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Understanding the Impacts of a Global Pharmacy Invasion
Recently, i2P ran some articles postulating the expansion strategies of global supermarket and pharmacy groups. It is a story of consolidation of the pharmacy industry, both horizontally and vertically to form up massive conglomerates that concentrate purchasing power and market share of retail pharmacy goods and services. And it is a story that is mostly…
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Health Care Dissatisfaction
GE Healthcare Camden Group and Prophet on Wednesday published the results of a study that found about 81% of the people they surveyed are dissatisfied with their health care experience. While this is a US study i2P believes that a similar situation exists here in Australia. The study also found a gap between what providers…
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You can’t get out what you don’t put in
My friend, motivational speaker Zig Ziglar liked to tell the story of his friend, Walter Hailey. Although he became a star salesman, Hailey’s early career in insurance sales was rough. He endured frustration, anxiety, slammed doors, low sales figures, and uncertainty about his future. One day he grew so discouraged that he went to his…
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The Move Towards PBS Privatisation – It is a Possibility and Could Provide a Wrecking Ball for Community Pharmacy
I am always suspicious of government motivation when they move the chess pieces around the board without an appropriate explanation. Dating back to the start of the Coalition taking power there was discussion that highlighted the poorly defined role private health insurance plays in the funding and delivery of Australian health care, and how government…
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Alliance Boots will Spearhead a Global Onslaught with our Goverment’s Assistance
The news broke last week that Alliance Boots was making plans to enter the Australian market. This appears to be another step in the global concentration of community pharmacy, which Australian pharmacy has been able to withstand. Until now. The original Boots pharmacy group, a UK-based company, was recently taken over by the largest retail…
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RFID Is a Basic Step Towards Specialist Goods & Services Success
Specialist Retailers like Rebecca Minkoff are benefiting more from service and supply chain agility. Australian specialist pharmacies lag well behind. Today, consumers are more informed, empowered and demanding. As the line between the physical and digital worlds blurs, retailers must differentiate themselves to drive customer loyalty. That means delighting customers and patients beyond expectation while getting…
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Marketing Focus – Essays on Management & Marketing
A little gratuitous advice to the Australian Prime Minster, Malcolm Turnbull: Schedule this year’s Federal election for September, or better still, October. At this time the Australian economy and commerce do not need a 5-to 6-week distraction that will impact on productivity, momentum and cash-flow. The later the better, is only a compromise. Now is…
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Charisma breeds success
Some people walk into a room and all heads turn. When they begin to speak, people are mesmerized. They instantly gain respect and trust. In a word, they have charisma, one of the most desirable and enviable qualities in the world. What is charisma? It’s hard to define, but it is many things, such as…
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A Pharmacy Clinical Service Model – Innovating and Adapting from Others
Recently, in my capacity as a management consultant, I was asked to review some policies for a security company I had an association with, in a health capacity. Security guards, because of their continual work during the night and early mornings, suffer from health problems related to their interrupted circadian rhythms. The first casualty is…
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Make the Right Turn at the Next Crossroads
In the latest edition of Drug Topics, senior pharmacist Truman Lastinger describes a scenario for what he describes as Retail Pharmacy in the US. Because US pharmacy is a bit ahead in evolution than Australian pharmacy his comments are very relevant for today’s Australian pharmacy, the practice of which has split into three components- Retail…