Women's only pharmacy to open in Vancouver

From Canada.com:
The first women's only pharmacy in North America will open its doors Tuesday in Vancouver.

The pharmacy, located in the city's troubled Downtown Eastside, is called Lu's: A Pharmacy for Women, and is aimed at providing female-oriented services to clients.

Caryn Duncan, executive director of the Vancouver Women's Health Collective, came up with the idea of opening a pharmacy for women in 2006.

She lives in the area and often saw queues of patrons spilling out of pharmacies onto sidewalks and having to speak to pharmacists through security glass.

"They're, I think, quite hostile places and women don't feel safe," Duncan said. "Women are walking distances to have prescriptions filled and we're hoping that they will think to come to Lu's." ...more

N.D. House defeats bill that would have changed pharmacy ownership

From the Jamestown (ND) Sun:
North Dakota pharmacists and defenders of the state’s small towns came out on top Friday in the biggest battle of the 2009 Legislature.

The House soundly defeated a proposed repeal of the state’s 40-year-old law that requires pharmacies in the state be majority-owned by a pharmacist. House Bill 1440 went down on a 57-35 vote after an hour-long debate that at times got emotional.

“Trust the people of North Dakota,” said Rep. Jon Nelson, R-Rugby, who favored repeal and more choice for North Dakotans in where to shop for prescriptions.

“Let the people decide. Nobody’s forcing anyone to do anything different,” he said. ...more

Mannville pharmacy closes doors after 40 years

From the Vermilion (AB) Standard:
Stu Nickerson was reading the newspaper one day when he spotted an advertisement - Pharmacy for Sale in Mannville, Alberta. The year was 1969.

“I had been managing a pharmacy in Grimshaw, Alberta for three years and I thought I could probably do it on my own. So we packed up and moved here in February on the coldest day I have ever experienced,” said Stu.

Now 40 years later Stu says it is time to hang up the pharmacy coat and take some time to travel with his wife Jean.

“We will continue to live in Mannville but would really love to travel and see the rest of this province and the country. We have done lots of traveling outside of Canada so now it is time to explore a bit of home,” said Stu.

In the 40 years as a pharmacist Stu says there have been many changes with the biggest being the modernization of computer technology in pharmacy services. ...more

Big drugstore operators take aim at N. Dakota law

From the Associated Press:
North Dakotans packed an auditorium on the state Capitol grounds Tuesday to debate a state law requiring pharmacies to have pharmacists as their majority owners. The law is under heavy fire from large retailers who say that if it's repealed, they can offer $4 prescriptions and lower drug costs.

North Dakota, where you can't get a prescription filled at a Walgreens, is the only state with such a law, state officials say.

The National Conference of State Legislatures found at least one other state requiring a percentage of pharmacist ownership but none as restrictive as North Dakota.

Republican state Rep. Jon Nelson of Rugby, a sponsor of a bill to repeal the ownership restriction, said it would give people better choices in buying prescription drugs and would help those who are uninsured and underinsured.

Nine-year-old Jakob Olson of Bismarck was one of the first to speak for the repeal. He said he has gone through seven surgeries, and has asthma and allergies, and said his parents have referred to the legislation as the "Jakob Bill." ...more

Windsor's born-again pharmacist

From the Financial Post:
Rocco D'Angelo is a born-again pharmacist.

He used to own a Wyandotte Street pharmacy that was flush with business. They filled 800 prescriptions a day at a hectic pace. Then he and his pharmacist wife got divorced and he started travelling around the province working at pharmacies on short-term contracts. D'Angelo, a father of two daughters, soul searched and decided to return to the roots of his profession.

"I didn't go to pharmacy school to sell shampoo or motor oil," D'Angelo said. "I went to study chemistry and help people."

He bought a condominium downtown and opened Royal Windsor Pharmacy, a tiny storefront at the corner of Park and Pelissier streets. The shelves are stocked with over-the-counter medications and vitamins that D'Angelo recommends. There isn't a bottle of shampoo or pack of batteries in sight.

D'Angelo, 55, dove into his new life. His business is small, and while he wants it to grow, he doesn't want to expand too much, otherwise he wouldn't be able to spend as much time with patients. ...more

Windsor's independent pharmacists caught in drug war crossfire

From the Windsor Star:
The mural of an old-fashioned, small-town apothecary on the window of Steve Gavrilidis's South Windsor pharmacy reflects the personal service he provides inside -- his best, perhaps only, defence against the rapid expansion of competing national drugstore chains.

Like hundreds of independent pharmacists across the province, Gavrilidis finds himself caught in the crossfire of Ontario's drug war -- the battle for market supremacy being waged between Shoppers Drug Mart and upstart Rexall.

"They're chasing each other and nipping at each other's heels, taking away from guys like me," said Gavrilidis. "Everybody wants a piece of the pie and the pie is getting smaller."
The Pharma Health independent pharmacy has found a niche providing the personal touch. Pharmacist Steve Gavrilidis assists customers in the comfort

Like Burger King and McDonald's at the height of the burger wars, the two drugstore chains are rapidly expanding across the province, acquiring independent outlets and opening new stores in each other's shadows. In Goderich earlier this month, Rexall and Shoppers both opened stores in the span of a week.

"Rexall is out to get Shoppers' market share and that's the bottom line," said retired University of Windsor business professor Alfie Morgan. "It's a competitive battle between two giants." ...more

Group lobbies to change N.D pharmacy law

I didn't realize that these types of ownership restrictions still existed anywhere in the States. I wish the pharmacists luck, but they are fighting a battle that was lost a long time ago in most jurisdictions.

From the Grand Forks (ND) Herald:
Spencer Clairmont cringed when he saw a television ad a few weeks ago featuring people saying they were surprised that they could buy cheaper prescription drugs in Minnesota or other states than North Dakota.

The ad says a 45-year-old North Dakota law that requires drug stores to be majority-owned by pharmacists is keeping drug prices artificially high. If the state Legislature would overturn the law, it argues, residents would see cheaper prices because stores such as Wal-Mart, Target or grocery stores such as Hugo’s would be allowed to sell prescriptions.

The advertising campaign, which touts Wal-Mart’s $4 prescriptions, is the work of a group called North Dakotans for Affordable Health Care, funded mostly by Wal-Mart and Walgreen’s.

“Their advertisement saying they’re the cheapest doesn’t square with reality,” said the 56-year-old Clairmont. He and his wife, Bev, both pharmacists, own Walhalla Prescription Store in this Pembina County town of about 1,000, 100 miles north of Grand Forks. ...more

Pharmacists want remedy for problematic overhaul

From the Guelph (Ont.) Mercury:
These days, pharmacist Carla Bradshaw wonders why she's in her profession.

Since Queen's Park overhauled the Ontario Drug Benefit program in late 2006, independent pharmacists like Bradshaw have seen their earnings plunge to the point many are closing up shop or selling out.

Bradshaw, who operates Remedy's Rx in the medical complex on Guelph's Westmount Road, is tempted to follow suit.

"It's hit hard," said Bradshaw, who has owned the business for nine years. "It's barely worthwhile for me to stay open as an independent pharmacist."

The changes that came into effect in October 2006 under Bill 102 reduced the government's cost of providing drug coverage to 2.2 million Ontarians. Among those, the list included seniors and people on disability support or social assistance.

The estimated yearly savings to the government is $277 million on the $3.4 billion it spends on drugs.

The changes reduced the markup pharmacists get for selling the products of manufacturers of generic drugs, which are less expensive copies of brand-name medicines. That dropped to eight per cent from 10 per cent, the Independent Pharmacists Association of Ontario reported. ...more

Regina business changing owners after 55 years

From the Regina Leader Post:
After 55 years of ownership by the Ast family, Hill Avenue Drugs has been sold.

But don't mention retirement to Dean Ast.

"Please do not say that I'm retiring," said the 46-year-old pharmacist with a laugh. "It was time for a change but I'm not retiring. Obviously pharmacy and health care are still interests."

Andrew Gilbertson became the store's new owner on April 1 but he's not a new face behind the dispensary. The pharmacist has worked with Ast for almost four years.

"We had talked about a buyout and some time last year it felt right to sell," Ast said. ...more

Medicine man wanted Munday officials work to lure pharmacist

Here's an older article that I wanted to post because I don't think I've ever heard of a town be so aggressive in the pursuit of an independent pharmacist.

From the Wichita Falls (Tex.) Times Record:
It was more than a drug store.

It was the center of life in Munday.

For decades, locals drifted into Smith Drug on Main Street for a cup of coffee, a gift for a friend's birthday and - almost as an afterthought - their prescriptions.

But in March 2006, the out-of-town owners of the store closed the business, creating a huge void that city leaders are working hard to fill, said Munday City Manager Dwayne Bearden.

"People need a pharmacy," he said. "We have one 12 miles away (in Knox City), but it's not as good as having one here. Somebody would be a hero if they could get one here."

The city, along with the Development Corporation of Munday, have been actively trying to lure a pharmacist to town by offering incentives for anyone willing to relocate and reopen the business. ...more

The demise of the corner drugstore

From the Globe and Mail:
For years, John Girgis ran a profitable drugstore in Mississauga, and felt he was doing something good for the community. But today, Mr. Girgis's store is losing so much money he's thinking about selling it to one of the big chains or closing down.

Mr. Girgis blames changes to Ontario's drug pricing regime that prohibited an estimated $500-million in annual rebates that flowed to him and other pharmacists from generic drug companies. Since the new law came into effect this year, Mr. Girgis was cut off from thousands of dollars a year, a crucial stream of revenue for his pharmacy.

"We've been here 11 years and we're part of the community - just to pack up and leave would be devastating to a lot of people," he says. While his business has slid into the red, a Shoppers Drug Mart down the street seems to be thriving.

Mr. Girgis isn't the only independent pharmacist to feel the heat. A study on generic drug pricing issued last week by the federal Competition Bureau will give druggists across Canada more reason to fret. ...more

Part D killing small pharmacies

It's not a Canadian story, but I thought it would be a good idea to mention some of the difficulties that independent pharmacies are feeling in the States. Would a Canadian national pharmacare program have similar issues? I think it's possible.

From Newsday (NY):
While I was on the phone with Frank Deluco, a Staten Island pharmacist, he had a typical emergency.

The customer was in pain and needed his prescription quickly but couldn't figure out his benefits under Part D. Deluco filled the prescription and helped relieve the elderly customer's pain and confusion.

But Deluco, 56, whose Delco Pharmacy has been in business 40 years, may be a dying breed; thousands of neighborhood drugstores like his represent an endangered species. Deluco explained one reason why: A 90-day supply of the drug for his customer costs him $216 and change, but he'll be reimbursed only about $214 by the insurer and the Pharmaceutical Benefit Manager (PBM) he deals with.

"We're supposed to make at least $10 or $15 as a dispensing fee," he said. "But we get $1.50 or $2, so we lose money most of the time and we have no power to get a better price from the PBMs. And they're often late in paying us for the prescriptions we fill." ...more

The Corner Drugstore, Barely Clinging to Health

Here's a good article regarding the state of American independent retail pharmacy. There are some definite parallels to the Canadian retail scene.

From the Washington Post:
Cheri Garvin and her staff at Leesburg Pharmacy will mix pediatric reflux medicine from scratch, in any flavor a child desires. If peppermint doesn't suit, she has peaches and cream, pina colada, pineapple -- and those are just the Ps. And the kids get an advance taste, ice-cream-parlor style. "We want to make Mom's job of getting it down them easier," said Garvin, a mother of two young boys. "We'll mix Tutti-Frutti if that's what it takes."

"What it takes" is a mantra for Garvin, a community pharmacist in a world being overtaken by chain stores and, increasingly, mail-order warehouses. She has survived by turning her brick-and-glass storefront in the Virginia Village strip mall into a refuge for anyone whose health-care needs don't fit within the template of the big-box economy.

Sandy Bishop drove her daughter Elizabeth, 14, eight miles from Ashburn, past a dozen pharmacies, to buy a brace for her ankle, which she sprained while playing lacrosse. "They have a much better selection here than Wal-Mart," said Elizabeth. Parents of autistic children, who are sensitive to many additives, come here to have their medicine specially mixed, allergen-free, in the pharmacy's state-of-the-art compounding lab. People with questions about medications can ask them at an out-of-the-way consultation counter. "I feel like I can actually talk to someone without those horrendous lines at CVS where everyone hears you," Sandy Bishop said. And if your baby has runaway diaper rash, Leesburg Pharmacy has an acclaimed homemade remedy with an unvarnished name: Robert's Butt Paste. Try asking your mail-order drug plan for that. ...more