It's time to explore pharmacy as the hope of healthcare

I have been sitting on this subject for some time now. I think I was hopeful that I would be able to more fully define and describe the topic. At this point, I don’t know that I can. And that is okay. Because it gives me the opportunity to invite you to be an active contributor. The topic is very much about the future of pharmacy (specifically) and healthcare (generally). This is a massive topic, which probably explains the challenge in defining and describing it. 

Regardless of the size of the topic, leadership is required to get us to a better place. As it happens, in this column we look at leadership principles to help us lead ourselves, our staff and the communities we serve better. Remember: everyone deserves to be led well.

The lesson I share with you today is on the value of taking time to think. There is a quote attributed to George Bernard Shaw: “Two per cent of people think, 3% think they think, and 95% would rather die than think.” When I first heard this quote, I had to determine which bucket I was in. I was most likely in the 3% bucket, or at least I wanted to believe that I as in the 3% bucket. But then I wondered what it would be like to be in that 2% bucket. I realized if I was going to think, I would need to expose myself to people who think differently from me. People with different opinions and most likely with different views of the world from mine. I would have to become a collector of ideas. But having a collection of ideas can only help you if you work with them. Otherwise, it becomes like my boxed-up collection of Spider-Man comics from when I was a kid. Lots of fun adventures, but they are not being enjoyed or making a difference today. 

When I really want to wrestle with new ideas, I have to step away. Literally. I go for a walk. In years gone by I did different things. When I was a pharmacist scheduler, I found that I did some of my best scheduling while I was mowing the yard. I have found that when my hands and feet are busy, that's when I do my best thinking and am able to come up with new solutions to problems I face.

In a nutshell, that is the leadership lesson for today: be sure to take some time away so you can think. And do it regularly. Consider different and even contrary positions to permit you to gain a better perspective. 

But that is by no means where I plan to stop today. Oh, no. I must share with you the story of a walk I took a few weeks ago. One afternoon, I went for a four-mile walk, which typically takes me a little more than an hour to complete. Along the way, I began wondering, “what is the hope of healthcare?”

I expect that anyone involved with healthcare would answer this question selfishly. If you happen to be a physician, I expect your answer to be physicians are the hope of healthcare. If you happen to be a nurse, I expect your answer is that nurses are the hope of healthcare. If you are in hospital administration or pharma, your answer would be hospital administration or pharma is the hope of healthcare. You get my drift. So as a pharmacist, I answered my own question with this statement: “pharmacists are the hope of healthcare.”

Understanding that the majority of this audience is made up of pharmacists, I ask that you take some time and mull this over. Can this possibly be true? Can pharmacists be the hope of healthcare? 

We have all seen the statistics and talking points about how accessible pharmacists are to serve patients. We all have stories about how we have helped patients during difficult times, over holiday weekends, or while someone is away from home. This is a strong start in making this statement true. But I don’t think it is quite enough. I believe there is more to it. 

This brings me back to the beginning. This is where I need your help. Pharmacists are doing more today than ever before. What are the things you are most excited about when it comes to pharmacy being the hope of healthcare? You can be excited about it, even if you are not currently doing it. All over the world we see our colleagues doing some fantastic things for patient care. What are some of those things that you believe would be an absolute game changer? 

This is by no means a comprehensive list, but I will give it a start. In no particular order, our colleagues are promoting collaborative practice, provider status, treatment of minor ailments, point of care testing for the management of chronic conditions, genomic testing, deprescribing, antibiotic stewardship, mental health assessments, therapeutic interchange, natural and holistic treatments, coordination of care, immunization services, travel medicine, diabetes education, remote patient monitoring, hearing health, synchronized refills and the appointment based model, and I am sure I am missing dozens of other activities. 

While we are progressing at various rates with all of these specialties, I cannot help being excited that pharmacy is the hope of healthcare. We have the potential to impact people earlier and more frequently to drive results. 

All that being said, getting to a place where these activities are commonplace in our local pharmacies will take some time, but more importantly, I absolutely believe it will take leadership. It may take many a long walk to come up with ways to be able to implement and scale any of these services. Our abilities to lead our teams and the patients we serve must be strong to make pharmacy the hope of healthcare.

I am curious to hear from you. If you believe pharmacy is the hope of healthcare, what areas did I leave out of my list? What skills do you most need to develop? Send me a message through LinkedIn. I would love to hear from you. (If you do not believe that pharmacy is the hope of healthcare, kindly devote your attention to whatever area you believe is the hope of healthcare. This is a building exercise.)

Over the next several weeks, we will look at some leadership principles to encourage your progress towards becoming the hope of healthcare.

Until next time

Jesse McCullough, PharmD

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