H.D. Smith inks partnership with ESPhA

SPRINGFIELD, Ill., and NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Independent wholesaler H.D. Smith has a new partnership with group purchasing organization Enhanced Service Pharmacy Alliance, or ESPhA. The partnership brings ESPhA members access to H.D. Smith’s full product line, which includes 9,000-item generic pharmaceutical formulary, and access to the company’s consultant-style account management strategy.

“Our strategic account executives are armed with information, vendors, programs and solutions to help independent pharmacies find their niche in a community and thrive,” H.D. Smith president and CEO Chris Smith said. “By partnering with like-minded pharmacies who are searching for this kind of consultative relationship, we can develop a true ‘win-win’ for both sides. Because we have been supporting independent pharmacies since our founding in 1954, H. D. Smith was a natural fit for this group of driven, community-focused pharmacists.”

ESPhA said it was founded in an effort to make community pharmacies adaptable to a changing healthcare system. The group purchasing organization said it assists its members in implementing enhanced pharmacy services. In addition to the new H.D. Smith Partnership, ESPhA also partners with MedHere Today Consulting, which it said allows it to offer a support system to its members.

“ESPhA’s unique services create opportunities for pharmacists to see beyond the prescription counter, past the day-to-day struggle with reimbursement and DIR issues, and focus on the future of their pharmacy practice,” ESPhA CEO Alan Wilson said. “It is ESPhA’s mission to not only ready our pharmacy members for performance in a quality-driven health environment, but to identify, and even help develop, new, clinically relevant revenue streams for the pharmacy.”