Hello blog followers, and greetings from the Pharmacy! It is probably long overdue, but we have added a Pharmacist’s voice to our blog! I look forward to offering a Pharmacist’s perspective on healthcare happenings, medications, and other pharmacy relevant topics on this platform. I also hope to be able to provide some insight into the way of the world from BEHIND the pharmacy counter!

 

For my first blog entry I thought I could touch on our Pharmacy operations overall. We currently have 38 pharmacies, about 125 pharmacists, and almost 400
pharmacy technicians on staff. We offer a broad range of services in the many communities we practice; delivery, immunizations, long term care service, medication therapy management, and even custom packaging. Our very first pharmacy went into our Cash Wise location in Waite Park, Minnesota in 1987 and our most recent pharmacy opened up with our newest Coborn’s location in Isanti, Minnesota in 2016.

Traditional retail pharmacy has changed dramatically over the years, pharmacists are no longer just dispensers of pills in bottles. Now we are expected to work in partnership with doctors and other healthcare providers to ensure optimal care of patients, even in a grocery store environment! Immunization services have expanded at the pharmacy level as well, patients can now receive full line vaccination offerings while they shop for dinner. Pharmacists can also perform many other point of care services such as cholesterol screening tests and rapid strep tests, as well as perform detailed overarching patient reviews called Medication Therapy Management (we’ll talk about that more later).

I’m excited to connect with you all through our blog and look forward sharing my insight into healthcare and pharmacy with you. Thanks!

 

Jason Miller
Pharmacy Clinical Program Mgr