Pictured above, Sonia Martinez of Marco Drugs and Compounding in Miami, Florida is one of a number of women pharmacy owners working to educate pharmacy students about the opportunity to own a community pharmacy.  

Cardinal Health, a FORTUNE 19 company based in Dublin, Ohio that specializes in health care supply chain services and products, has partnered with the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) to launch the Women in Pharmacy Initiative, designed to inspire, facilitate and support women's participation in and ownership of community pharmacies through mentoring and networking opportunities, business acumen training and best practice sharing. As a starting point, the initiative will use NCPA’s student chapters to identify and encourage pharmacy students to consider careers in community pharmacy and pharmacy ownership. To help inspire students, the program will share success stories of Cardinal Health’s most successful female pharmacy owners through a series of print advertisements in student-focused pharmacy publications. In the near future, high-potential students will have the opportunity to get “hands on” experience in ownership through internships and mentoring relationships.

Since community pharmacies are playing an increasingly important role in providing patient counseling and ensuring safe medication use, Cardinal Health wants to maximize the number of women who are aware of business opportunities in this arena. “Today, the vast majority of community pharmacy owners are men, even though women comprise about half of all practicing pharmacists. To support the long-term viability of community pharmacies, we need to do more as an industry to encourage women to consider owning their own pharmacy,” said Mike Kaufmann, CEO of Cardinal Health’s pharmaceutical segment.

According to the NCPA, the independent pharmacy sector represents a $92.8 billion marketplace. Furthermore, the field of pharmacy ranks the second highest best-paying career field for women overall. (Female physicians and surgeons top the list at number one.) According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, female pharmacists make a median of $83,500 annually. Women comprise 48% of the pharmacy profession and earn 83% as much as male pharmacists. Although there are no available statistics regarding the number of female owners of independent pharmacies, estimates indicate that those numbers are far lower, possibly in single digits. Employment of pharmacists is expected to grow by 17 percent between the decade of 2008 and 2018, which is faster than the average for all occupations.

“Professionally, being an independent pharmacy owner has afforded me the opportunity to serve my patients as a highly clinical retail pharmacist. Personally, it has given me the flexibility to be an active and involved parent to my children,” said Kathy M. Campbell, PharmD, and owner of Medicap Pharmacy and OMC Pharmacy in Owasso, OK. “It is my hope that my involvement in the Women in Pharmacy Initiative will empower and educate women throughout pharmacy to see ownership as a rewarding and preferred career path.”

Cardinal Health’s Pharmacy Ownership and Transition Strategies team runs a complementary program that works with pharmacy schools around the country to provide support to students interested in owning pharmacies. In 2011, Cardinal Health also launched a $1.1 million scholarship program, directed primarily toward schools that offer curricula focused on operating independent pharmacies.

Resource Websites:

Cardinal Health www.cardinalhealth.com 

National Community Pharmacists Association www.ncpanet.org 

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 Have you ever visited one of the convenient healthcare clinics around Columbus? Recently, I took my son for a routine sports physical at the OSU Fast Care Clinic in Gahanna. At first, I was a little apprehensive about taking him to a “clinic” versus his primary doctor. However, we could not wait three weeks to see his doctor. Like many of my friends and colleagues who are busy moms and business executives, juggling work and family life, I needed a convenient, competent and cost effective place to take my son. I was pleasantly surprised with our experience at the OSU Fast Care Clinic so have decided to share it with The Women’s Book's network of readers.

What made our experience most enjoyable was the time and attention we received from the Certified Nurse Practitioner (CNP) and that our medical records were already in the system. If you have ever been a patient at OSUMC, your records can be accessed at the Fast Care Clinics in order to maintain continuity of care with your primary doctor. 

According to Daniel Like, Chief Operating Officer of Ambulatory Services at the Ohio State University Medical Center, the Fast Care Clinics are designed “to provide acute health care services to the community that foster preventative and primary care. Fast Care Clinics are strategically placed near OSU Care Point Centers or other OSUMC primary care offices to provide patients with convenient, comprehensive and coordinated care.”

I asked Dan about the appeal of an OSU Fast Care Clinic and he said that “Fast Care Clinics are an extension of The Ohio State University Medical Center. So, instead of competing with care, the Fast Care Clinics provide a front door of primary care to patients, as well as an option for those who may not have healthcare insurance or receive primary care regularly. Our Fast Care Clinics provide friendly customer service, individualized treatments, and referrals for community based primary care.”

Since Fast Care Clinics opened there doors in November 2010, they have received over 5200 visits. Currently there are only two Fast Care Clinics in Central Ohio; both are located in Giant Eagle Stores in Gahanna and the Kingsdale Center. According to Dan,  OSUMC has signed a collaborative agreement with Kroger’s Little Clinic in Lewis Center to provide physician oversight for their convenient care clinic.  This Little Clinic is in the same development as OSU Medical Center’s CarePoint Lewis Center – which opened in November 2010. 

The services offered at Fast Care Clinics range from lab tests such as pregnancy tests, strep and flu to treatments of swimmer’s ear, sinus infections, upper respiratory infections and physicals.

If you are ever in need for convenient acute health care, I recommend you visit an OSU Fast Care Clinic near you. It’s convenient, cost effective and the customer service is excellent. To find out more about the OSU Fast Care Clinics and the services they offer, please visit their website at http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/patientcare/hospitals_locations/fast_care_clinics/Pages/index.aspx.  

TaLisa Sheppard is the VP of Operations for The Women's Book.  Learn more at www.thewomensbook.com