Shaping pharmacy’s ‘story’ amid healthcare evolution
The National Association of Chain Drug Stores on Sunday helped to define the narrative of an industry that’s in constant flux. Even as the Trump administration and Congressional leaders seek to reshape what health care looks like in the United States, and even as such industry disruptors as Amazon continue to challenge traditional retail precepts, the retail pharmacy of late has been adept at taking changes in stride.
After all, it’s what NACDS has been doing for the past 85 years, Steve Anderson, its president and CEO, said during Sunday’s Business Program. NACDS and their members plan to keep pace with any ongoing changes for another 85 years, 85 months or even 85 days.
“The future is on our minds. With the speed and scope of change [today], 85 days, or a few months, seems to be the range of focus,” Anderson said. As part of the future value targeting initiative announced during last year’s NACDS Annual Meeting, the association has been refining the value to members now and in the future, he said. “Like your business, associations need to adapt. We need to press forward and evolve. The need for transformation is constant.”
To this end, both retailers and suppliers have continued to evolve their offerings in an effort to better serve their collective patients. “This mission that inspires each of us personally and the people with whom we work is more important than ever,” noted Jack Bailey, president of U.S. pharmaceuticals at GlaxoSmithKline. “It feels like a whirlwind of change. The industry is facing important questions about affordability. The nation is grappling [with] an opioid epidemic. We’re seeing increased talk about acquisition after acquisition. The implication of potential disruptors like Amazon and their venture into health care is on all of our minds.”
“What should all of us, as leaders of healthcare companies, do right now?” he asked.
Answer to Change: Keep Patient Care at the Center
“In health care, it has been about restructuring our industry to become more efficient in the marketplace, and in retail it really is about empowering the consumer — to see the choices and products available to them,” said Alex Gourlay, NACDS chairman, co-COO of Walgreens Boots Alliance and president Walgreens.
Gourlay stressed putting patients first by implementing changes across three key areas — healthcare affordability and price transparency; fostering convenience, efficiency and experience; and building trust by emphasizing community engagement and corporate social responsibility. “Redefining convenience has always been at the heart of the pharmacy model,” he added. “It’s about the marketplace that you create that brings it all together.”
Gourlay also announced the NACDS commitment to shape the dialogue defining retail pharmacy through the “2017 Chain Pharmacy Community Engagement Report,” which was published Sunday.
The report, available at Community.NADCS.org, shares the innumerable community engagement activities NACDS chain member companies make in support of their communities, including the $630 million in donations and 1.5 million hours in volunteer hours alone in 2017.
Journalist and author Peggy Noonan, a Wall Street Journal columnist, closed out the morning session with her take on what each successive president since Ronald Reagan might have learned from their predecessor during their respective terms.
After all, it’s what NACDS has been doing for the past 85 years, Steve Anderson, its president and CEO, said during Sunday’s Business Program. NACDS and their members plan to keep pace with any ongoing changes for another 85 years, 85 months or even 85 days.
“The future is on our minds. With the speed and scope of change [today], 85 days, or a few months, seems to be the range of focus,” Anderson said. As part of the future value targeting initiative announced during last year’s NACDS Annual Meeting, the association has been refining the value to members now and in the future, he said. “Like your business, associations need to adapt. We need to press forward and evolve. The need for transformation is constant.”
To this end, both retailers and suppliers have continued to evolve their offerings in an effort to better serve their collective patients. “This mission that inspires each of us personally and the people with whom we work is more important than ever,” noted Jack Bailey, president of U.S. pharmaceuticals at GlaxoSmithKline. “It feels like a whirlwind of change. The industry is facing important questions about affordability. The nation is grappling [with] an opioid epidemic. We’re seeing increased talk about acquisition after acquisition. The implication of potential disruptors like Amazon and their venture into health care is on all of our minds.”
“What should all of us, as leaders of healthcare companies, do right now?” he asked.
Answer to Change: Keep Patient Care at the Center
“In health care, it has been about restructuring our industry to become more efficient in the marketplace, and in retail it really is about empowering the consumer — to see the choices and products available to them,” said Alex Gourlay, NACDS chairman, co-COO of Walgreens Boots Alliance and president Walgreens.
Gourlay stressed putting patients first by implementing changes across three key areas — healthcare affordability and price transparency; fostering convenience, efficiency and experience; and building trust by emphasizing community engagement and corporate social responsibility. “Redefining convenience has always been at the heart of the pharmacy model,” he added. “It’s about the marketplace that you create that brings it all together.”
Gourlay also announced the NACDS commitment to shape the dialogue defining retail pharmacy through the “2017 Chain Pharmacy Community Engagement Report,” which was published Sunday.
The report, available at Community.NADCS.org, shares the innumerable community engagement activities NACDS chain member companies make in support of their communities, including the $630 million in donations and 1.5 million hours in volunteer hours alone in 2017.
Journalist and author Peggy Noonan, a Wall Street Journal columnist, closed out the morning session with her take on what each successive president since Ronald Reagan might have learned from their predecessor during their respective terms.