This is third in a Series on Transitioning from a Drug Store to a Wellness Store.
Last week I received an email from an independent pharmacist commenting on the shortage of pharmacists and his interest in hiring other credential practitioners. Most of us know that the shortages are caused by increased demand (one-two punch of increased use of drugs and aging of the baby boom population), shortage of pharmacy schools, and the most intriguing reason, “increases in the volume and range of activities demanded of today's pharmacists” – specifically patient counseling. In fact experts are predicting a shortage of 150,000 pharmacists in 2020 in spite of 15 new pharmacy schools due to open by 2010.
For those who are looking for career security, a pharmacy degree is sure bet. But in the meantime, for consumers need is growing and it’s the body of knowledge and the clinical license to practice that’s important to them. So independent pharmacists would do well to expand their store staff to include practitioners in other modalities to help with expanding demands for patient information. Here’s a list of potential modalities that could fit into an independent pharmacy.
Nurses – In spite of the nursing shortage, there’s a host of nurses in the market who are burned out on patient care in traditional settings and want to use their knowledge in a less stressful, more holistic way. Nurses are super additions to an integrated pharmacy due to the scope of their license, knowledge of physical systems and science, familiarity with drugs and experience with patient communication. Look for these kinds of nurse specialties: Licensed Practical Nurse, Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Educator, Primary Care Nurse, Clinical Nurse Specialist, and Registered Nurse.
Licensed Dietitian or Nutritionist – Often very valuable in health food stores, dieticians and nutritionists won’t have as much value to an integrated medicine pharmacy unless a large part of their retail floor is food. Certainly special diets are a big part of many patients health and wellness concerns and weight management seems to be everyone’s issue; but when considering this modality, look for the dominate categories in your store and select the clinician to match the merchandise mix.
Naturopathic Physicians – The often overlooked modality of Naturopathy would be a good fit for an integrated medicine pharmacy. Still only licensed to practice in 15 states, a naturopathic physician’s body of knowledge is extensive, especially in nutritional supplements and alternative therapies, having had four years of training in a residential naturopathic medical school. One way to differentiate between a naturopathic physician and a traditional naturopath is to ask for a copy of their degree. There are only six accredited colleges of Naturopathy in the United States, all other schools are short programs or correspondence schools. One big advantage of this modality is they qualify to buy and resell professional lines of nutritional supplements from companies like Metagenics, Thorne Research, Standard Process and more. These supplements could be merchandised behind a counter set up as a high touch personal counseling area. Pharmacists would need to look into regulations governing scope of practice.
Homeopathic Specialist – Many pharmacists already are familiar with the discipline of homeopathy. This modality, practiced more widely in Europe and Canada, is still a respected modality offering substantial clinical education. Like Naturopathy, these clinicians can provide both customer/patient information and support the professional nutrition and therapeutic supplements part of the store.
Licensed Massage Therapist, Estheticians – Many licensed massage therapists and estheticians don’t end up making a living in these professions full time. LMT’s are excellent for running the body care, therapeutic and medical device departments whereas Estheticians would be good for health and beauty categories in an integrated medicine pharmacy. The added bonus is their hands-on license. Sometimes a patient just need a little hand or neck massage to feel just that much better. These modalities are also great for in-store demos and value-add high touch services like chair massage and natural hair and skin care – rapidly growing categories.
Oriental Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine & Herbalists – Of course, Traditional Chinese Medicine is a now a widely practiced primary care modality in the US, licensed in 44 states. But one of the best integrative medicine pharmacies I saw was in Washington DC where compounding was performed in Oriental and Ayurvedic herbs as well as pharmaceuticals. Consumers who use Chinese and other herbs would benefit from a more retail like environment where they can replenish their prescriptions and seek additional information.
Certified Health Coach – These professionals are a hard to find group now, but I predict they will grow especially with respected Duke University’s launch of their Integrative Health Coaching training program. Integrative medicine pharmacies that want to transition from a drug store to a wellness center would do well to incorporate such a professional into their mix and broadcast this unique service far and wide, especially as a way to compete against the rapidly growing trends to put primary care clinics in supermarkets.
So now you’ve got some ideas of the types of clinically trained health professions that would fit with an integrated pharmacy. But who can help you with store merchandising, selling, ordering, and marketing? And how can you find such a person? Is a clinical person, such as a nutritionist or herbalist the right kind of person to hire?
There’s no single answer to those questions and there are a variety of considerations which sounds like the answers would be a good topic for my next post.
Until then, visit my website, or email me.
Linda O’Hara
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