Dear ,
If you're a pharmacy owner or manager, I hope you'll be at today's emergency meeting about the cBHT crisis. And yes, it certainly looks like a crisis -- the FDA has made it clear that cBHT restrictions are on the table. Those restrictions could be devastating not only for the pharmacies who provide compounded hormones, but for the millions of people whose health is at stake.
APC is preparing a fight like none we've ever faced. Today at noon Eastern Time we're briefing compounding pharmacy owners and managers (members and non-members alike) on our plans. We are not going to let FDA take cBHT away.
Please, join us. The meeting is free, but we need you to register. We need you in this fight. Click here -- it'll only take a minute or two. I hope you see you later today.
Potential cBHT restrictions are a huge threat to compounding pharmacies. But you know what isn't? The $1.6 trillion (!) elephant in the room: Amazon, which finally and as expected, entered the mail-order pharmacy market.
Let us pause a moment for those of you who need to wring their hands. Done? Good. Because honestly, there's not all that much reason to worry.
What, you worry?
If your business is all or mostly compounding, you probably aren't sweating anyway. Amazon doesn't do compounding, and it doesn't fit into its mass-quantities business model anyway.
For those of you with retail businesses, well, mail order is nothing new. Insurers and PBMs have promoting it for years, so it's not as if consumers will suddenly discover it. ("Promoting" being a charitable term, I know.)
What you need to keep in mind is that Amazon, like the other mail-order companies, isn't really competing on price -- most people with insurance have set co-pays, after all -- but on simplicity and convenience. Why should I drive to Joe's Pharmacy when I can just click a couple of times? (Heck, McDonald's has online ordering kiosks in the restaurants for people who don't want to talk to a human.)
Your job is to remind your customers of the reasons to walk in your door. Sure, there are loss-leader ads, but honestly how many people will jump at "Motrin Liquid Gels only $10.95 this week"?
More important is to focus on what you do better every day. That's service: "Meet Sue. She can help you." That's knowledge: "Med not working? Let's talk." That's availability -- just walk in or call, and never hear "Please hold for the next available operator."
And, of course, compounding. Parents know about flavoring for kids' meds, but do they know you can make a lollipop version instead? Or that a prescription that makes them nauseated might be available as a cream? Spread the word.
But don't ignore the lesson from Amazon (and McDonald's). Think about that convenience side, too, and appeal to it. You don't necessarily need a slick online ordering system that keeps track of every customer prescription. Maybe a simple "Email [email protected] with your prescription number and we'll reply when it's ready."
The point is, Amazon and other big boxes will always have some advantages over the little guy. Your job isn't to try to beat them at their strengths, but to remind people of yours. And you've got plenty.
Yours In Health, Shawn
You can reach Shawn at [email protected]. |