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Walmart Is Rolling out a Primary Health Care “whole of store” Concept
It’s not just pharmacy expansion that US retail giant Walmart is changing the face of, but the entire scope of primary health care. This brings them into direct conflict with medical centres and given the massive resources and scale of operations, they are in a position to alter the primary health care market significantly and…
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Pharmacy Needs Education & Training – Who will fill this need?
I recently read an article on leadership in the Harvard Business Review where a distinction was made between training and education and a view that educational establishments collectively over-invest in education and under-invest in training. Typically, higher education prizes knowledge over skills. This produces knowledgeable leaders and managers while training and skills go to those…
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Pharmacy Nemesis Roger Corbett – Back to the Future
Influential shareholders of Woolworths are seeking to invite Roger Corbett, the nemesis of Australian pharmacy, back into the fold as chairman. They say: “Woolworths needs a circuit breaker. Given the way Woolworths has lost direction and given the loss of shareholder value, there needs to be accountability – what’s needed is a circuit breaker to sort out the…
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“Miswanting” –A relevant word for the pharmacy profession
Recently, I stumbled over an unusual word that I have now added to my vocabulary. That word was “miswanting” – a rather poignant word from the world of psychology. It is a word used to describe the human tendency to desire things that make us unhappy, and to shun things that fulfill us. Psychologists have…
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The four rules of customer engagement in pharmacy
In the face of today’s ruthless challenges, that are happening at the speed of light, pharmacies have had to impulsively adapt in order to reduce their losses. Napoleon was asked why he was viewed as such a great strategist. His said, “We engage and then we see.” Sadly, most pharmacy teams are disengaged from their…
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For long-term success, give up these detrimental traits
Success isn’t always about dominating the landscape. Sometimes, to be successful, you have to be prepared to give up some counterproductive behaviors that are holding you back – and you may not even realize you’re guilty. Old habits are hard to break. And if you don’t even realize that you are practicing some of these…
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PBS Co-Pays…Come out Swinging!
When something does not make sense and defies commonsense and logic- then it is political. The decision to enable pharmacists to discount the PBS co-pay by up to $1.00 is one such decision. The logic is that it will create more competition, but the reality is that it will cause erosion to the profit base…
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The Tipping Point for PBS Has Arrived
The tipping point is the point at which a dominant technology or player defines the standard for an industry-resulting in “winner-take-all” economies of scale and scope. It is generally disruptive in nature. The tipping point is the critical point in an evolving situation that leads to a new and irreversible development. The term is said…
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MinuteClinic hits 25 million patient visit milestone
CVS Health’s MinuteClinic has surpassed 25 million patient visits since opening the nation’s first retail clinic in 2000, the company announced on Tuesday. This is the future of Australian pharmacy as well, if pharmacy leaders can get their act into gear. But why wait for that to happen? Surely progressive Australian pharmacy owners can venture…
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Replacing the PBS market for a sustainable Income – home health technology, self care and primary health care
PBS is almost a lost cause. The amount of time that is invested in this product compared to the return on invested capital, is now not viable. This will not improve as health minister, Sussan Ley, has stated she is “not interested in pharmacists’ pay packets, only lower costs for consumers”. A directional change is…