Bryant's inaugural speech emphasizes access, cost for neighborhood pharmacy

PALM BEACH, Fla. Newly elected chairman of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, Longs Drug Stores’ chairman, president and chief executive officer Warren Bryant addressed the audience at the association’s annual meeting. In his speech, he emphasized the responsibility to support pharmacy education in an effort to fill all the vacant pharmacy positions across the country, the role of neighborhood pharmacies in health care, and the importance of collaboration across the healthcare industry.

“As we as a nation take a hard look at cost and access issues in healthcare, we demand services with proven value, treatment at reasonable cost, efficacy, efficiency and convenience. That’s what the neighborhood drug store offers,” Bryant said. “We’re not trying to challenge the role of physicians or make radical changes to the primary health care delivery system. Rather, our model improves upon the system by providing round-the-clock access to care and expertise where it so often is not otherwise available.

“Our vision for neighborhood pharmacy is all about what the rest of the system lacks: access and lower cost. We’ve already built the model. We’re ready to go. Because we’re retailers, we already understand customer service. And we’re constantly improving the model, because it is, at its core, a competitive model.”

Bryant will serve a one-year term as chairman of NACDS.