Technology in Pharmacy Business with Scott Carpenter

Strengthening Digital Health Initiatives

January 13, 2022

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This episode of the Pharmacy View Podcast, features Julian Sallabank, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director at Corum Group Australia alongside host Scott Carpenter, EVBC. Take a listen as the two of them talk about Julian’s eventful career, how the Australian Pharmaceutical Market sits on a bed of opportunities, and how technology can be leveraged to leapfrog into the future that is ultimately beneficial to the end users.

Julian has had a varied background: having started his career as a management consultant in financial services and international trade to running his own business which was a precursor to Facebook and LinkedIn in mid to late 90s to being in executive and board roles in many different industries. Through his varied work, he saw that there were endless opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry to not only provide managerial support but also align some businesses with key opinion leaders and marketplace whereby they could take their innovations and submit them and commercialise them through the network. That is what led him to join the Corum Group in 2020, which he says was rather co-incidental.

Julian believes that Australia at large is a great place for innovation in Pharmacy and even though there weren’t many changes in the industry for a decade or two prior to COVID, Julian is amazed at how quickly things have materialized since the onset of COVID over the past two years. He acknowledges Australian government’s support and feels that the future holds much promise in terms of technological advancements in the industry.

Corum Group, he says has managed to evolve its programs and products over the years. That said the key focus areas of the group have remained the same:

delivering greater efficiencies in the marketplace
increasing profitability

He emphasizes that Pharmacy plays an important role in the community and working with the group makes him envision a better future as they work by combining insights from customers with insights from the board members and are led by an experienced management team. Technology, he adds, is the backbone of a lot of innovation that would be the driving force moving forward. Enhancing the ability to continue to deliver great services and stability and also being able to drive greater utilization of the platforms created, Julian believes are core values and he ends by saying that he feels great about working in the industry as it is one of the few places where one can really feel that they’ve made an impact.

Topics Covered

Opportunities in Digital Health
Commercialization of Products and Services through Pharmacies
Innovation in the Australian Pharmacy Market
Overcoming Challenges Post the Onset of COVID
Future of Technological Innovation in Pharmaceutical Industry

Key Quotes (Time Stamps)

“One of the initiatives that we thought was really lacking in the Australian marketplace was an incubator and accelerator for anyone trying to embark upon digital health initiatives.” (6:02 – 6:12)

“As we have seen, over the last 10-20 years, the landscape in terms of the services that Pharmacies provide has really increased and it now represents 10-15% of a Pharmacy’s revenue.” (7:07 – 7:20)

“One of the benefits that has come out of that is the Australian government’s real support with regards to driving innovation.” (14:31 – 14:38)

“I have said it a number of times and I will keep on saying this: the Pharmacy in the local community is what binds us together and is what keeps people going.” (15:17 – 15:27)

“I always refer back to a quote that Bill Gates mentioned which was the fact that we sort of overestimate the timeframes of what we can do in the next two years and that we grossly underestimate what we can deliver in ten.” (16:17 – 16:32)

“I think we’ll see some significant leapfrogging in terms of not only our population in terms of embracing new ways but also how that can be delivered.” (16:42 – 16:51)

“We work with our partners as much as we compete with them. But I think the advantage of that, when we’re talking about the rise and the influence that technology has, is that it leads to a better outcome, ultimately, for our end users.” (22:19 – 22:33)

Social Media Clips (Time Stamps)