Research Paper Example on Pharmacy Service

Acacia Apothecary and Wellness Compounding Pharmacy

This pharmacy is an independent pharmacy. Independent stores were the first to operate in any part of the United States. They are usually a sole proprietorship (owned by a pharmacist) or partnerships (more than one pharmacist or a pharmacist and a nonpharmacist). Independent pharmacies differ from other types of community pharmacies which are usually corporately owned (Kelly 87). The practitioner needs to have pharmaceutical training (through diploma and degree programs) to practice as an independent pharmacist or at least one of the partners be a qualified pharmacist. Their duty is to prescribe and dispense drugs appropriately.

Rite-Aid Pharmacy chain pharmacy

Rite-Aid Pharmacy is a chain drug store found within the Tucson area. Unlike other types of stores, a chain pharmacy is a kind of community store consisting of similar pharmacies operating in the area, region, or nation. Chain stores are corporately owned where all the administrative decisions are made at the corporate level. A chain pharmacy is designed to offer large volume dispensing of drugs through automation and pharmacy technicians (Kelly 87). Examples of free-standing store chains with national reach but found in Tucson include Walgreens Pharmacy, Frys Pharmacy, and CVS Pharmacy, etc. To work in a chain store, one had to have trained as a pharmacist and attained an acceptable certification. Some have an undergraduate degree while some have an advanced degree such as Master or PhD. Also, community pharmacists working in a chain are increasingly facing expanding patient care services. Consequently, the role of these pharmacists may vary in different chains and also from other types of community pharmacists in that they may provide direct patient care, train staff to provide clinical services and seek supply contracts within the locality.

Kroger Pharmacy supermarket pharmacy

Kroger's Pharmacy operates within the Tucson area, Arizona. The pharmacy can be categorized as a supermarket pharmacy. This type of pharmacy is located within a supermarket store and provides an attractive practice setting for pharmacists. For example, Kroger's Pharmacy operates within the nearly 2000 Kroger Co retail stores throughout the United States. Other examples of supermarket pharmacies within the Tucson area include Wegmans Pharmacy, Publix's Pharmacy, and H.E.B's Pharmacy. Interestingly, most of the supermarket pharmacies qualify to be considered chain stores as they mostly operate within their parent supermarket retail stores which are themselves chain stores. Since the primary business of the retail stores that house these pharmacies is nonpharmaceutical in nature, the corporate governance does not include pharmacists. However, they employ qualified pharmacists whose duty is to prescribe and dispense drugs within the stores (Doucette, et al. 349).

Wal-Mart Pharmacy mass merchandise pharmacy

Wal-Mart Pharmacy is a mass merchandise store operating in Tucson, Arizona. Like chain stores, mass merchandisers are also corporately owned, and people who oversee their operations at corporate level may not be pharmacists. They function as a loss leader where they attract customers into the store who may buy other goods. For example, the store is willing to lose money in the pharmacy section because the losses are recovered through sales of other products. Some of the large mass merchandise stores include Kmart and Target. Like supermarket pharmacies, they employ qualified pharmacists whose duty is to prescribe and dispense drugs within the stores (Jambulingam et al. 25).

Vamc Computerized Mail Order Pharmacy

Vamc is a mail order a mail order type of community pharmacy. Mail-order pharmacies can be either affiliated with the large corporate pharmacies or independent pharmacy stores. Unlike the other types of community stores, mail order pharmacies accept prescriptions and send the drugs via mail to the patients. Sometimes a pharmacy mail order enquiry could originate from a different state or region. Other examples of mail order pharmacies include Pharmacare Direct, Medco, and Express Scripts. Mail order pharmacies usually employ trained pharmacists and registered nurses. While the work of the trained pharmacist is to prescribe and dispense drugs via mail service, the registered nurses are dispatched to the clients to administer drugs such as infusions. Clinical nurse specialists provide teaching services to patients about a wide range of therapies such as the cardiopulmonary drug treatment (Duru et al. 33).

Works Cited

Doucette, William R., et al. "Evaluation of community pharmacy service mix: evidence from the 2004 National Pharmacist Workforce Study." Journal of the American Pharmacists Association 46.3 (2006): 348-355.

Duru, O. Kenrik, et al. "Mail-order pharmacy use and adherence to diabetes-related medications." The American journal of managed care 16.1 (2010): 33.

Jambulingam, Thanigavelan, Ravi Kathuria, and William R. Doucette. "Entrepreneurial orientation as a basis for classification within a service industry: the case of retail pharmacy industry." Journal of operations management 23.1 (2005): 23-42.

Kelly, William N. Pharmacy: what it is and how it works. CRC press, 2011.