It’s Not Just Putting Pills in a Bottle: The Pharmacist as Care Provider

Michelle Gillespie, a retail specialist at Kroger Specialty Pharmacy, remembers when she went to get over-the-counter medication, but wasn’t sure what she needed.

"Just having the pharmacist come out from behind the counter and show me,” Michelle said, “was very positive.”

What might prevent this level of personalized service? “Pharmacy today is not what it was in the past,” Michelle shared. “It isn’t counting pills and putting them in a bottle."

"You are another healthcare provider,” Michelle said about her role in pharmacy. “It’s counseling the patient. It’s making sure they understand not only why they’re taking their medication, but how to take it … and to give [patients] that extra guidance."

This is not a part of the past, Michelle said, but of the future.

Listen to Michelle’s experience as both patient and pharmacy retail specialist—and then learn how specialty medication tools like Surescripts Specialty Patient Enrollment can get pharmacists off the phone and out from behind the counter.