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A New Year Brings Change
A new year often brings new beginnings. I was intrigued to discover how one company used a novel way to motivate employees to think about new ways of doing things. Here is the approach practiced by Chiyoji Misawa, who founded the largest home builder in Japan, Misawa Homes, more than 50 years ago. He “died”…
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Scotland’s Pharmacist Practitioner Champions
Perhaps it is because of my Scottish heritage, but I am continually dawn to the Scottish business model for community pharmacy, funded and developed in a genuine partnership between community pharmacists and government. One of its lesser publicised components is the funding of “Practitioner Champions”. It’s not a lot of money (£300,000 funding for this year),…
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MARKETING FOCUS -1. 2017 HAS BEEN A CHALLENGING TIME 2. BREAK FROM THE HERD 3. UNQUALIFIED SATISFACTION 4. UNTHINKING ARROGANCE 5. VALUE COMES AT A COST 6. THE GREAT DIVIDE – THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
1. 2017 HAS BEEN A CHALLENGING TIME Another year is about to conclude. It has been a challenging time. 2017 has seen numerous business floored, and highlighted the flaws of many others. A lack of true, integrated strategic plans, inflexibility, poor malleability and out-dated, expensive business models have contributed to contracting sales, squeezed margins and inadequate…
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Blockchain – a trust system that could underwrite health information exchanges and integrate with other trust systems.
Blockchain is a relatively new technology system that can be customised to transact trusted actions, not being under a centralised control involving governments or banks. It is closely associated with the concept of Bitcoin, which is described as a form of financial currency called “cryptocurrency”. Many new cryptocurrencies have been launched, most emulating Bitcoin’s success in…
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The Productivity Commission Recommendation to decouple pharmacists from dispensing mirrors a progressive Scottish community pharmacy culture
Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS) is the organisation which represents community pharmacy owners throughout Scotland in almost every aspect of their working lives, and is the voice of these vital healthcare professionals north of the English Border, as they deliver pharmaceutical care to the people of Scotland. It is therefore, the Scottish equivalent of the Pharmacy…
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Why Amazon’s Entry to the Australian Pharmacy Market May Drive Cultural Change, New Innovation and Promote Young Pharmacists
Amazon is about to enter the Australian retail market and is known to be interested in adding pharmacy to its retail mix of products and services. Amazon has developed “entry point technology” to a consumer’s home. It is called the Echo system and it is powered by voice activation technology called “Alexa” which is of…
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Pharmacy Disruptors – Amazon, Artificial Intelligence & Holographic Health Practitioners
Disruption, as we all know, is an inevitability that is to be feared. If that fear can be used to motivate a chain reaction of positivity, then we have everything to gain and nothing to lose. Fear is already building around the knowledge that Amazon will be entering the pharmacy market in Australia and that…
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Pharmacy Care- a Search for Competition?
It’s some time since I caught up with Seth Godin (the international marketing guru with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of words of wisdom and inspiration). One of his recent quotes caught my eye: “In search of competition- The busiest Indian restaurants in New York City are all within a block or two of each other.…
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Clinical Services – What Patients Will Pay For
Pharmacists have always been well regarded by their patients for their ability to deliver health literacy programs, over the counter in semi-private spaces in roughly three to five minute segments. Generally, this service has been delivered free of charge and it has formed a nearly invisible component of “core” business. Only invisible because it was free,…
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Blockchain Connects with Gold and Silver
Governments around the globe are starting to withdraw large denomination banknotes. It seems that this form of currency is used by the people who want to hide their income. On the other hand governments are finding that existing (old technology) digital payments are easy to track and can be brought into the taxable domain. India…