flu shot program for the 1,100 members of the Simcoe School Board.
