Having trouble with an interview question that keeps coming up.

[Samus2008]

---

Members don't see this ad.

What is the biggest problem with pharmacy/ pharmacy industry? And how would you solve the problem/work to change it?
I volunteered at a hospital and shadowed retail, but I'm not really sure what the biggest problem is and I'm way too afraid to talk about surplus/salary/oversaturation issues. 🙁 Any advice?

 

[delano2000]

What is the biggest problem with pharmacy/ pharmacy industry? And how would you solve the problem/work to change it?
I volunteered at a hospital and shadowed retail, but I'm not really sure what the biggest problem is and I'm way too afraid to talk about surplus/salary/oversaturation issues. 🙁 Any advice?

Google

 

[bacillus1]

IMO the biggest problem is the chains' complete focus on profit instead of patient care, not allowing pharmacists enough time to properly care for their patients due to the primary focus on increasing script count without regard for patient outcomes. To answer this properly though, you have to spend some time at a chain to see what exactly I'm talking about.

This answer could be hit or miss depending on the practice setting of your interviewer, but in academia I think most pharmacists generally agree with this. The solution is up to you, as I haven't found anyone that wants to tackle this problem.

 

[fullmetalphrm]

Google

Hey Google is a really good search engine, how is that a problem with the industry? 😉

 

[Pharmasaurus88]

IMO the biggest problem is the chains' complete focus on profit instead of patient care, not allowing pharmacists enough time to properly care for their patients due to the primary focus on increasing script count without regard for patient outcomes. To answer this properly though, you have to spend some time at a chain to see what exactly I'm talking about.

This answer could be hit or miss depending on the practice setting of your interviewer, but in academia I think most pharmacists generally agree with this. The solution is up to you, as I haven't found anyone that wants to tackle this problem.

I also cited this as the biggest problem in my interviews so far. Can't really do much to change it by yourself though as you would need to convince businesses to cooperate in implementing the changes (which would reduce their profits).

 

[delano2000]

Hey Google is a really good search engine, how is that a problem with the industry? 😉

 

[delano2000]

Drug shortage is a major problem in hospitals.

 

[vasoolraja]

High price of the drugs is a major concern. People with middle class incomes find it hard to purchase drugs. Even with insurance the cost of drugs is high. In my case, for instance, I earn about 35K per year and I suffer from chronic gastritis. Drugs like prevacid would cost me atleast 50 dollars a month with insurance coverage. To me this is a very high amount. Consider if someone is ailing from high blood pressure or depression and they have to be on drugs all the time and these drugs would be very costly. In short, in my opinion, the cost of drugs is the major problem in pharmacy.
I would work to decrease the cost of drugs so that they are available to all people including the poor and downtrodden!