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Member 376782 · 02-15-2011, 12:51 PM

Now this is my department!

First off, the profit margin for the industry of pharmacy in general is amazing. It's the greed that gets them shut down more than Walgreen's, CVS, ect.

Opening a pharmacy can be a headache, but very rewarding. My advice on paperwork, do it right the first time. I read over and cross T's for all my clients. Sending paperwork to the DEA with the wrong address, even by a letter (you put E and not NE) can really delay all approvals, just as an example.

Now, I would say the most time consuming and frustrating, to say the least, part of opening a pharmacy from scratch is the contracting, unless you have retail space already. The second most frustrating thing would be marketing and building up a client base. Walgreen's and CVS, by far, do NOT rule the pharmacy world, they just pretend they do and they say "fake it till you make it!". My entire family, Uncles, Aunts, and even cousins work at Walgreens. It's not peaches and cream. I would venture to say Walgreen's, a single store, has more monthly complaints than all the independent pharmacies in any given zip code in the US. Customer service and ONE ON ONE time are what will make you or break you. Pay attention to your patients. Care for them and make sure they know their pharmacist is there for them. Walgreen's not only wont do that, they cant with the volume they do. My motto is repeat business comes from customer service, not controls. The last thing you need to worry about is staying above water. The 100-150 figure is OUTSTANDING. Well done sir! I would not expect that, ever. The benefit to owning your own is you pick and chose who you buy your medications from. A lot of suppliers have whats called short sales. If a particular medication is going to expire, suppliers will sell them at a huge discount... just make sure they get dispensed before they expire, lol.

In my opinion, it's best when you own your own pharmacy. Staff it right, keep everything legit, show customer service and one on one patient care, and you will be on your way to a chain in no time!

If anyone has any questions, feel free to message me! Hope this helped somewhat.

02-15-2011, 12:51 PM	#83
Member 376782 Pharmacy Consultant Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL Posts: 4	Now this is my department! First off, the profit margin for the industry of pharmacy in general is amazing. It's the greed that gets them shut down more than Walgreen's, CVS, ect. Opening a pharmacy can be a headache, but very rewarding. My advice on paperwork, do it right the first time. I read over and cross T's for all my clients. Sending paperwork to the DEA with the wrong address, even by a letter (you put E and not NE) can really delay all approvals, just as an example. Now, I would say the most time consuming and frustrating, to say the least, part of opening a pharmacy from scratch is the contracting, unless you have retail space already. The second most frustrating thing would be marketing and building up a client base. Walgreen's and CVS, by far, do NOT rule the pharmacy world, they just pretend they do and they say "fake it till you make it!". My entire family, Uncles, Aunts, and even cousins work at Walgreens. It's not peaches and cream. I would venture to say Walgreen's, a single store, has more monthly complaints than all the independent pharmacies in any given zip code in the US. Customer service and ONE ON ONE time are what will make you or break you. Pay attention to your patients. Care for them and make sure they know their pharmacist is there for them. Walgreen's not only wont do that, they cant with the volume they do. My motto is repeat business comes from customer service, not controls. The last thing you need to worry about is staying above water. The 100-150 figure is OUTSTANDING. Well done sir! I would not expect that, ever. The benefit to owning your own is you pick and chose who you buy your medications from. A lot of suppliers have whats called short sales. If a particular medication is going to expire, suppliers will sell them at a huge discount... just make sure they get dispensed before they expire, lol. In my opinion, it's best when you own your own pharmacy. Staff it right, keep everything legit, show customer service and one on one patient care, and you will be on your way to a chain in no time! If anyone has any questions, feel free to message me! Hope this helped somewhat.