By Victoria Steele
It’s been just over a week since I attended the Pharmacy Business Conference at the Hilton Hotel, Wembley and my reflections on the day are incredibly positive.
In my opinion, it is a must-attend event for all contractors, well-established or new. Enormous amounts of information and support packed in a digestible format, which essentially demonstrated a playbook of next steps for contractors.
The day consisted of a mixture of panel discussions and direct presentations, all of which were meaningful and conveyed important information and ideas.
There is no doubt that the timing of the conference couldn’t have been better, falling as it did in the week of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework Settlement announcement. I (and I think many others) were unsure as to the potential mood of the room on the day, but there needn’t have been any worry, Shailesh Solanki welcomed everyone to the conference, introduced a short video from Wes Streeting and handed straight over to Reena Barai to Chair the day, which she did beautifully. She described in such candid and honest terms how the last few months/years have been a struggle for her and the personal toll of this. The power and impact of such a well-known and admired pharmacist leaning straight into her very real struggles in such an open and honest fashion was compelling.
David Webb delivered the initial keynote speech and reminded us, amongst other things, that we (pharmacy professionals) all came into this business to make a difference and improve patient outcomes. Helpful opening thoughts in the context of the day.
The first panel discussion saw Fin McCaul moderating a fascinating conversation regarding the adoption of technology in community pharmacy. He was supported by Yasmin Karsan and Pritee Panchmatia. The discussion was absorbing and simply put, this is/has to be the future. All gave enlightening examples of how they have embraced and adopted technology in their pharmacies. Yasmin is a force of nature and she discussed the creation of her Clinical Documentation Tool and how that has helped her consultation documentation. Fin and Pritee described the steps they took to embrace technology and gave simple but excellent advice. Utilising all the team’s talent (particularly the tech savvy ones) and making good choices when choosing suppliers, ensuring that everything communicates well together as interoperability will always be key. And finally, learning to trust the system and remembering small steps will become big steps and bring big change over time.
I enjoyed Adele Curran’s presentation, incredibly straightforward detailing the power of data and drilling into the detail to understand exactly where your pharmacy income is coming from, or not, in some cases. This detailed and simple information helps to direct energies to the correct part of the business – which is invaluable.
The panels and presentations that followed were equally insightful. Michelle Riddalls reminded everyone of the importance of the use of OTCs and how many people in the UK self-treat conditions. This sometimes neglected income stream needs focus and attention.
I particularly found the Service Optimisation panel talk fascinating. At LloydsPharmacy, I was always envious of the adaptability of smaller contractors, being able to flex to the needs of their community quickly and this panel really demonstrated how small and larger contractors managed to do this. However, the key takeaway for me was the same irrespective of size. What does your community need and how are you meeting that need?
Wole Ososami’s description of his business plan, execution and subsequent growth and expansion of his business was incredible and he urged everyone to lead with courage, which resonated enormously with me.
Amerjit Singh moderated the final panel talk surrounding the appropriate use of skill mix and included the uptake and use of independent prescribers in community pharmacy. Game changing was the description given. To facilitate the power of this, there needs to be the correct use of skill mix in your team, discussed perfectly by Nicola Stockman.
Janet Morrison gave an impassioned speech regarding the new contractual framework and helped demystify the negotiations and next steps. An expert panel rounded up the day and really helped with some final thoughts, particularly around delivering well on the new contract and some definite bug bears around stopping providing services for free!
In summary, I think the whole day was a masterclass in how to move your business forward in what have been (and continue to be) challenging times.
My list of questions to contractors following the conference would be as follows.
- When are you going to start working with an IP (if you aren’t already)?
- What are you going to delegate to your team? What training do they need to support you?
- What technology do you need to invest in? How will you adopt this safely?
- Which services are missing from your community or how could your community be served better?
- Are you maximising all your income streams?
- What is your data telling you?
- How do the answers to all these questions help to formulate your business plan?
- And finally, how are you going to market yourself, your teams and your services?
If this all sounds a little daunting, start small and remember, community pharmacy is full of fantastic individuals, who joined this profession (like David said) to make a difference in other people’s lives. Many people have been there and done that and are very willing to help with advice, so reach out, grow your network and ask for any support you feel you need.
Victoria Steele is the Founder and Director of Steelier Ltd and the ex -superintendent of LloydsPharmacy
