Technology in Pharmacy Business with Scott Carpenter

Technology helping prioritise Men’s Health in Pharmacy

June 2, 2022

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In this episode of the Pharmacy View Podcast, we are joined by Brad Butt, Founder and Lead Pharmacist at Mens Health Downunder. Listen in as he and host Scott Carpenter, EVBC talk about how this experienced Pharmacist has followed his passion and provides competent professional services with a particular focus on men’s Urological health and the medications and devices men can use to optimize outcomes.

Brad calls himself a passionate Community Pharmacist and rightfully so. Trying to strike the perfect balance between his personal and professional lives, Brad works as a full-time community Pharmacist four days a week and private practice with Men’s Health Downunder for the fifth day: all the while enjoying being a family man. After having talked about how he started in the Pharmaceutical industry and his work with Life Pharmacy Group, Brad goes on to talk about Mens Health Downunder which was founded in 2015 owing to a lack of reliable and cost-effective endorsed medical grade treatments for men. The company website offers patients a complete solution at a competitive price from a highly regarded profession.

Brad says that he found men’s health to be a low hanging fruit in community Pharmacy. That said, he also emphasizes that like anything else, it requires work to meet the end goal. In his case, the end goal is to ensure men’s health gets approached from a holistic perspective and that people get effective and efficient services. Saying that he knows all that needs to be known when it comes to men’s health, Brad advocates the need to put the patient at the heart of everything. The rest, he says, will work itself out eventually.

Brad finds technology to be critical in the Pharmaceutical industry and so the company uses technology geared towards two things: Positive Business Outcomes (PBOs) and Positive Patient Outcomes (PPOs). The three primary technologies used in the business are:

(an AI tool used for dictation that eases taking of patient notes, writing of letters, and managing of emails)
(a CRM platform that allows you to have a patient database)
(Support service)

Brad concludes by saying that there are primarily two things that a Pharmacist needs to focus on:

Connecting with the patient
Making them feel that they are cared for

Topics Covered

• Shifting focus to men’s health
• Need to treat people holistically
• Programs to help patients
• What excites staff and patients about men’s health
• Rolling out services to other Pharmacists
• Follow your heart, and dollars and cents will work themselves out
• Use of technology

Key Quotes (Time Stamps)

“I had worked in community Pharmacy in 2013 for about 7 years and that 7-year itch had presented. And I think we all have that in our professional lives and in our personal lives. You often see relationships breakdown after 5-7 years and that’s this idea of you become comfortable and you are looking for a new challenge.” (5:04 -5:21)

“To be able to do something different, something that was more in keeping with this idea of vaccinating yourself or putting a dressing on a wound… This was our core function as a Pharmacist. It was supporting the patient in your community Pharmacy to live a better, healthier life.” (7:33 – 7:48)

“I say I am not a doctor; I am a Pharmacist. I have a passion for men’s health and what I don’t know about men’s health isn’t really worth knowing.” (8:23 – 8:30)

“This is Pharmacy’s bread and butter to treat people holistically and look outside the obvious and try and support them better so that they can live their happy, healthy, and full lives.” (10:02 – 10:11)

“We’ve identified this as low-hanging fruit in community Pharmacy. And it’s not the stuff that everyone is doing. You know, we can all dabble in diabetes and cholesterol and take a blood pressure but that’s not what we are here for. We want to do something different, something that motivates our staff and our patients.” (11:53 – 12:07)

“It’s always a slow burn implementing a program. It’s not like you’re going to put in and you are going to retire tomorrow. You’ve got to pound the pavement and tell people, both patients and doctors, what you are doing.” (15:01 – 15:11)

“I have always maintained that the way this thing works is that if you put the patient at the heart of everything you do and they are your reason for being in business and for proving the services, the dollars and cents work themselves out.” (19:00 – 19:11)

“Technology is critical in our day-to-day business, both for the effective and efficient running of the business and also in terms of the patients. So, we are looking at Positive Business Outcomes or PBOs and Positive Patient Outcomes or PPOs and all of the technology is geared towards these two things.” (19:57 – 20:15)

“Dragon is not cheap at $1500 a year, but it is saving us ten times that in staff wages doing dictation and patient notes and emails. And it doesn’t miss a beat. It’s dead accurate.” (22:11 – 22:23)

Social Media Clips (Time Stamps)