Chain Drug Review, July 9, 2018

Delivering Better Health to All Boosting the front ends profitability is paramount IRVING Texas For independent pharmacies the front end is incredibly important says Chris Savage McKessons vice president of consumer packaged goods Thats especially true against the backdrop of declining prescription reimbursements and DIR direct and indirect remuneration fees he says Those are seriously impacting profitability so our independent operators are really looking to us to help provide them the tools to increase the bottom line he remarks One key tool is Health Mark Front Edge McKessons proprietary operating platform focused on the four Ps product price promotion and placement Were really doubling down with that in FY19 says Savage In that same vein the company is establishing a retail solutions group to build out front end programs more strongly than ever The formation of the group comes from the recognition that independent pharmacies want to attract not just patients but consumers seeking convenience items Savage notes And front end products can complement patient care Savage emphasizes These pharmacist owners are in many cases your classic health care provider he points out Theyre focused on the patient and if they can give a recommendation for an overthe counter product to supplement a prescription it really helps with patient care And it increases the loyalty for that particular patient to that independent pharmacist McKesson vice president Paula Adkison says dermatology provides an excellent example considering all the O T C skin care products that can complement prescriptions McKesson tries to help pharmacists bundle nonprescription and prescription offerings she says The front end complements patient care and works with manufacturers to do the same It really brings that added value for the independent pharmacist who keeps that patient involved in a more holistic approach she observes And in the works is a refreshment of private label Health Mart items with a very clean very clear look says Savage as well as the addition of store brand items within new categories Were in all the classic health care categories and the great thing about it is that we are expanding our portfolio annually he comments Its actually a very very rich health care offering that we have for our independents and at an extremely attractive margin Clinical services meanwhile can be complementary to frontstore offerings notes Adkison Vaccines especially are compelling draws for store visits especially for the aging population she says This is where you see some of your more loyal independent pharmacy customers now able to go to one place and get the convenience of services and products that they used to have to make multiple stops for Patients getting a shingles immunization for example might also want to discuss their blood pressure and the pharmacist can offer them blood pressure monitors she points out For customers with school age children pharmacists can offer a continuum of care she adds The diversification of offerings extends outside of healthcare notes Savage In light of that at McKesson IdeaShare they will feature a product showcase for innovative nichetype items that are not readily available across the larger Chris Savage retail distribution channel A lot of these are going to be health items A lot are going to be beauty items A lot are going to be natural items Theres definitely opportunity there and well be focusing more on it this year and the years to come Likewise gift cards may be more popular in one geographic area than another In recognition of that McKesson employs geodemographic analysis to help pharmacist owners identify potential growth categories A store owner in greater Dallas for example sells 300 coolers We definitely support him in doing that Savage says Were not going to bring coolers into our DCs But we do try to help our retailers through geodemographic analysis with CDIs and BDIs category development Paula Adkison indexes and brand development indexes After all they know their consumers and patients better than we do We just want to be able to augment and supplement that knowledge with what we know from an industry standpoint Above all McKesson strives to bring the right local care to patients says Adkison Patients rely on their independent pharmacists as strong health care providers Theres no substitute for a one stop shop where patients are able to be served by their trusted health care provider Im sure were going to see more and more of that happening especially with Health Mart pharmacies They are trusted in the communities that theyre in and are very embedded in those communities Peer to peer meetings keep community growing IRVING Texas Over the past five years Health Marts town hall meetings have helped provide its members with strategies for driving revenue Jenn Emerson Mike Cihlar Jef Fite while improving patient outcomes through expanded partnerships as well as clinical services These peer led interactive regional community sessions offer independent pharmacies practical advice for taking care of patients and growing their businesses Jenn Emerson senior online community manager for McKesson says that Health Mart has hosted more than 370 peer to peer town hall meetings to help members understand and improve the clinical operational and financial drivers that impact their overall business These programs started to create a forum where customers had the ability to get together talk to each other and share ideas not only with each other but with McKesson as well One of the things that we say about our community is that it empowers the pharmacist It empowers our customer not only to become better at what they do but to help us become better servants of their needs she explains One of the things that I do in my position is to facilitate these conversations so that our customers who come into the community will feel like they have a voice and it is being heard not only among our members but by McKesson too Emerson notes that its members are sharing different practices with each other and enriching their own offerings to their customers Seeing them grow in that way and developing those partnerships with each other is rewarding I see our customers really becoming solid health care providers in their communities She explains that there is a lot of talk right now about pharmacy benefit managers Over the years Health Mart has hosted more than 370 town hall meetings This is a really hot topic with pharmacists We recently established a group called the Political Action Network to help address these issues In addition on our website we have provided community members with an online tool where they can find out who their local and state representatives are Using the tool members can insert their profile and build out a templated email to send to those government officials This is an another example of the ways we listen to our members and how we provide them with solutions Mike Cihlar Health Mart regional director for the south region says Peer to peer networking and peer led education have proven to be a great catalyst in helping our independent pharmacies evolve how they deliver care and drive greater efficiency and profit into their business He notes that he will be approaching the hundredth town hall that he has personally hosted Over the past five years weve helped independents improve their clinical operational and financial drivers making a positive impact on their business Cihlar says the networking opportunities at these events are tremendous Independents are bringing new ideas to the table and exchanging business cards We have over 4950 Health Marts across the country Thats a strong network We want to make sure that our members understand that just because they are an independent owner they still can be a part of something special Jef Fite vice president of marketing with responsibility for customer products and programs adds that his teams role in this area is developing and managing products programs and services across various customer segments We have the benefit of being able to take advantage of both the online community and some of these offline events to listen to customers around the country on what they like and dont like about those products and programs and make changes to them as a result of those discussions says Fite You really see that across all of the tools and programs we offer whether it be the analytics and key performance indicator information that we put in front of customers whether its the major enterprise websites that we have and they use to order from us 14 Chain Drug Review July 9 2018