On the eve of Rx’s finest hour?

A little more than 60 days to go before America decides who next should lead it, and, in the words of the great Winston Churchill, this quite possibly could be community pharmacy’s finest hour: the key words, of course, are “could be.” That’s what I was thinking as NACDS president and chief executive officer Steve Anderson addressed the crowd assembled for the morning business session at the NACDS Pharmacy Technology Conference in San Diego on Monday, Aug. 25.

I had been thinking the same thing Sunday morning during NACDS chairman Warren Bryant’s opening comments. “I believe [this] will be a watershed era for pharmacy,” Bryant said. “If there is one thing you take from this conference, it is that you must get involved in the healthcare discussion with your payors and legislators to assure they understand the full value of retail pharmacy.”

To be honest, I began thinking about it even before that; this is, indeed, as Bryant noted, a “make-or-break time” for the people who operate pharmacies in this country, a time that could lead to unprecedented reform in health care in America. The question is, can this industry seize upon the momentum of some important recent victories, such as the AMP delay, prompt payment for Part D, TRICARE and, most recently, Medi-Cal, among others, and ensure that it remains on the right side of the changes that are sure to come in health care and that those changes are in the best interests not only of pharmacy and pharmacists, but patients, too?

While I may have been thinking about it for a while, the idea fully crystallized for me during Anderson’s remarks—probably owing less to my amazing intellect than his direct reference to Churchill—that this could be retail pharmacy’s finest hour. Couldn’t it be?

Anderson was talking about an old motivational poster he recently came across. It was a picture of Winston Churchill with another of his famous phrases, “Deserve victory.”

“It demands a clear focus on the objective—the win—and a firm commitment to all it requires,” Anderson explained. “It is more than a commentary on what would be required of a country facing an ominous threat. It was a call to action, stating what would be required of each citizen.”

Thankfully, as Anderson admitted, the challenges facing community pharmacy are not quite so daunting as those that faced the World War II allied nations. But in many ways the future of this industry and the health and welfare of America are riding on how community pharmacy confronts the threats against it.

“In a different yet powerful way, the challenge to ‘deserve victory’ is indeed ours,” Anderson said. “As Churchill said, ‘we cannot guarantee victory, but only deserve it.”

The references to Churchill are worth noting for a couple of reasons. First, Churchill goes on a short list of the most gifted communicators of the 20th century, and quite possibly, in the history of the world. He was an uncanny storyteller.

Second, and perhaps equally as notable, Churchill was no pansy.

Because of that, Churchill had an incredible ability to get people to do what he wanted—except for maybe Joe Stalin—but that is a separate discussion.

And as much as Anderson was not comparing the situation facing retail pharmacy to the Nazi menace, make no mistake, I am not comparing Anderson to Churchill. But I will say this: in Anderson, community pharmacy has found a gifted communicator who has not shied away from the fight. Under his leadership, community pharmacy has crafted a pretty compelling story, and politicians, policy makers, the press—even the President—are beginning to listen.

“We need Washington to think and to act anew, and creatively, about pharmacy’s role,” Anderson said. “We have big ideas that can sell in Washington: invest in pharmacy, and we can save on overall healthcare costs, and improve lives.”

It’s a powerful message. And clearly, the timing is right for America to hear that story. According to a recent study commissioned by community pharmacy, health care will be one of the top five issues in the next election for 69 percent of registered voters; top 10, for 89 percent.

“What will be the outcomes,” Anderson said. “Nobody in this room knows. But will we deserve to win? The answer is within each of us.”

Borrowing from his famous radio address, Churchill put it this way: “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if ________________ last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour.’

Over the next several weeks, it will be up to community pharmacy to fill in the blank, and be the author of its own history.