March 29, 2023 • 19 mins
Host: Monsignor David Rubino, Ph.D.
Guest: Dr. Tim Zurn, Pharmacy Manager of LECOM Pharmacy
Dr. Tim Zurn discusses the differences between LECOM pharmacies and chain pharmacies, taking time to explain different medications to patients, and working with physicians and insurance companies.
________
Please visit LECOM.edu for to learn more about the educational opportunities available at our institution.
Guest: Dr. Tim Zurn, Pharmacy Manager of LECOM Pharmacy
Dr. Tim Zurn discusses the differences between LECOM pharmacies and chain pharmacies, taking time to explain different medications to patients, and working with physicians and insurance companies.
________
Please visit LECOM.edu for to learn more about the educational opportunities available at our institution.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
You're listening to lee COOM presents Heroes in Training. The
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, also known as lee COOM,
has been providing training to heroes all across the globe
since nineteen ninety three. This podcast gives you an insider
look at the stories of triumph and hope from both
(00:22):
former students and faculty, helping you decide if Leecom is
the right choice for your higher education. Let's start the show.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Welcome to lee Calm Health Matters. Our guest today is
our good friend, doctor Timothy Zern, who is the lead
pharmist of Leecom Pharmacies. So Tim, welcome to Leecom Health Matters.
It's a joy to have you with us today and
we thank you for your time.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Well, thank you for having me. The pleasure is online, Well, it.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Is indeed mine. Now, Tim, could you tell the audience
precisely what your role is in our Leecom pharmacy system.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Well, as a pharmacy manager, I've got to oversee the
day to day operations and the long term operations of
our outpatient pharmacy, which means basically ensuring that whoever comes
to our pharmacy gets the appropriate medication, appropriate medication counseling
that would be needed. Answer any questions I possibly can.
At the same time, I've got to direct the the
(01:23):
daily activities of the technical staff, facilitate the learning process
of some of our pharmacy students and residents that rotate
through here, as well as look at the long term
financial situation and kind of get us steering in the
right direction.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Now, Tim, we have how many pharmacies that we currently
operate outpatient pharmat.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
There are two. There's Colonial Family Pharmacy number one, which
is located on thirty eighth and Colonial, and there is ours,
which is Colonial Family Pharmacy Number two, which initially was
Leecrome Health Outpatient Pharmacy, which we later renamed due to
there was a kind of a public opinion that because
(02:07):
it was LEECLM Health out patient pharmacy, it was closed
only to Leecom employees, which is not the case. We
are open to everyone in the public.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
And you manage both of those, correct, No.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
I manage number two, which is five to seven two
Peach Street location. Bob Heath is the manager at Colonial
Family Pharmacy number one.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
And Bob basically shares the same kind of responsibilities that
you do at both colonial one and two. Correct, Now, tim,
When I drive by our pharmacies and then I drive
by some of the other chain pharmacies in tom which
they appear virtually on every block, it seems like they're
obviously much much larger. Why should I go to a
(02:54):
smaller pharmacy as opposed to the chain pharmacy? I mean,
what's the advantage of a small farm to see operation
like ours compared to these massive chain pharmacies.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
Well, I think the first thing is when you walk
into the door of a small pharmacy like ours, we
know who you are.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Oh, yes, you do. I can attest to that unless.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
You do it. Yeah, sometimes we hide from you, other
times than not so much. But no, we know people
as walming through the door. So you call us. I
don't know if you've ever called one of the larger
pharmacies or these chain pharmacies, but you'll spend a little
bit of time on an automated message and you'll have
to navigate through that. Sometimes you can't even get through
(03:38):
with us. You can pick up the phone and call us.
You're going to talk to a person probably after two
or three rings. So I think it's very important, especially
in this day and age when the medication therapies are
becoming more and more complex, that the pharmacist and the
patient they have kind of a you know, they have
a working relationship where I know a little bit about them,
(03:59):
they know about me, and they feel comfortable, We feel
composed each other, and we can guide them through their
medication therapy optimizing their outcomes.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
So obviously one of the major advantages then is that
they'll know my name when I walk through the door,
or if I walk through the door enough, they'll get
to know who I am and what.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
My needs are, right, and we can get you in
and out probably in about five minutes as opposed to
an hour or sometimes even longer with some of the
chain pharmacies.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
And then tim as you mentioned before, although they advertise
that they do that, and my purpose there is not
to be adversarial to any of the chain pharmacies. They
serve a very specific purpose. But in terms of pharmacy
counseling and pharmacy education, I'm sure they offer it, but
I would think even the size that we have in
terms of our pharmacies, our patient counseling and patient education
(04:54):
is somewhat unique and surely far more personable.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
I would agree with you. Again, I'm biased, but I
think it's a little it's quite a bit more personalized.
You're not just taking thirty seconds from a pharmacist who's
got three phones ringing in the background for people waiting
to talk to them, and so on and so forth.
We have the time to sit down with you. We
actually here at Colonial Family Pharmacy Number two, we have
(05:20):
a private room where we can actually sit down and
discuss in depth or medications. So I think we do
go that extra step, and we're able to go that
extra step because of our small pharmacy field.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
So I'm going to get in a sense, personalized service,
and I'm going to be treated as one who is
known by you and your staff when I go to
one of our two pharmacies. The other one absolutely that
is patient education. Medications clearly are becoming far more complicated,
and I believe as people age, they're taking more medications.
(05:56):
Would your team sit down with someone who is simply
blatantly confused us over they get out of the hospital,
they just had a procedure done, and they walk away
with a list of five medications with generic names that
they can't understand. Would your folks take time to sit
down and explain to them how to take the medication,
how to schedule themselves forward, and what the hopeful outcome
(06:17):
of it is.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Oh. Absolutely, a lot of times we will do that
without even asking, without the patient asking us. We just
want to make sure that they have a clear understanding
of why they're taking their medications, how they're to take
their medications, And sometimes we'll sit down and we'll map
it out on a piece of paper for them to
tell them they should be taking this in the morning,
(06:41):
they should avoid food with this, so on and so forth.
So when they walk out of here, they're going to
get the best outcome while taking those medications. I know
sometimes again I don't want to bash chains either, but
the pharmacists there don't have that kind of time to
sit down with the patients and kind of develop a
roadmap them to take their medications to ensure that they
(07:02):
have the best outcomes. But we here we have the
ability to do it. We've also done it for folks
that aren't even our patients. They've called us and we've
looked at their medication that they're on and we talked
about it, and we laid out a plan for.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Them, and so they aside from walking out with the
particular medication that they need, they can be assured that
they're walking out with an understanding of how to take
it and what it should hopefully do. And if they
were home and they had a question, should they feel
comfortable calling and simply saying doctor Sarn, I'm just confused
(07:35):
about A B and C or I'm having this reaction?
Is that normal?
Speaker 3 (07:40):
Oh? Absolutely? When they walk out the door, we also
let them know that if you have any more questions
beyond what we've discussed, feel free to give us a
call and they can get a hold of us. Like
I said, they'll call us. First couple few rings. A
person's going to pick up and talk to them, and
they'll transfer them over to one of the pharmacists here
and we'll take care of any questions that they may have.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
And then we have student pharmacists too who can also
assist in the process, who are far long enough in
their training that they're able to provide quality and compassion
adhere to these patients as well.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Oh, exactly. We get pharmacy students at all levels of
their education and they kind of see how it works
in an independent pharmacy. I would I think they rather
like it because they do enjoy talking with the medical
professionals as well as the patients and the patient family.
So it's it's a good opportunity for them.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
As a successful healthcare business professional. Earning a doctorate degree
may seem out of reach. Think again. Lee Comm's Doctor
of Healthcare Administration degree program makes it possible through their
School of Health Services Administration. This flexible and affordable, six
semester terminal degree centers around next generation healthcare systems, including
harnessing artificial intelligence, virtual medicine, and applying advanced data analytics
(09:04):
to enhance complex problem solving and research abilities. Courses are
delivered through a dynamic online learning platform available twenty four
to seven. Email Shsa at lee Comm dot edu to
begin your journey of discovery and make becoming a doctor
part of your future. Again, that's Shsa at lee Comm
dot edu. Classes are now forming at lecom. We know
(09:27):
wellness and we are teaching the business of healthcare. This
message is brought to you by Lecom, a nonprofit organization.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Now, we should be clear with the audience so that
when they go to our pharmacies. They are in the
sense dispensing medications, and that's pretty much the extent of
what we do, which is obviously a full time commitment
on our part. But it's not like a place you
could walk into get greeting cards and magazines and things
like that. We do not do that. We're serving our
(09:56):
patient's medicine needs correct.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Correct prescription, and we do have a small available over
the counter offering as well. However, if there's something that
is not on the shelf that they would like us
to procure, we'll see if we can get it from
our wholesale the and we can usually have that in
next day for them. So just because we have a
small over the counter offering does not mean that is it.
(10:20):
If they have a question about anything, I want to
know if we can get it, we can certainly you know,
look that up and probably I would say about seventy
percent of the over the counter medications that we order
in for our patients we don't have here on the shelf.
So we just you know, we're a small place, so
we were able to get stuff in next day for
(10:40):
them though.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
And really even though we're a small shop, it's fair
to say that we can provide the medications that people
need from A to Z. They may not get it
as soon as they walk in the door. They may
have to wait a day, but that wouldn't be a
problem for us filling a prescription with say twenty four
hour notice.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
Right Typically, anything that is needed urgently at that time
we can take care of. We have the most common
urgently needed things, but if it's stuck that can wait
a day or so, we can Usually we can get
that in normally no problem. Now there are some supply
chain issues and so on and so forth ever since
COVID that have kind of put a monkey wrench in that.
(11:25):
But for the most part, we can get it next day.
And then if it is something that we don't have
on our shelf but the patient needs, we do have
the ability to reach out to our other pharmacy and
we have other avenues that we can we can go
down to ensure that the patient gets the medication that
they need when they need it.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Well, I can attest that has happened to me when
I've gone in to get something revealed and they can't
fill the whole bottle of thirty, say, but I need
one or two to get through the day or get
through the next day. That's exactly what they'll do. I'll
get the one or two and then come back the
next day the prescription will be filled. And it doesn't
take a whole lot of time, but would seem like,
you know, the time they would go and check and
(12:08):
tell me I can't have my full prescription and get
the one and two. It happens just as quickly as
if I was just going in and picking it up,
and often as I've just been prepared that when I've
gone in the first thing they'll say is we had
to order this, but here's a couple of pills to
get through the next day or two, right.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
And the last thing that we want to do and
we never want to see this actually is a patient
walking out the door not having what they need.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Now, I have to ask the question, and I know
it's a horrifically complicated question, and if you could guide
us through it would be helpful. Obviously, medicines are not cheap.
How do we compare to other pharmacies or is that
even a fair question? Relative to cost?
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Well, I think we compare favorably, at least that's the
feedback I received from our customers. Now, we don't take
good RX like Giant, Eaglewood or maybe Rite Aid something
like that. The reason we don't do that is because
good our X they they put a processing fee on
top of that. And also the information that you provide
(13:19):
with our X is sold to well, to whomever you know,
they're they're selling the information too, so your information is
out there.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
For a second. What is good our X, Well, that's.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
That's a discount card that you see advertised basically for
folks that don't have insurance, you can go ahead and
use this good RX card and it will bring the
copay or your cost of the medication down when you're
going to the pharmacy. So it's kind of a discount
card to be used in place of insurance.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
But we accept a variety of insurances as well.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
Oh yeah, we accept pretty much all insurances. There are
a few exceptions, and those few exceptions again are not
on our part. But these insurance companies they're getting the
they're getting to be pretty tricky to deal with where
they actually will exclude pharmacies from you know, being on
their preferred list. So it's nothing that we do, it's
(14:16):
just the insurance company. I've actually called insurance companies and
I'll tell us you, I'm sorry, that's it's a closed,
you know, pharmacy situation and you're not on it. So, oh,
I think we again get that. I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
I think we've all read into that where you know,
you go to get X prescription and then it's simply
not available or the cost is ridiculously high because it's
not on someone's formulary list. On the other hand, the
thing that surprises me is that within three or four
months period, the variety of charges you get for the
same medication.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
Right, the insurance companies will adjust their copas, usually three
to four times a year, so you might go in
one day pay you know, four ninety five for a
thirty day supply. The next time it might be you know,
a dollar eighty five, or it might be six dollars.
So insurance companies, again, we process the prescription electronically. It
(15:15):
goes right out to the insurance company. We get a
label and the price is put on there from the
insurance company. We don't do any manipulation of that when
it's sent through the insurance.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Right once it goes to assurance, we're sort of helpless
service aren't we.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Yeah, we are.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
And over the years you've been doing this for a while,
hasn't gotten far more complicated in dealing with these companies,
these insurance companies about payment for medicines.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
Oh, exceedingly it's And unfortunately, the reason why you're not
seeing a lot of small independent pharmacies anymore is because
of insurance companies. They're paying less than the cost of
the medication for us to get in. So it's really
not a good formula as far as you know, make
money goes. But yeah, they dealing with insurance, the medication
(16:05):
therapies themselves, operating a pharmacy, it's become exceedingly complex.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Well, and I think Tim, that's to your earlier point.
And again the purpose here is not to criticize major
chain pharmacies, but full disclosure, I go to the lecom
pharmacies and there have been times when there have been
insurance questions and they have been handled appropriately and handled
(16:32):
well and handled expeditiously. And I think that's one of
the marketing edges of what we do because let's face it,
if I go to a major chain pharmacy, they have
thousands of customers, you know, in limited workforces to meet
and to fill those needs are different. They sit with you,
they'll work through with you. It may take, you know,
(16:54):
a little bit of time working with the insurance company,
but it's not because a person is not working with you.
It's the other I think, which generally takes time, and
that's the insurance people. So we do provide that we're
going to tell you what you're taking and why, and
if we have to walk you through an insurance challenge,
which there seem to be more and more and more of,
we're there to do that in a compassionate and a
(17:15):
caring way, and I think that's an advantage.
Speaker 3 (17:20):
I agree. The other nice thing about us being affiliated
with the League on Health System is we know a
lot of the docs that we're getting prescriptions from, so
if we have an insurance issue right up front, we're
able to reach out to the position to perhaps change
the therapy or talk to them about alternatives, so we
can kind of smooth out that process and it becomes
(17:42):
a lot quicker turnaround than just waiting maybe a week
or so from maybe another pharmacy or something like that.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
And I think Tim I'd like to end on the
point that the pharmacies that we operate our endpoint effect
open to everybody. For some reason, I encounter people on
this street and the word Leecom pharmacy comes up, and
it seems like they think, well, you have to be
a Leecom staff member, where you have to be in
(18:11):
a senior facility, or you have to have just come
from the hospital. Not true. They are open to anyone
who walks in the door.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
Yes, that's absolutely correct. And if you're not especially pleased
with your current pharmacy or the service you're getting from
your current pharmacy, all it would take would be a
phone call to us, and we can certainly talk with
you for a little bit. It's not going to obligate
you to anything. We can and if you decided that
you did want to switch to us or try us,
(18:41):
we can handle that with one phone call. And again
it obligates you to nothing, and if it's not working out,
we can certainly transfer it back. You know, we would
just like to know serve you and your families.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
And we do that well. And so anybody who wants
to go to Leecon Pharmacy, you are most welcome. Make
a phone call and they'll walk you through the process.
Tim I want to thank you for your time today.
Our guest today has been Tim Zer, Pharmacy manager of
Leecom Pharmacies. We wish all of you well and this
is Monseigne Rabino for Leecom Health
You're listening to lee COOM presents Heroes in Training. The
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, also known as lee COOM,
has been providing training to heroes all across the globe
since nineteen ninety three. This podcast gives you an insider
look at the stories of triumph and hope from both
(00:22):
former students and faculty, helping you decide if Leecom is
the right choice for your higher education. Let's start the show.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Welcome to lee Calm Health Matters. Our guest today is
our good friend, doctor Timothy Zern, who is the lead
pharmist of Leecom Pharmacies. So Tim, welcome to Leecom Health Matters.
It's a joy to have you with us today and
we thank you for your time.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Well, thank you for having me. The pleasure is online, Well, it.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Is indeed mine. Now, Tim, could you tell the audience
precisely what your role is in our Leecom pharmacy system.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Well, as a pharmacy manager, I've got to oversee the
day to day operations and the long term operations of
our outpatient pharmacy, which means basically ensuring that whoever comes
to our pharmacy gets the appropriate medication, appropriate medication counseling
that would be needed. Answer any questions I possibly can.
At the same time, I've got to direct the the
(01:23):
daily activities of the technical staff, facilitate the learning process
of some of our pharmacy students and residents that rotate
through here, as well as look at the long term
financial situation and kind of get us steering in the
right direction.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Now, Tim, we have how many pharmacies that we currently
operate outpatient pharmat.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
There are two. There's Colonial Family Pharmacy number one, which
is located on thirty eighth and Colonial, and there is ours,
which is Colonial Family Pharmacy Number two, which initially was
Leecrome Health Outpatient Pharmacy, which we later renamed due to
there was a kind of a public opinion that because
(02:07):
it was LEECLM Health out patient pharmacy, it was closed
only to Leecom employees, which is not the case. We
are open to everyone in the public.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
And you manage both of those, correct, No.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
I manage number two, which is five to seven two
Peach Street location. Bob Heath is the manager at Colonial
Family Pharmacy number one.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
And Bob basically shares the same kind of responsibilities that
you do at both colonial one and two. Correct, Now, tim,
When I drive by our pharmacies and then I drive
by some of the other chain pharmacies in tom which
they appear virtually on every block, it seems like they're
obviously much much larger. Why should I go to a
(02:54):
smaller pharmacy as opposed to the chain pharmacy? I mean,
what's the advantage of a small farm to see operation
like ours compared to these massive chain pharmacies.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
Well, I think the first thing is when you walk
into the door of a small pharmacy like ours, we
know who you are.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Oh, yes, you do. I can attest to that unless.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
You do it. Yeah, sometimes we hide from you, other
times than not so much. But no, we know people
as walming through the door. So you call us. I
don't know if you've ever called one of the larger
pharmacies or these chain pharmacies, but you'll spend a little
bit of time on an automated message and you'll have
to navigate through that. Sometimes you can't even get through
(03:38):
with us. You can pick up the phone and call us.
You're going to talk to a person probably after two
or three rings. So I think it's very important, especially
in this day and age when the medication therapies are
becoming more and more complex, that the pharmacist and the
patient they have kind of a you know, they have
a working relationship where I know a little bit about them,
(03:59):
they know about me, and they feel comfortable, We feel
composed each other, and we can guide them through their
medication therapy optimizing their outcomes.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
So obviously one of the major advantages then is that
they'll know my name when I walk through the door,
or if I walk through the door enough, they'll get
to know who I am and what.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
My needs are, right, and we can get you in
and out probably in about five minutes as opposed to
an hour or sometimes even longer with some of the
chain pharmacies.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
And then tim as you mentioned before, although they advertise
that they do that, and my purpose there is not
to be adversarial to any of the chain pharmacies. They
serve a very specific purpose. But in terms of pharmacy
counseling and pharmacy education, I'm sure they offer it, but
I would think even the size that we have in
terms of our pharmacies, our patient counseling and patient education
(04:54):
is somewhat unique and surely far more personable.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
I would agree with you. Again, I'm biased, but I
think it's a little it's quite a bit more personalized.
You're not just taking thirty seconds from a pharmacist who's
got three phones ringing in the background for people waiting
to talk to them, and so on and so forth.
We have the time to sit down with you. We
actually here at Colonial Family Pharmacy Number two, we have
(05:20):
a private room where we can actually sit down and
discuss in depth or medications. So I think we do
go that extra step, and we're able to go that
extra step because of our small pharmacy field.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
So I'm going to get in a sense, personalized service,
and I'm going to be treated as one who is
known by you and your staff when I go to
one of our two pharmacies. The other one absolutely that
is patient education. Medications clearly are becoming far more complicated,
and I believe as people age, they're taking more medications.
(05:56):
Would your team sit down with someone who is simply
blatantly confused us over they get out of the hospital,
they just had a procedure done, and they walk away
with a list of five medications with generic names that
they can't understand. Would your folks take time to sit
down and explain to them how to take the medication,
how to schedule themselves forward, and what the hopeful outcome
(06:17):
of it is.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Oh. Absolutely, a lot of times we will do that
without even asking, without the patient asking us. We just
want to make sure that they have a clear understanding
of why they're taking their medications, how they're to take
their medications, And sometimes we'll sit down and we'll map
it out on a piece of paper for them to
tell them they should be taking this in the morning,
(06:41):
they should avoid food with this, so on and so forth.
So when they walk out of here, they're going to
get the best outcome while taking those medications. I know
sometimes again I don't want to bash chains either, but
the pharmacists there don't have that kind of time to
sit down with the patients and kind of develop a
roadmap them to take their medications to ensure that they
(07:02):
have the best outcomes. But we here we have the
ability to do it. We've also done it for folks
that aren't even our patients. They've called us and we've
looked at their medication that they're on and we talked
about it, and we laid out a plan for.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Them, and so they aside from walking out with the
particular medication that they need, they can be assured that
they're walking out with an understanding of how to take
it and what it should hopefully do. And if they
were home and they had a question, should they feel
comfortable calling and simply saying doctor Sarn, I'm just confused
(07:35):
about A B and C or I'm having this reaction?
Is that normal?
Speaker 3 (07:40):
Oh? Absolutely? When they walk out the door, we also
let them know that if you have any more questions
beyond what we've discussed, feel free to give us a
call and they can get a hold of us. Like
I said, they'll call us. First couple few rings. A
person's going to pick up and talk to them, and
they'll transfer them over to one of the pharmacists here
and we'll take care of any questions that they may have.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
And then we have student pharmacists too who can also
assist in the process, who are far long enough in
their training that they're able to provide quality and compassion
adhere to these patients as well.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Oh, exactly. We get pharmacy students at all levels of
their education and they kind of see how it works
in an independent pharmacy. I would I think they rather
like it because they do enjoy talking with the medical
professionals as well as the patients and the patient family.
So it's it's a good opportunity for them.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
As a successful healthcare business professional. Earning a doctorate degree
may seem out of reach. Think again. Lee Comm's Doctor
of Healthcare Administration degree program makes it possible through their
School of Health Services Administration. This flexible and affordable, six
semester terminal degree centers around next generation healthcare systems, including
harnessing artificial intelligence, virtual medicine, and applying advanced data analytics
(09:04):
to enhance complex problem solving and research abilities. Courses are
delivered through a dynamic online learning platform available twenty four
to seven. Email Shsa at lee Comm dot edu to
begin your journey of discovery and make becoming a doctor
part of your future. Again, that's Shsa at lee Comm
dot edu. Classes are now forming at lecom. We know
(09:27):
wellness and we are teaching the business of healthcare. This
message is brought to you by Lecom, a nonprofit organization.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Now, we should be clear with the audience so that
when they go to our pharmacies. They are in the
sense dispensing medications, and that's pretty much the extent of
what we do, which is obviously a full time commitment
on our part. But it's not like a place you
could walk into get greeting cards and magazines and things
like that. We do not do that. We're serving our
(09:56):
patient's medicine needs correct.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Correct prescription, and we do have a small available over
the counter offering as well. However, if there's something that
is not on the shelf that they would like us
to procure, we'll see if we can get it from
our wholesale the and we can usually have that in
next day for them. So just because we have a
small over the counter offering does not mean that is it.
(10:20):
If they have a question about anything, I want to
know if we can get it, we can certainly you know,
look that up and probably I would say about seventy
percent of the over the counter medications that we order
in for our patients we don't have here on the shelf.
So we just you know, we're a small place, so
we were able to get stuff in next day for
(10:40):
them though.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
And really even though we're a small shop, it's fair
to say that we can provide the medications that people
need from A to Z. They may not get it
as soon as they walk in the door. They may
have to wait a day, but that wouldn't be a
problem for us filling a prescription with say twenty four
hour notice.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
Right Typically, anything that is needed urgently at that time
we can take care of. We have the most common
urgently needed things, but if it's stuck that can wait
a day or so, we can Usually we can get
that in normally no problem. Now there are some supply
chain issues and so on and so forth ever since
COVID that have kind of put a monkey wrench in that.
(11:25):
But for the most part, we can get it next day.
And then if it is something that we don't have
on our shelf but the patient needs, we do have
the ability to reach out to our other pharmacy and
we have other avenues that we can we can go
down to ensure that the patient gets the medication that
they need when they need it.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Well, I can attest that has happened to me when
I've gone in to get something revealed and they can't
fill the whole bottle of thirty, say, but I need
one or two to get through the day or get
through the next day. That's exactly what they'll do. I'll
get the one or two and then come back the
next day the prescription will be filled. And it doesn't
take a whole lot of time, but would seem like,
you know, the time they would go and check and
(12:08):
tell me I can't have my full prescription and get
the one and two. It happens just as quickly as
if I was just going in and picking it up,
and often as I've just been prepared that when I've
gone in the first thing they'll say is we had
to order this, but here's a couple of pills to
get through the next day or two, right.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
And the last thing that we want to do and
we never want to see this actually is a patient
walking out the door not having what they need.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Now, I have to ask the question, and I know
it's a horrifically complicated question, and if you could guide
us through it would be helpful. Obviously, medicines are not cheap.
How do we compare to other pharmacies or is that
even a fair question? Relative to cost?
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Well, I think we compare favorably, at least that's the
feedback I received from our customers. Now, we don't take
good RX like Giant, Eaglewood or maybe Rite Aid something
like that. The reason we don't do that is because
good our X they they put a processing fee on
top of that. And also the information that you provide
(13:19):
with our X is sold to well, to whomever you know,
they're they're selling the information too, so your information is
out there.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
For a second. What is good our X, Well, that's.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
That's a discount card that you see advertised basically for
folks that don't have insurance, you can go ahead and
use this good RX card and it will bring the
copay or your cost of the medication down when you're
going to the pharmacy. So it's kind of a discount
card to be used in place of insurance.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
But we accept a variety of insurances as well.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
Oh yeah, we accept pretty much all insurances. There are
a few exceptions, and those few exceptions again are not
on our part. But these insurance companies they're getting the
they're getting to be pretty tricky to deal with where
they actually will exclude pharmacies from you know, being on
their preferred list. So it's nothing that we do, it's
(14:16):
just the insurance company. I've actually called insurance companies and
I'll tell us you, I'm sorry, that's it's a closed,
you know, pharmacy situation and you're not on it. So, oh,
I think we again get that. I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
I think we've all read into that where you know,
you go to get X prescription and then it's simply
not available or the cost is ridiculously high because it's
not on someone's formulary list. On the other hand, the
thing that surprises me is that within three or four
months period, the variety of charges you get for the
same medication.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
Right, the insurance companies will adjust their copas, usually three
to four times a year, so you might go in
one day pay you know, four ninety five for a
thirty day supply. The next time it might be you know,
a dollar eighty five, or it might be six dollars.
So insurance companies, again, we process the prescription electronically. It
(15:15):
goes right out to the insurance company. We get a
label and the price is put on there from the
insurance company. We don't do any manipulation of that when
it's sent through the insurance.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Right once it goes to assurance, we're sort of helpless
service aren't we.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Yeah, we are.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
And over the years you've been doing this for a while,
hasn't gotten far more complicated in dealing with these companies,
these insurance companies about payment for medicines.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
Oh, exceedingly it's And unfortunately, the reason why you're not
seeing a lot of small independent pharmacies anymore is because
of insurance companies. They're paying less than the cost of
the medication for us to get in. So it's really
not a good formula as far as you know, make
money goes. But yeah, they dealing with insurance, the medication
(16:05):
therapies themselves, operating a pharmacy, it's become exceedingly complex.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Well, and I think Tim, that's to your earlier point.
And again the purpose here is not to criticize major
chain pharmacies, but full disclosure, I go to the lecom
pharmacies and there have been times when there have been
insurance questions and they have been handled appropriately and handled
(16:32):
well and handled expeditiously. And I think that's one of
the marketing edges of what we do because let's face it,
if I go to a major chain pharmacy, they have
thousands of customers, you know, in limited workforces to meet
and to fill those needs are different. They sit with you,
they'll work through with you. It may take, you know,
(16:54):
a little bit of time working with the insurance company,
but it's not because a person is not working with you.
It's the other I think, which generally takes time, and
that's the insurance people. So we do provide that we're
going to tell you what you're taking and why, and
if we have to walk you through an insurance challenge,
which there seem to be more and more and more of,
we're there to do that in a compassionate and a
(17:15):
caring way, and I think that's an advantage.
Speaker 3 (17:20):
I agree. The other nice thing about us being affiliated
with the League on Health System is we know a
lot of the docs that we're getting prescriptions from, so
if we have an insurance issue right up front, we're
able to reach out to the position to perhaps change
the therapy or talk to them about alternatives, so we
can kind of smooth out that process and it becomes
(17:42):
a lot quicker turnaround than just waiting maybe a week
or so from maybe another pharmacy or something like that.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
And I think Tim I'd like to end on the
point that the pharmacies that we operate our endpoint effect
open to everybody. For some reason, I encounter people on
this street and the word Leecom pharmacy comes up, and
it seems like they think, well, you have to be
a Leecom staff member, where you have to be in
(18:11):
a senior facility, or you have to have just come
from the hospital. Not true. They are open to anyone
who walks in the door.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
Yes, that's absolutely correct. And if you're not especially pleased
with your current pharmacy or the service you're getting from
your current pharmacy, all it would take would be a
phone call to us, and we can certainly talk with
you for a little bit. It's not going to obligate
you to anything. We can and if you decided that
you did want to switch to us or try us,
(18:41):
we can handle that with one phone call. And again
it obligates you to nothing, and if it's not working out,
we can certainly transfer it back. You know, we would
just like to know serve you and your families.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
And we do that well. And so anybody who wants
to go to Leecon Pharmacy, you are most welcome. Make
a phone call and they'll walk you through the process.
Tim I want to thank you for your time today.
Our guest today has been Tim Zer, Pharmacy manager of
Leecom Pharmacies. We wish all of you well and this
is Monseigne Rabino for Leecom Health
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