As a group, community pharmacy is larger than the chain pharmacies. Why are we playing defense? The answer is that a number of entities, be it wholesalers, PBM's, GPO's, legislators, etc., have a vested interest in us not talking to each other.
We must take back our destinies and put the control in our own hands. After all, the opposite of "Divide and Conquer" is "Unite and Prevail."
The first part of any plan is an effective communication system. We have to be able to talk to each other quickly, in an environment where there are no vested interests or ulterior motives. Pharmacy Development Services, a company that exists to help independent pharmacists achieve their personal and financial goals, wants to invite you to join our version of the pharmacists' "EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM."
To read more about this free program, click the title above.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Consumer Reports' drugstore ratings: 94% of shoppers "highly satisfied" with independents
CR's story said, "People who filled their prescriptions at independent stores also praised the pharmacists' accessibility and personal service, and encountered fewer delays and medication mix-ups than those who shopped elsewhere." A whopping 94% of consumers who used independent pharmacies were satisfied.
To read the entire article, please click on this link
To read the entire article, please click on this link
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
RMS Launches New Bi-Weekly Customer Newsletter
"Did You Know? from RMS" is the name of the e-newsletter published every two weeks by the team at Retail Management Solutions. In each issue, the short email asks and answers three or four questions designed to ensure you know about and have the opportunity to use the products and services offered by RMS. If you miss an email, you can view all back issues by logging into the client section of the RMS website.
Monday, April 4, 2011
RMS Roadshow moves to Arizona
Olympia, WA April 1, 2011 After starting her tour in California, Chris Gage, vice president of operations for RMS, will continue her roadshow in Arizona. Ms. Gage sold her home at the end of 2010, purchased an RV, and hit the road in an effort to open lines of communication with pharmacists. To date, she has visited nearly 30 pharmacies in California and has stops planned in Phoenix, Maricopa County and Tucson, Arizona.
To read the entire press release, please click on this link
To read the entire press release, please click on this link
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Letter from Verifone CEO regarding Mobile Device Credit Card Fraud
March 9, 2011 Today is a wake-up call to consumers and the payments industry. Last year, a start-up named Square introduced a credit card reader for smartphones with the goal of making it very easy for anyone to accept credit cards through a mobile device. Seems like a great idea, but there is a serious security flaw that Square has overlooked that places consumers in dire risk.
Click here to read more
Click here to read more
Monday, February 7, 2011
The RMS Roadshow is now online. Follow the fun!!
Feb 7, 2011, Olympia, WA The Roadshow http://www.rms-ontheroad.com/ is a grassroots customer service campaign that will take RMS Vice President of Operations, Chris Gage, around the country for the next 2 years in her RV to personally meet our customers. The goal is to ensure we truly hear, understand and address their needs.
While technology has improved our lives and businesses in many ways, it has also created communication barriers. Anyone who uses email has probably experienced a situation where their words were misunderstood or their messages went unread. The Roadshow pays tribute to “old school” service where nothing could replace actually standing inside the walls of your customer’s business, having a face to face conversation and then shaking hands until next time.
The idea for the Roadshow was conceived by Chris in April of 2010 after completing a personal and professional development program called “Live a Thousand Years”. RMS’ CEO Brad Jones had seen the creator of the program, Giovanni Livera, perform at a pharmacy industry trade show and was so inspired that he gave all employees at RMS the program and served as a mentor to see them through it. From this, Chris was able to envision a plan where she could combine her personal goal of seeing the country with her professional goal of establishing stronger relationships with her customers. She presented this plan to Brad in May of 2010 and by October she had sold her house and moved into the 40 foot RV she now calls home and office.
While technology has improved our lives and businesses in many ways, it has also created communication barriers. Anyone who uses email has probably experienced a situation where their words were misunderstood or their messages went unread. The Roadshow pays tribute to “old school” service where nothing could replace actually standing inside the walls of your customer’s business, having a face to face conversation and then shaking hands until next time.
The idea for the Roadshow was conceived by Chris in April of 2010 after completing a personal and professional development program called “Live a Thousand Years”. RMS’ CEO Brad Jones had seen the creator of the program, Giovanni Livera, perform at a pharmacy industry trade show and was so inspired that he gave all employees at RMS the program and served as a mentor to see them through it. From this, Chris was able to envision a plan where she could combine her personal goal of seeing the country with her professional goal of establishing stronger relationships with her customers. She presented this plan to Brad in May of 2010 and by October she had sold her house and moved into the 40 foot RV she now calls home and office.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Debit Cards -- Changing Landscape
Feb 1, 2011 As you may be aware, last year, the pin debit networks all dramatically increased their pricing structures and eliminated the cap on their fees....at the same time that Visa/MC lowered their signature debit interchange rates (particularly on sales under $15).....taking away the cost advantage for merchants when customers use pin activation....there is a great savings for NON-PIN debit transactions under $15.
As part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform act passed last year by Congress and signed by President Obama, the government is now required to put limits on debit (signature and pin) interchange fees. The Federal Reserve is responsible to gather information from the public and establish the rules.....they have announced preliminary guidelines, which must be finalized by the end of April and implemented at the end of June.
Currently, debit (pin and signature) interchange fees range from approximately 1% of the value of the sale plus between $.16 and $.24 per transaction...there are variations between Visa/MC and the pin debit networks, but they are all pretty close.
The PRELIMINARY recommendation by the FED is to limit debit interchange fees to between $.07 and $.12 (a number of variables for the range and smaller issuing banks would not be subject to the interchange limits) and not have any percentage......these do NOT include fees charged by processors (like First Data/CTS) for their services.
If the recommendations are anything like the final rules, merchants will save significantly. It is unclear what will happen to the pin debit networks as they do not have other revenue sources to make up the shortfall.....we are already seeing banks institute new fees to make up for the billions they will lose when the interchange is regulated.
As part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform act passed last year by Congress and signed by President Obama, the government is now required to put limits on debit (signature and pin) interchange fees. The Federal Reserve is responsible to gather information from the public and establish the rules.....they have announced preliminary guidelines, which must be finalized by the end of April and implemented at the end of June.
Currently, debit (pin and signature) interchange fees range from approximately 1% of the value of the sale plus between $.16 and $.24 per transaction...there are variations between Visa/MC and the pin debit networks, but they are all pretty close.
The PRELIMINARY recommendation by the FED is to limit debit interchange fees to between $.07 and $.12 (a number of variables for the range and smaller issuing banks would not be subject to the interchange limits) and not have any percentage......these do NOT include fees charged by processors (like First Data/CTS) for their services.
If the recommendations are anything like the final rules, merchants will save significantly. It is unclear what will happen to the pin debit networks as they do not have other revenue sources to make up the shortfall.....we are already seeing banks institute new fees to make up for the billions they will lose when the interchange is regulated.
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