Mark Cuban Helps Start The Cost Plus Drug Company

I am excited to be part of this upcoming program.  Lots of new companies and new methods of serving patients are entering the pharmacy landscape.  The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company is one of them.  I can't wait to hear what this guy has to say.  

Press Release:  Dr. Alex Oshmyansky, CEO and founder of the recently launched Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company will be the featured guest on an interactive webinar.  The program is designed to help pharmacy owners understand how this new company will benefit pharmacists and consumers.  The webinar is scheduled for March 2, 2021 from 2PM until 4PM Eastern Standard Time.  It is being produced by the Pharmacy Podcast Network in coordination with RxSafe and will be recorded for on-demand listening. Click here to register.  

 Todd Eury, CEO and Founder of the Pharmacy Podcast Network says, Dr. Oshmyansky, who goes by “Dr. Alex”, is eager for his new company to help consumers avoid the high cost of medications. Dr. Alex, is a board-certified radiologist who says he has seen too many patients suffer, and some even die, due to high prices and the complicated distribution, formulary and prior authorization systems that have made medications cost far more than necessary.

 Late last year, Dr. Alex was introduced to Mark Cuban. Cuban is the outspoken billionaire entrepreneur who has gained national attention as the owner of the Dallas Maverick’s professional basketball team and as a member of the acclaimed TV show, Shark Tank. Dr. Alex says Cuban understood his vision and has provided funding, leadership and opened doors for the company. 

 During this webinar Dr. Alex will chat with co-hosts, Todd Eury and Bruce Kneeland.  Kneeland is the host of the  popular podcast, PharmacyCrossRoads, which is one of the 30+ podcasts featured on the Pharmacy Podcast Network.  Joining Eury and Kneeland as panelists will be Bill Homes, Founder and CEO of RxSafe, Brad Jones CEO of Retail Management Solutions (RMS) and Kyle Fields, CEO of Appro-Rx which is sponsoring the podcast.     

 “I am really looking forward to listening to ideas and suggestions from those that participate in this webinar. This is a big problem and a huge opportunity for all of us to work together to take unnecessary costs and operational hurdles out of the pharmaceutical industry,” says Dr. Alex.   

 According to Eury the webinar & podcast will be a combination of panelist and participants asking questions, while at the same time, serving as an advisory board to Dr. Alex. He says the company is already providing one major generic medication to consumers at one tenth of the price of the current product.  Other medications are in the pipeline and will be announced soon, according to Dr. Alex. 

 Pharmacy Is At A Crossroads

Some pharmacies continue to generate sufficient profit by filling ever increasing numbers of prescriptions while using technology to reduce operational costs.  But that path will be hard for most independent community pharmacies to follow. 

Fortunately, creative pharmacy owners and dedicated suppliers have found new avenues for profitable growth. Many pharmacies are successfully incorporating cash-pay services into their practice.   Among them are point-of-care testing, weight loss, health coaching and drug nutrient depletion.  Some of the more aggressive pharmacy owners I know openly talk about how they work with patients and prescribers to take people off of prescription medications in favor of supplements.   

I recently had a discussion with an innovative pharmacist that is working with physician practices all across the country.  He contracts with them to provide a specially trained pharmacist that works in the doctor’s office.  As a contractor the pharmacist meets with patients, provide counseling and does medication reviews.  These services are billed by the doctor using well established billing codes and the pharmacist is paid by the hour for the services he or she provides to the physician practice.    

Pharmacogenetic (PGx) testing is growing as it takes much of the guess work out of prescribing.  True, it is expensive, several hundred dollars per test.  Counseling with the patient on the meaning of the results and then working with the patient’s doctors to adjust therapy is an exceptional opportunity for creative pharmacy owners.   At this time, third-party reimbursement for the PGx testing seems to be a ways-off.  One innovative pharmacist told me he hopes insurance companies never pay, saying, “As soon as they do reimbursement will decline.”    

Then, to the point on almost every pharmacy owners mind, COVID testing and vaccination.  Independent pharmacy has benefits from numerous press reports on how they stepped-up and helped solve the administration problem. Building on this platform of success will open doors for pharmacy in lots of new areas.   

The bottom line, filling prescriptions will still be a major component of independent community pharmacy.  Helping people with their medications is a critical aspect of healthcare; and, one that rightfully belongs to pharmacy.   But it is also clear that dispensing is not sufficient going forward.  The future is not what it used to be and waiting for things to go back to normal is not a good strategy.

Community pharmacy is at a crossroads.  Change is coming but the good news is there are already several proven ways forward.  Pharmacy owners can choose a new path that best fits their community's need and the pharmacist's skill set and passion.  Here’s hoping many more of them make the necessary changes in the very near future.   

If you own a pharmacy, or if your job brings you in close contact with an owner, you may want to check out my podcast at:  www.pharmacycrossroads.com.  Each podcast runs about thirty minutes and provides information from successful pharmacy owners who are kind enough to share their management, marketing and clinical success tips.  

Here's A Customer Service Idea Every Pharmacy Can Use

 A few years ago, I attended a pharmacy CE session that impressed me.  The unique thing was the speaker was not a pharmacist nor did he speak about pharmacy, he owned a small chain of hair salons. 

He espoused a customer service technique he called, the F.O.R.D program.  I think the ideas he shared were ingenious.  Indeed, I’d like to see some pharmacy management system find a way to build the capability of using it into their software. 

As you’d expect for a hair salon his business management system kept track of appointments, the salon’s pricing schedule and calculated the commissions to be paid to each stylist.  But in his business, he said, relationships where paramount, so he’d added the ability for the system to house other information that helped his staff build relationship. 

Here’s what they put in, under the acronym of F.O.R.D.:

1.      Family: names of spouse, children, pets, etc.

2.      Occupation: What kind of work do they do, what company, how long there, etc. 

3.      Recreation:  How do they like to spend their free time, skiing, bingo, reading, etc.

4.      Dreams:  What do they wish they could do, have kids, travel, get married, etc.

So, here’s an example: the receptionist gets a call from a customer, Mary Jones asking, “When is the soonest you can get me in to see Wanda?”  The receptionist says, “Let me check,” and then while checking casually asks Mary Jones, “What’s up, why the rush?”  Mary explains her mother passed and she needs to leave in two days for the funeral.  The receptionist tells her there are two times available tomorrow. Mary Jones selects one and the receptionist books the appointment.  But that is not all, she also adds a note about the funeral in the customer relationship module. 

When Mary Jones comes in, Wanda has reviewed the note, expresses her condolences and chats about Mary Jones’ mother.  A relationship is strengthened because the system captured and shared the information. 

Sally Smith comes in on her regular visit and while chatting mentions she is up for a promotion.  Wanda makes a note and when Mary comes in six weeks later, Wanda asks for an update.

Whenever a new person comes in the stylist is trained to ask how the new person heard about the salon.  The reply is entered into the system for management review.  If the new person indicates a current customer suggested the salon the stylist adds that into the customer relationship management module.  The next time the person who referred a friend comes in the stylist thanks the person.  she is also authorized to provide the customer with a small gift, a bottle of shampoo, or other item the salon features.    

You get the idea, get, capture and appropriately use all the information you can on your patients.  People rarely leave their stylist because a new salon opened down the street.  Independent community pharmacy, like the hair salon business, is a people business. Finding new, more and better ways to build relationships is a critical success factor.  

For more ideas on what other pharmacies are doing to be successful check out my podcast:  www.pharmacycrossroads.com