Adapting Operations to Meet the Needs of the Community

Pharmacy Times® interviewed Brian Nightengale, RPh, PhD, president of Good Neighbor Pharmacy, on the value of diversifying a pharmacy’s business to meet the needs of the customer and to adapt to the immediate needs of the community, such as during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

The discussion included details on why Nightengale believes Good Neighbor Pharmacy was ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Chain Drug Store Pharmacies” in the JD Power 2020 US Pharmacy Study, as well as how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected Good Neighbor Pharmacy’s practices this year.

Nightengale noted that Good Neighbor Pharmacy is made up of small, independently owned pharmacies that in most communities, were required to shut their doors to in-store foot traffic while the larger chains were able to remain fully open during the quarantine period. However, he explained that this did not mean they couldn’t provide services and care for patients.

“They just couldn't allow patients and consumers into their doors, so they transitioned very quickly into drive-through. Most of them, if not all, went to curbside as well, and a vast majority of our Good Neighbor Pharmacy members already did daily home delivery, so that ramped up quite a bit as well,” Nightengale said. “[This] really required pretty significant changes to the pharmacies’ workflow. I mean we had programs and signage and things to support them through that, [but] it certainly impacted their front of store sales as well because people couldn't walk in.”

Nightengale explained that Good Neighbor Pharmacy members are entrepreneurs who adapt very quickly to sudden changes in operations.

“We saw just a tremendous amount of above and beyond care and flexibility and innovation to keep the stores open, and certainly their biggest priority was to care for their communities. We have documented many, many heroic stories through our fearless pharmacy campaign,” Nightengale said.

Additionally, Nightengale discussed whether he sees any of the changes and innovations implemented at the operations level due to the COVID-19 pandemic lasting on into the future after the pandemic.