In this Issue

To remain relevant, pharmacies must have a value add or differentiation other than location, says Doyle Jensen, executive vice president of global business development at Innovation. 

The conversation at the pharmacy counter traditionally has been about which pills to take when, but with advances in medical science, a new frontier — biologics and biosimilars — is flourishing, explains Chip Davis, president and CEO of the Association for Accessible Medicines. 

Fred Mayer, CEO of Pharmacists Planning Services, explains how as the political healthcare debate rages on, many of the “first-world” problems that cause illness and compromise our quality of life are problems pharmacists can help solve.

Pharmacy is a profession that is in the midst of perhaps the greatest changes experienced in more than 50 years, according to Michael Hogue, president-elect designate of the American Pharmacists Association.

As technology continues to transform the way people live, healthcare professionals are seeing the impact this transformation is having on patients’ expectations on how they access healthcare services and how those services are delivered, according to Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner.

Simplifying the pharmacy payment model is an enormous undertaking that will necessitate participation from all players in the prescription medication channels, according to Doug Hoey, CEO of the National Community Pharmacists Association.

Chris Fitzmaurice, director of industry data resources at ScriptPro, explains why pharmacists should accept a greater measure of responsibility and continue to accept the demands of medical professionals, as well as expand on what it means to provide pharmaceutical care.

Major shifts in consumer behavior, including changes to media consumption and the rise of direct-to-consumer businesses, are dramatically changing the retail industry, according to Carlos Garcia, an industry manager at Facebook.