Page 35 - Retail Pharmacy Magazine October 2020

CHEALTH CRISIS LESSONS FROM PHARMACY’S FRONTLINE ovid-19 has undoubtedly shifted the way retail and customer service operates. Retail staff in pharmacies have a unique experience as the unofficial frontline workers of this new global pandemic, given a pharmacy is the first place a person will go for treatment when flu-like symptoms start to appear. At Blooms The Chemist, our stores recorded a staggering increase of one million customers in March, which brought new challenges such as medicine shortages, enforcing social distancing, and pivoting quickly to new models of operations. Below are three key lessons we’ve learned from the pandemic so far. Team and customer safety is always top priority As one of the most accessible points of health contact in a community, pharmacy retail stores became the first port of call for customers showing signs of Covid symptoms. Naturally, there were major concerns that a team member might contract the virus while at work. Implementing social distancing presented some challenges, as stores typically have a small footprint and customers generally want to stay in-store rather than outside to collect their prescription. Introducing safety equipment into our pharmacies was paramount to protect staff, such as sneeze guards and accessible hand sanitiser. Face masks and gloves were also used for close contact activities, including administering health services such as flu vaccines. Infection was a very real possibility, so our network of 100 stores also created a new system of split rostering – dividing the team into two rosters – to protect the teams and the business in the case that any staff member tested positive for the virus. Embracing e-health helps manage demand It was paramount to continue to supply medication to the community, as well as adapt to the surge in demand caused by panic buying. When the government announced changes in prescribing and dispensing regulations to prevent stockpiling, this also enabled e-health initiatives such as faxing and emailing of scripts for easier access to medicines for customers. Our digital evolution rapidly advanced within a space of weeks, with the lesson that embracing more digital solutions would enable pharmacies to prioritise their supply chains and more easily deliver medicines direct to doorsteps. Pharmacists were quick to adapt to this change and worked closely alongside community GPs to dispense scripts via email and directly deliver medicines to patients’ homes to minimise contact and ensure the safety of community and retail staff in stores. Clear and frequent communication is vital Change is challenging under any circumstance. However, the panic brought on by the health crisis placed a lot of strain on customer service. Managing anxious customers and panic buying had an impact on both the physical and mental health of staff, which was addressed by daily and weekly Zoom meetings to stay on top of our team’s wellbeing. Two-way, consistent contact and feedback between Blooms The Chemist support office, pharmacists and retail managers helped overcome the customer panic and misinformation circulating from external sources. Furthermore, sharing daily updates to each store from the support office was the best way to manage the ever-changing information of Covid-19 and create a tighter, more connected community. The challenges of the pandemic continue to shift across every state, and we cannot afford to be complacent. Taking on a proactive and agile approach to operations during the early stage of pandemic ensured the entire Blooms The Chemist team could rapidly implement recommendations around medicine supply, customer support and supplier engagement. There are lessons in every challenge, and the health crisis allowed us the opportunity to focus on team leadership across retail, marketing, pharmacy and technology sectors, not to mention creating a stronger than ever collaborative approach across all teams. This pandemic has proved that pharmacies can survive and thrive when a people-first mentality is maintained, helping us succeed through the crisis. While the trajectory of this pandemic remains unknown, we’re confident that with these strategies and tactics in place we can manage the bounce-back and continue to deliver the best service to our customers. BUSINESS THROUGH INNOVATION CASE STUDY 33 By Emmanuel Vavoulas. Emmanuel Vavoulas is Head of Retail at Blooms The Chemist. RETAIL PHARMACY • OCT 2020