how to generate new business ideas in community pharmacies

HOW TO GENERATE NEW BUSINESS IDEAS IN COMMUNITY PHARMACIES

DAVID HOLDFORD, R.PH., M.S., PH.D.

PROFESSOR, VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PHARMACY

Catalysts for generating business ideas

Customer/patient needs: “How can we better serve our patients?” “What needs or desires are unrecognized or unmet?”

Portfolio/strategic needs: “How can fill a gap in our product portfolio?” “What can we offer to complement what we have?”

Need to generate revenue: “How can we increase our revenue?” “How can we get some of the money that is available for ________?”

Response to market: “How can we respond to our new competitor?” “How can we take away some of their business?”






Have each person on your team come up with a 60-second presentation that identifies a problem

in pharmacy practice or healthcare faced by patients, providers, payers, or other healthcare

stakeholder. Describe who suffers from this problem and why it is important to solve. Do not mention a solution yet because it will stunt your thought process. After each person presents the

problem, vote on the best ones.






Look at your business or choose a competitor. List all of the products or services being offered. Then suggest new

ideas to fill in the gaps of their portfolio. Consider developing a market map (look it up) to guide your

analysis.






Identify potential sources of revenue available to your business or service. Identify stakeholders who have

money and who might be willing to pay to solve their problems. Look at both current revenue sources and

potential ones.






Conduct a SWOT analysis of all of your competitors and compare it to a SWOT analysis of your business. What are they not doing well? How can you do a better job?

HOW DO I CHOOSE A SERVICE TO MARKET?

EASY WAYS*

Develop an MTM service for whatever you are studying at the moment in pharmacotherapy

• Upside: You will gain expertise in promoting an MTM service relating to a condition you are currently studying. MTM expertise is very valuable to potential employers. Downside: None.

Let someone else in your group pick a topic

• Upside: You can blame someone else if things do not work out. Downside: Group members may not fully buy-into the idea. You will probably not enjoy the process or the result.

You choose something you have read about

• Upside: You can use someone else’s experience to help guide you. In fact, you can even contact the people involved to answer specific questions. Downside: As long you do no blindly follow someone else’s path without thinking things through there is little downside.

*Easy can be the best way if you avoid potential downsides

OTHER WAYS

Talk to a favorite faculty member or practitioner to see if they are implementing any new services or programs. Many would be interested in having serious and engaged students to develop a business plan for their idea.

• Upside: You will work on a real life problem with someone who can answer questions about difficulties being faced in actual practice. You will have an opportunity to demonstrate your professionalism and problem solving skills. Downside: They will be busy and might be hard to contact.

Pick something that you care about like diabetes management or weight loss.

• Upside: You will do a better job about things you care about. You can also talk about your passion when interviewing for employment. Downside: None.

RECOMMENDATIONS

THINK ABOUT PATIENTS’ NEEDS FOR HEALTHCARE IN COMMUNITY PHARMACIES

Patient’s Need for Healthcare in Community Pharmacy

Diagnosed

Risk

Self Diagnosed

Non-Prescription

Medication Care

Non-Medication Care

Diagnosed by Health

Professional

No Emergency

Treat Over Time

Case Management

Disease Management

Treat in One Visit

Emergency Care

Undiagnosed

Risk

Prevention Services Over

Time

Prevention Services in One

Visit

OTC CounselingOTC Selection

Emergency Triage Emergency TreatmentPoison Control

OBRA Dispensing

ImmunizationsWellnessWeight ControlPregnancyTobacco Control

OBRA DispensingMTMAdherence ProgramsMed ReconciliationCollaborative Practice

OBRA DispensingMTMAdherence ProgramsMed ReconciliationCollaborative Practice

Nutrition/Dietary CareComplementary Medicine

ALL PROJECTS MUSTINVOLVE PHARMACIST SERVICES

STAY AWAY SOLUTIONS THAT EXCLUDE PHARMACISTS

CHALLENGE THE STATUS QUO IN COMMUNITY PHARMACY

Community pharmacies typically focus on selling merchandise & have little interaction with other healthcare providers. Instead…

• Sell services

• Focus on something other than price, location, and convenience

• Integrate services with other healthcare providers

CONDUCT CUSTOMER INTERVIEWS

1. What’s the hardest part about [problem context] ?

2. Can you tell me about the last time that happened?

3. Why was that hard?

4. What, if anything, have you done to solve that problem?

5. What don’t you love about the solutions you’ve tried?

http://customerdevlabs.com/2013/11/05/how-i-interview-customers/

http://customerdevlabs.com/2013/11/05/how-i-interview-customers/#context

MAP OUT MEDICATION MANAGEMENT PROCESS

IDENTIFY PAIN POINTS IN PROCESS

CONSIDER ONE OF THE FOLLOWING

1. Chronic disease programs (e.g., diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular, osteoporosis, anticoagulation)

2. Behavioral change programs (e.g., smoking cessation, medication adherence & persistence, opioid abuse)

3. Medicare Part D consultation

4. Improving care transitions from the hospital to the community pharmacies

5. Clinical services in support of specific products (e.g., OTCs, nutritional supplements, weight-loss products, complex specialty medications)

6. Programs targeting underserved populations (e.g., geriatric, rural, Medicaid, uninsured, homeless, LGBTQIA, veterinary, international travelers, ethnic)

7. Innovative delivery models (e.g., telepharmacy, virtual medicine, interprofessional teams)

8. Combinations of the above (e.g., smoking cessation telepharmacy program)

Problems I Have Observed

• Picking a non-pharmacy product or service

– This class is about learning to develop pharmacy business models

• Developing technology or services that replace the pharmacist in the medication use process e.g., ATM-type dispensing machine in MD offices

– This is inconsistent the course philosophy

• Magical thinking such as “We have developed a drug that cures cancer and can be manufactured for free.”

– The value of the business plan occurs through struggling with real-life limitations and problems of marketing pharmacist services

Summary

• A business plan requires teamwork, creativity, problem solving, communication, and organization

• Successful completion of a business plan can be used to demonstrate your mastery of these competencies to future employers

Imagination stimulators

• http://www.drugstorenews.com/article/op-ed-community-pharmacists-are-foot-soldiers-war-opioid-abuse

• https://www.fastcodesign.com/90130217/who-needs-a-hospital-when-this-self-driving-doctor-comes-to-you?partner=rss

• http://nordic.businessinsider.com/a-swedish-pharmacy-made-a-billboard-that-starts-coughing-whenever-a-smoker-is-near--to-help-people-quit-2017-1/

• https://www.fastcompany.com/40402863/can-an-army-of-tech-equipped-health-workers-to-bring-medicine-to-remote-villages?partner=rss

https://www.fastcodesign.com/90130217/who-needs-a-hospital-when-this-self-driving-doctor-comes-to-you?partner=rss

https://www.fastcodesign.com/90130217/who-needs-a-hospital-when-this-self-driving-doctor-comes-to-you?partner=rss

http://nordic.businessinsider.com/a-swedish-pharmacy-made-a-billboard-that-starts-coughing-whenever-a-smoker-is-near--to-help-people-quit-2017-1/

https://www.fastcompany.com/40402863/can-an-army-of-tech-equipped-health-workers-to-bring-medicine-to-remote-villages?partner=rss