Shane P. Desselle, PhD

Pharmacy managers should know how fickle customers can be, but also the importance of loyalty if you can create it.

Professional organizations play important roles in the profession, from assistance with job placements, to publication of scholarly peer-reviewed literature, promotion of practice standards, and advocacy for the profession.

Pharmacy managers will need to employ effective decision-making that will include evaluating vendors for post-purchase support, and discern the right time to purchase technology.

This Tip of the Week examines a case where a pharmacist actually sued his state’s Board of Pharmacy.

Technicians and pharmacists both agreed that the Optimizing Care Model allowed the pharmacy to implement entirely new services and expand the number of patients who were receiving existing services.

Business planning includes many components, not just merely generating an idea and hoping it will succeed.

The process of becoming certified in itself instills a greater sense of belonging in pharmacy among technicians.

Many patients are under the false assumption that there are no risks or potential drug interactions posed by taking OTC medications.

Pharmacists can leverage EHR to compare and contrast medication lists, link medications to patient problems, and evaluate effectiveness and adverse drug events.

There is increasingly available technology to help patients manage their disease states, stay healthy, change lifestyles, and adhere to their medication.

Effective communication is among the most important skills for pharmacy technicians, yet one that is often overlooked.

Technological advances enable pharmacists to evolve their practices, spend more direct time in patient care, and assist patients with self-management of their diseases.

An issue that pharmacists might increasingly encounter deals with medical assistance in dying, where patients seek medical assistance to end their lives.

Pharmacy managers can promote a culture of safety that helps to reduce medication errors.

Pharmacy managers must be especially adept at negotiating with various stakeholders, and pass on their negotiating skills to other pharmacy employees.

As demands for pharmacy services increase, including COVID-19 point-of-care testing, pharmacy technician roles must continue to evolve to fill gaps in care and shortages of labor capital.

Pharmacy managers must be clear on, and effectively communicate state law and company policy.

Understanding patients' perspectives help engender their trust and loyalty, and affect positively their treatment outcomes and the pharmacy business.

Pharmacists working collaboratively can make an impact, including for patients with more acute diseases.

One of the primary means of performing billable services is through ‘incident-to’ billing.

Value-added pharmacy services come in all shapes and sizes.

Service outcomes will be optimized by considering a constellation of factors besides the service itself, such as social support and patient self-efficacy.

Pharmacy managers invariably face employees suffering from various personal issues that require special attention and/or counseling, and at some point will be confronted with the issue of an impaired employee.

This week’s tip examines a comprehensive set of pharmacist-based interventions in acute care settings.

Pharmacy managers must understand that it is the people behind an intervention or service that make it effective and valuable.

This Tip of the Week focuses on a study to evaluate pharmacy in the context of true patient outcomes, rather than on the structure and process measures often employed in such ratings programs.

A study published in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education conducted focus groups of pharmacy preceptors to discuss desired business-related skills.