This Is The Way to Go (Transformation of Community Pharmacy)

In response to “An Honest Voice Against Unethical Promotion”, an article published in   MPSi-Bulletin on March 15 by “A Stand Alone Community Pharmacist“

Intro
Actually, “A Stand Alone Community Pharmacist” does not stand alone. He has huge company. Most, if not all, IPs are in the very same predicament. It is unfortunate all right.
 
All these years, cruel reality seemed most unkind to the IPs and many were forced to call it a day as a result of unfair competition and some were left to wonder if they had chosen a wrong profession. How sad.

Having founded my company in high hopes, high spirit and high enthusiasm back in 2003, as a typical pharmacist, I was at the verge of quitting my profession in 2009 in utmost frustration and dismay.

Out of desperation, I have decided to think out of the box and out of the norm. In a do-or -die mission, I chose to take a path no one in the industry had attempted – taking my pharmacy from Selling-Oriented to Societal-Oriented approach by means of a TRANSFORMATION exercise. In the process, as expected, many IPs had thought I was    out of my mind as it was totally an unconventional idea from their viewpoint.    

The purpose of this letter is to share my experience with all fellow pharmacists in community pharmacy trade for the betterment of the industry. There are 2 primary objectives to prove: (1) Professionalism and profitability of business CAN co-exist; (2)   Pharmacies do not have to be labeled as “kedai barang runcit”.