Longs gives consultation an innovative spin - Pharmacy - column

Longs gives consultation an innovative spin

It wasn't too long ago that I had a conversation with a pharmacy director from one of the largest drug chains in the country. Our chat centered around the use of pharmacists as health care consultants. Unfortunately, this gentleman and I didn't see eye to eye on this subject. He still believes that retail pharmacists, at least those working for his chain, are hired to fill prescriptions, not consult with the customers. He did admit, however, his pharmacists can consult during slow periods, which, to be honest with you, made no sense to me at all. If there are no people waiting for prescriptions, with whom is the pharmacist suppose to consult? When I asked him why he felt that way, he said the name of the game was productivity and profits. Maybe an experiment being conducted at several Longs drug stores may change his mind.

Earlier this year, I was invited to a Longs store to witness something I have never seen before. Longs and the University of Southern California (USC) School of Pharmacy were testing a new program that puts a pharmacy student on the floor of the store's OTC section. They were there for one reason, to act as consultants on OTC, and sometimes, prescription drugs.

Longs pharmacy director, Dave Fong, asked me to go into the store and act as a shopper "and let it happen." I wasn't roaming the OTC aisles a few seconds before this student walked up to me and asked if I needed help. I told him that I wear contact lenses, and was being bothered by my current brand of solution. He immediately walked me over to the lens care section and suggested that perhaps my problem was the preservative in the brand I was using. He was polite, bright, and most importantly, eager to help. Soon afterwards I identified myself. He told me he was a fifth-year student at USC. He also mentioned to me that he was originally on an educational track that would probably take him into hospital pharmacy. I asked him why he chose to participate in this experimental program. He said he was curious. The upshot was, he liked it! He said being out on the floor was "quite rewarding," since he was able to put his professional knowledge to good use. After several weeks in the program he told me he was rethinking his career path.

Longs is currently tabulating OTC sales data to see if there is a correlation between having someone out on the floor with an increase in sales. Preliminary results look promising. There is no doubt in my mind that if having such a person can pay for itself, Longs will extend the program to other stores.

But even if this doesn't happen, it's stll a win-win situation for everyone involved. The student gets course credits for his participation, and perhaps gets to try out another area of pharmacy. Longs gets an extra consultant in its OTC sections, and the customers get treated to consultation from a person studying to become one of the most trusted professionals in the country.

Profits are certainly important, but my philosophy is, take care of the customer and the sales and profits will naturally follow. Your pharmacist is a key to any drug store's success. Wasting a pharmacist's valuable resources in just filling prescriptions is foolish and in the long run, uneconomical.

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