In the last two years pharmacist Samson Akere has not only become a first-time pharmacy owner, he and the team of six at Totty Pharmacy in southeast London have also been named as multiple industry award winners and one of the largest hypertension service providers in the whole of England.
The secret to their success? The 33-year-old says it’s all about the team, grabbing opportunities and never being afraid of change – especially when it comes to innovation and technology.
“Community pharmacy can sometimes be resistant to change, stubborn even,” says Samson. “If something feels like it’s working or it’s familiar, why bother, right? But change is inevitable and it’s also healthy.
“When I first started out in pharmacy the focus was on dispensing. But things change. I never set out to buy my own pharmacy and focus on clinical services, but that’s where the opportunities are so we need to work hard and do what we can to grab them.” And Samson’s certainly done that. In June this year, Totty Pharmacy delivered a whopping 1,193 hypertension checks.
And months like this, mean the young and ambitious team – who are all in their 20s and early 30s - regularly top the NHS league tables.
While the pharmacy is busy, getting out into the local community to educate people about heart health has without question helped drive these impressive figures.
Partnerships with the PureGym chain and local supermarkets, tapping into British Heart Foundation resources and even creating their own branded blood pressure results cardshave created a domino effect that has increased clinical service delivery and pharmacyfootfall, as well as awareness of heart health.
“I remember mentioning our plans to offer heart health advice and hypertension checks ingyms and being asked –isn’t that where healthy people are, do they really need it?
But the view that because a person may lift weights a few times a week or attend a spin classsuddenly they know all about heart health or they’re not at risk from stroke, heart attack,vascular dementia, just isn’t true.
“The response we’ve received through our partnership with PureGym – and others – hasbeen incredible. It’s created a ripple effect, the people we talk to, talk to their loved oneswho then come into pharmacy for a check too.”
Being inventive in how they engage the local community is something Samson and his teamexcel in. And they never miss an opportunity to encourage people to not only be morehealth aware, but to also educate them more about all that modern community pharmacyhas to offer.
“We’re big on collaborations and looking for different ways, we can encourage patients tostop and think more about their health. And there are so many other opportunities forpharmacy to do that. Black History Month provides a great hook for talking about conditionsthat effect black communities, so does International Women’s Day for talking aboutwomen’s health and the same for Men’s health week.”
As clinical service delivery rates increased it pulled into focus for Samson another area ofthis business that needed to embrace change – his pharmacy technology.
Using a platform to be reimbursed for his team’s hard work that charged per clinical servicerecorded felt like a drain on their success. But he wasn’t sure if there was an alternative,until he spoke to a member of the Cegedim Rx team.
"The beauty of the Pharmacy Services platform is that you pay a very reasonable set fee permonth, which is a much more cost-effective approach compared to paying a rate per entry,especially for a growing pharmacy like ours.
“When I first heard about it, my question was, ‘what’s the catch?’ But there wasn’t one - it’smore affordable, incredibly user friendly, and my team didn’t even need training to getstarted.
“I even called up a friend who runs a nearby pharmacy and said, ‘you’ve got to get involvedin this.’ He’s now a Cegedim Rx customer too.”
Change, whether it’s where you treat patients or the technology used, is not only vital toensuring the business is successful. Samson also believes passionately that it’s good for theteam.
“To buy my own pharmacy, I decided it would be best to work as a locum first, as itprovided the flexibility for me to go and see pharmacies up for sale when I wanted.
“I worked at more than 50 pharmacies during that time, and you get to see how they’re notall the same. They’re all run differently. The teams work, think and act differently. While Isaw some great things that inspired me, I also gained a valuable lesson in how easily it is toget stuck in a rut – to lose ambition, enthusiasm and get set in your ways. I never wantedthat for my business or my team.
“For me, it’s all about the team.”
To find out more about how Cegedim Rx can help grow your clinical service delivery and
ensure you reap all the rewards of your hard work get in touch with the team to arrange a
demo here.