Try These Things to Get a Hold of Your “Pandemic Era” Retail Pharmacy. Says, a 2022 ThreeBestRated Award-Winning Pharmacist in Philadelphia

Managing a retail pharmacy in today’s chaotic climate is not a walk in the park. It can be even more overwhelming if you are navigating the waters as an independent pharmacy. Independent pharmacists face several challenges that make it harder than ever to remain viable. Pharmacist’s need to adapt to the digital world, fight insurance companies forcing patients to use their own ‘network pharmacies’, and constantly evolve to meet the ever changing pandemic landscape.

How to overcome these challenges?

ThreeBestRated® sought the advice of Kris Hunsicker on meeting pharmacy’s modern challenges. Kris owns Fishtown Pharmacy, a 2022 ThreeBestRated® award-winning pharmacy in Philadelphia. Despite all the challenges he’s faced, much like every independent pharmacist in the country, Kris has managed to stay successful, and even thrive in the current climate. Through his experience, he shares a few tips that may serve as an eye-opener for struggling independent pharmacists. Here they are:

• Listen & Care: It is far easier to get patients to heed your advice, after you’ve proven you are willing and able to listen to their needs and concerns. Put effort into knowing your patients’ names, medicines, and unique issues. I have always believed page one of every customer service model should start by conveying to patients a sense of genuine caring. The entire pharmacy staff should relay to each patient, we are not only here to help them, but we are also on their side.
• Be willing to change and adapt: It is imperative to adeptly change in parallel with the distinctive health care needs of your community.
• Partner up with local community organizations: For example, by partnering with local neighborhood groups, we have expanded our vaccine clinics to serve a much broader group of patients in our community. These partnerships have enabled us to introduce the pharmacy, and our unique customer-centric approach. This has enabled us to convert previous strangers into loyal patients.
• Be accessible and well-read: Historically, pharmacists have been known as the most accessible healthcare practitioners. Understaffed chains have led people’s views to shift away from utilizing pharmacists as this resource. Remind your community that you are readily available to answer their questions. After you make it known that you are accessible to the community, prove your value. Stay up to date on a broad range of current issues. When patients do come to you, be prepared to answer questions on issues such as COVID infection numbers, vaccine facts, and/or myths, or any relevant current healthcare issues.
• Show patients the “back of your baseball card”: Patients want to know you! By sharing your staff’s hobbies, views, and non-pharmacy interests, patients get to truly know you, and your staff. When people see the other sides of your pharmacy staff, they more easily relate to you and your business. I train all my staff to “be yourself”, so patients relate to you as people, not just pharmacy workers. Most people want to support real humans, not faceless corporations.

Incorporating these values has the potential to be a real game-changer. Additionally, it helps serve your community in a variety of helpful ways.

A look into the path of Fishtown Pharmacy – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:

Fishtown pharmacy takes immense pride in knowing its patients, and their respective medicines like nowhere else. Patients who’ve visited the pharmacy often share their ‘old-school pharmacy’ experiences online, and ‘caring’ is the recurring theme mentioned in many reviews. After almost a decade of commitment to serving their community, it does not come as much of a surprise that they are among the top-rated pharmacies in Philadelphia.

Kris, and his close knit team, strive to be the most people-friendly establishment in town. Their efforts had not failed them. They made it into the ThreeBestRated’s list of the top three pharmacies for the fifth consecutive year. On winning the 2022 ThreeBestRated® award, Kris says, “We are utterly flattered! We are so proud to continue to be considered a valuable asset to our community, and deeply appreciate the recognition.”

To know more about their services and vaccination programs, kindly visit – https://fishtownpharmacy.com/.

About ThreeBestRated®

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