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Personal service remains the bailiwick of independent community pharmacies. In fact, for many consumers, that’s the chief reason for choosing an independent drug store over a chain pharmacy.
The National Community Pharmacists Association highlights independents’ personal touch in a video profile of Theresa Tolle, owner of Bay Street Pharmacy in Sebastian, Fla., the only independent pharmacy in the Sebastian River area of approximately 45,000 people on Florida’s Atlantic coast.
“One of the ways Bay Street Pharmacy makes a difference is that we get to know our patients. We know them on a first-name basis when they come in the pharmacy,” Tolle said in the video. “They trust us, so they come in and ask questions. If something’s not going right, often the pharmacist is the first line — even before the physician — because we’re so easy to get to.”
Besides filling prescriptions and providing medication consultations, Bay Street Pharmacy offers a home health line of durable medical equipment and specialty products for people with diabetes. Each month, the pharmacy also hosts a diabetes club in which trained professionals educate patients about nutrition and exercise.
“Patients often say they choose to rely on independent community pharmacies because they are treated like family and that they want to support their local community and economy,” NCPA chief executive officer B. Douglas Hoey commented. “Theresa’s story and the care provided by her pharmacy perfectly illustrate that dynamic.”
