06/22/2024
Of Fish Tanks and Pharmacies
I used to be pretty deep into fishkeeping. Fresh water. Salt water. I did it all. I was active in the online discussion forums and had multiple tanks going in my house. The hobby taught me many things, not the least of which was patience.
Setting up a healthy tank takes time. Newbies often make the fatal mistake of buying all the supplies...and their fish...in the same visit. They (and sadly their fish) learn the hard way the truth of saying in this hobby, which is "only bad things happen quickly in fish tanks."
Good things take time. Getting the water to the right temp, pH, salinity, clarity, and condition takes time. Buidling up a level of healthy bacteria to process the fish waste takes time. You have to be patient.
Bad things, on the other hand, can happen really quickly in a fish tank. A pump fails. A heater dies. Ammonia spikes, algae blooms, disease. All can happen in what seems to be the blink of an eye. Before you know it, disaster ensues.
In my 30+ years in the pharmacy industry, mostly running outpatient, retail, and specialty pharmacies, I have found pretty much the same thing to be true. Bad things can happen quickly in pharmacy. Systems crash. Payer networks go down. A glitch causes your drugs to adjudicate at a U&C much below your cost. Recalls. Shortages. Shipping vendors lose your packages. You have to watch your pharmacy and its data with the intensity of an air traffic controller directing planes toward a rainy runway on a busy holiday, in the dark.
But the good stuff? It takes time. Like building great relationships with patients and providers. Hiring and training and creating great teams. Developing competence with all the technologies, great partnerships with your vendors, and a healthy workplace culture for everyone. These things, and so many more, take time and patience. You don't get there overnight. When health systems play the long game, invest in the right leadership, and set their eye on the goal, they will eventually reap the rewards of a highly effective and reasonably profitable outpatient pharmacy business.
Be patient my friends. Don't give up. The good stuff takes time. Only bad things happen quickly in fish tanks and pharmacy...
