Where is Pharmacy headed in the future?

I was asked a really good question the other day, 

Wow, what a question!

I was stumped for a moment trying to read into what my mate was asking me….

A part of me wanted to give a wishy-washy generic answer that didn't really express my ACTUAL opinion.

But then I genuinely asked myself,

“Where is the pharmacy industry going? “

“How do you future-proof your career?”

“Is it really all doom and gloom?”

Well let’s dive right in shall we!

If you have been keeping up with the news over the last 5 years, the world of pharmacy is changing at almost an exponential rate! 

Expanding scope of practice, robot automation and AI-assisted medical recording software, you name it, if you can imagine it, it most likely already is being developed!

With this constant flow of change happening around us, we need to understand that these changes, whilst game changing, must only be used to streamline the pharmacy experience, NOT supercede it!

So what does that mean exactly?

Well, just think about it!

In the community pharmacy context, the patient experience is very personal and is RELIANT on forming and solidifying genuine trust and an intrinsic sense of support for those who need it most.

How do you build trust? 

A little something called COMMUNICATION!

This taboo and archaic idea of pharmacists being behind a computer screen “at the back” has unfortunately plagued a lot of us, especially when we are early on in our careers, myself included.

Our almost obsessively delusional idea with the concept of dispensing and being the  “dispensing wizz” has been planted in our minds early on, easily conflated with “being a pharmacist”...

It's a little frightening as it is actually counterintuitive and can definitely have dangerous effects on the culture of the pharmacy.

The adoption of technology like robotic automation is an example of streamlining the flow of the dispensary and allowing YOU, the pharmacist/intern, to be hands on, talking and counselling with patients, not behind a screen!

In order to really stand out as health care professionals and to utlimately stay relevant as times progress, it is KEY to prioritise optimising the bottlenecks of your pharmacy-patient experience, resulting in you, the pharmacist, spending more VALUABLE time providing advice and solutions to the patient…

Never forget that WE are the first point of contact for the majority of health and wellness enquiries!

Let’s look ahead together shall we…

Now, another aspect which we simply can't ignore, is the fact that, since the roll out of the COVID vaccine in Australia, the public and government themselves have acknowledged that the community pharmacy realm facilitated for the VAST MAJORITY of immunisation against COVID.

The very fact that this happened has moved mountains for us and has really catalysed a reaction of change in what we, as pharmacists, can do for the community!

Let's look at the timeline!

As of last year, certain pharmacies enlisted for the UTI and COCP prescribing trial, allowing access to antibiotics for uncomplicated UTI and COCP without congesting medical centres!

As of this year, pharmacies can now enlist for the NIP, providing Medicare subsidised travel vaccines to those who are eligible!

As of this WEEK, new legislation has been released (depending on your State) that we are now given the all clear to assist on administering ALL schedule & unscheduled injectables (as long as you have your training and other requirements good to go!)

This is HUGE!

Imagine how we felt just was 5 years ago, where administering the Flu Jab felt monumental!

How times have changed!

So what can you do on the day to day, what are the real world actions you can take to stay relevant?

Look at your pharmacy as a whole package, what services do you offer?

Vaccination? 

Sleep apnoea testing? 

Webster packs? 

Diabetes education? 

Compounding?

HMRs?

If none of those above sound familiar to you, please reach out to the pharmacy owner and see what can work for your specific site. 

It's imperative to get health and professional services to become the bread and butter of our profession, as that's where we are needed most!

What services did you perform in your pharmacy internship?

What do you hope to see for the future of pharmacy?

Get in touch with me and I can help you make an actionable plan, that you can apply in the REAL WORLD!

Comment below or DM today!

As always, please spread the word to your colleagues and get them to join this THRIVING community of pharmacists that are ready to REVOLUTIONISE pharmacy!

Follow the links below and show your support!