Introduction
Buying a pharmacy may seem daunting. The key is to look at the qualities that a successful one possesses and branch out from there. With a strong base of background knowledge on the subject, pharmacists can become very accomplished while having an independent pharmacy practice.
It is becoming more common that pharmacists are parting ways with big retail chain pharmacies and trying to own one themselves. With the right research and information, this can be a very rewarding profession in the pharmacy industry.
In this article, we will closely examine the business side of pharmacy and how to choose the right pharmacy to buy. We will start by reviewing the key qualities needed to run a successful pharmacy and then learn about the benefits and how pharmacists can start their practice sites. Read on to learn more.
Key Qualities of a Good Pharmacy
It is important that you do your research before buying a pharmacy to ensure that you can meet all of the key requirements to run a successful business. Three of the main elements of good pharmacy practice include having exceptional products with good prices, effective service, and having an experienced pharmacist. Not only is patient care and customer service important but also career satisfaction and succession for employees. If all the moving pieces of the pharmacy are content and educated, there is a higher chance your independent pharmacy will be successful.
In 1993, The International Pharmaceutical Federation developed standards for pharmacy services under the heading Good Pharmacy Practice in Community and Hospital Pharmacy Settings. These standards should be followed by all pharmaceutical institutes to be thought of as successful in their practice. The four requirements ensure that a pharmacist's first concern must be the welfare of the patients in all settings, the core of the pharmacy activity is the supply of medication and other health care products, of assured quality, appropriate information and advice for the patient, and monitoring the effects of their use, an integral part of the pharmacist's contribution is the promotion of rational and economic prescribing and appropriate medicine use, and the objective of each element of pharmacy service is relevant to the individual, is clearly defined and is effectively communicated to all those involved.1
How to Evaluate a Pharmacy
The indicators in pharmacy that act as tools for assessment and evaluation are called pharmaceutical key performance indicators (KPIs). KPIs are quantifiable measurements that monitor a pharmacy’s performance to ensure good patient health while staying profitable. KPIs should follow the SMART criteria; specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound. Choosing too many indicators or ones that are not attainable is a common mistake and may feel counterintuitive. It may exhaust all resources at the beginning of the long-term goal and result in a demotivated team with poor tracking of progress. The most important part of using KPIs is tracking progress and monitoring metrics. Developing a detailed internal process to track your indicators helps tap into the full potential of the KPIs and a successful program. Develop a baseline, analyze the data, take action, and review.
There are many different kinds of KPIs to look at when starting up a pharmacy business but some of the most common categories include financial, quality of care, productivity, and competency KPIs. Assessing these areas helps practices reach the standards and key qualities needed for having a successful pharmacy.2
The Nine Standards for Pharmacy Professionals
The nine standards that pharmacy professionals are required to meet are they must provide person-centered care, work in partnership with others, communicate effectively, maintain, develop, and use their professional knowledge and skills, use professional judgment, behave professionally, respect and maintain the person’s confidentiality and privacy, speak up when they have concerns or when things go wrong, and demonstrate leadership.
When purchasing a pharmacy, the nine standards must be met by all pharmacy personnel while at work or anywhere else while being able to justify any decisions made. By understanding the standards, pharmacy professionals can adapt care to specific patients’ needs in a team while making decisions and communicating them effectively. By doing this, the pharmacist acts professionally while providing quality care to their patients which hits the key qualities of a good pharmacy.3
The Benefits and Challenges of Buying Your Pharmacy
When looking for a pharmacy to buy, assessing the benefits versus the challenges is important. Benefits seen by pharmacy owners include increased time for one-on-one interactions with patients, the opportunity to develop trusting relationships with patients, the ability to become a valued asset to the community, and increased financial awards. Buying a pharmacy can allow you to expand your professionalism and finances immensely while you can build better relationships with your patients. This is very important to many healthcare professionals and allows for deeper connections and more trust between you, other providers, staff, and your patients.
However, there are some challenges in owning a pharmacy like difficulty balancing the many roles, maintaining patients, decreased free time, and the constant evolution in the pharmacy world. Pharmacy owners especially must stay up-to-date with all of the latest medication information, work in multiple spots of the pharmacy at once, spend more time at their place of business, and provide excellent customer service to make sure their patients stay at their pharmacy. Owning a pharmacy may not be what every pharmacist wants, but the benefits outweigh the challenges for those who are passionate about buying and running their own successful business with great patient care.4
Conclusion
Overall, it is important to continuously do research when looking to buy and own a pharmacy to ensure the standards and key qualities of pharmacy practice will be met. Not only is quality patient care expected, but also career satisfaction, finances, and so much more.
More and more pharmacists are branching out and are interested in buying and owning their pharmacies. This can be very professionally and financially rewarding but it does come with a lot of work. Explore our virtual pharmacy tradeshow for more insights to learn more about the pharmacy business.5
RXinsider is a multimedia publishing and technology company offering print publications, digital platforms, events, and content creation services to the B2B pharmacy market.
Doctor of Pharmacy Candidate, Class of 2025 | Samantha Denson is a P3 pharmacy student at the University of Rhode Island. She is currently completing an internship with RXinsider to expand her knowledge of the business side of the profession. Samantha’s career interests include clinical pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry.
This post is related to:
Finance: Mergers, Acquisitions, Buying-Selling, Franchising
