I came across this article which mentions something we’ve read in similar studies and articles that state that pharmacists are the top, or in the top three usually, most trusted professions. I wonder if we still feel this to be the case for a couple reasons.

In a recent post I mention the move toward discount pharmacies. While this may have some positives for the public on their bottom line when visiting the pharmacy, there are somedraw backs I will discuss later, but for now I want to focus on the issue of trust. Going back a few years, I don’t really think you need to go back to far, lets say, maybe four or five years ago, the public did not have a clear concept on drug pricing. The pharmacy would charge what they charge and that was that. Now, for those in the pharmacy profession, I think we can agree  previously we were charging reasonable prices and this helped support what is effectively a small business for the owner and all the costs involved, as well as having many staff on hand so when a customer walked in wait was minimal. Secondly, there is an onus of responsibility on the pharmacist who has also dedicated much time and expense in becoming qualified, so in line with similar professions, monetary reimbursement is expected. In general, it was a fair system. (more…)

For those in Australia, we are familiar with large chain pharmacy companies such as National Pharmacies, Chemmart, Chemplus, Amcal and so on. Now we have (relatively) newer ones such as Chemist Warehouse, United Discount Chemists, and Priceline. There seems to be a heading in a discount marketed direction, however the originals are still keeping their same banners and general ‘non-discount’ image. Do you feel this is hurting or helping the industry by marketing pharmacies as drug warehouses. These pharmacies are still providing the same counselling and professional services, but on observer may say the outfit of the store may be diminishing the professional reputation of pharmacies. (more…)