Drug Topics - April 14, 2008 - (Page 33)

www.drugtopics.com APRIL 14, 2008 DRUG TOPICS 33 Chains and Business Schnucks Pharmacy: Drug Topics’ Chain of the Year Sandra Levy I f there is one thing that Schnucks Pharmacy’s group VP of fuel and pharmacy, Mike Juergensmeyer, likes to brag about, it is the fact that the chain’s pharmacists pamper patients. “We have some very tenured pharmacists who bring a lot to the game and they have great relationships with our customers,” said Juergensmeyer. This St. Louis, Mo.-based supermarket chain offers a wide range of programs, from medicine disposal to free antibiotics, from mammography screenings to the introduction of in-store clinics. These endeavors led Drug Topics to select this stellar player as its Pharmacy Chain of the Year for 2008. Going green In January Schnucks launched a pilot medicine disposal program called RxMeds Take Back. The program is sponsored by a federal grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Schnucks has partnered with Area Resources for Community and Human Services (ARCHS) and the St. Louis College of Pharmacy as well as several other organizations. RxMeds Take Back enables customers to bring their unused medications Mike Juergensmeyer (l), Nicole Gattas, and to select stores. The pro- Bob Mueller like to lavish patients with gram includes liquids, their attention. capsules, and powder formulations, but by law excludes narcotics and other controlled substances. “This is a test program to see if we can find out what old medications patients have in their medicine cabinets and to see what our ability is to pull some of these products out of the market,” said Juergensmeyer. The program currently has 20 sites. Medications are received at 10 locations on the first of each month and 10 sites receive medications in the middle of the month during threehour sessions. Nicole Gattas, Pharm.D., clinical pharmacy coordinator at Schnucks and a professor at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy, heads the pilot program, which will end in November. Gattas said that if patients bring in a controlled substance, the pharmacist records the item and then gives the medication back to the patient with disposal instructions. “We are documenting what people have at home that they are holding onto or that they never finished in the first place. We are coming up with raw data for the EPA to move forward with. We are using students from the St. Louis College of Pharmacy to help us identify and document the medications. The students are learning something new and cutting edge,” said Gattas enthusiastically. Schnucks is also interested in participating in re- History of the chain Schnucks is a family-owned supermarket chain founded in 1939 by Anna Donovan and Edwin H. Schnuck as a small 1,000-sq.-ft. corner confectionery in north St. Louis. Schnucks opened its first pharmacy in March 1970 in south St. Louis. Today there are 100 pharmacies. The chain employs 250 pharmacists and 300 technicians. The average size of the pharmacies is 2,500 sq. ft. The chain operates in seven states: Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Tennessee, and Mississippi. Sixty five of Schnucks’ pharmacies are situated in the metro St. Louis area. Noting that Schnucks has several chains breathing down its neck, including Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, Wal-Mart, Target, Kmart, Kroger, and Dierbergs, Juergensmeyer boasted that in the last year and a half, the chain has seen its script counts increase by 4%. “Sales have continually grown,” asserted Juergensmeyer. The centerpiece of Schnucks’ strategy for success is having a staff of dedicated pharmacists who offer a wide array of services that provide value to the pharmacy’s customers, explained Juergensmeyer. “We’ve had a very good relationship in the communities we serve,” he said. Armed with the slogan, “Pharmacists You Know, Care You Can Trust,” the chain has developed Schnucks Diabetes Care, a comprehensive diabetes education program. Patients receive counseling from a pharmacist, a nutritionist, and a nurse. “They learn how to adhere to a program and make lifestyle changes to mitigate their disease,” explained Juergensmeyer. Photo: Mark Gilliland/Black Star http://www.drugtopics.com

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Drug Topics - March 14, 2008 Contents Latebreakers Letters: Students Need Grounding in Chemistry Pharmacy Directors Wary of Heparin Shortages Some E-prescribing Standards are Ready to Go, Others are Not News Briefs Nanotechnology: Big Stakes in a Small World Pay for Performance is Coming to Pharmacy Patient Safety Organizations Still Very Much in Planning Stage Reconciling Medications in Specialty Patients Poses More Challenges Pharmacy Outsourcing Still Much in Use by Hospitals Studied Extensively, New Drug-Eluting Stent Said to be Very Safe Prevention is Key in Treating C. Difficile Infections E-prescribing Grows in Massachusetts, but Other States Lag Behind Active Metabolite Gives New Life to Antidepressant NSAIDS not Recommended for Long-term Use in Osteoarthritis This Time R.Ph.s and States Are Ready for Tamper-Resistant Rx Pads Cardinal Caught Between DEA and Pharmacies over Diversion Control Medicating Kids: Still More Questions than Answers Schnucks Pharmacy: Drug Topics' Chain of the Year Panel Will Ask for a System for R.Ph. Practice Across State Lines FDA Safety Page: How to use Fentora Safely The Shining OTC/HBC Stars of 2007 Take a Look at These OTCs for Eye Health Technology Update: Google Offers a Sneak Peak at its Electronic Records Initiative Recent Advancements in HIV/AIDS Treatment New Products Advertisers Index Classified Viewpoint: Are State Boards of Pharmacy Abusing Their Power?

Drug Topics - April 14, 2008

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