The Change Management and Community Pharmacy Project commenced in March 2004, with the scope to:
-Prepare a comprehensive set of practical change strategies that can be implemented by the Guild and the Government to ensure maximum participation by community pharmacy in the delivery of services agreed under the Third and subsequent Guild/Government Agreements; and
- Develop a framework for identifying new health care products or services that could be provided by community pharmacy, and that will be valued by the community, the Government and the pharmacy profession.
This project built on existing evidence and models of change in both community pharmacy and the wider business sector. For the future, no single business/professional model of the pharmacy can satisfy the needs of all customers or pharmacists. Solutions recognised that pharmacies require different strategies for their own community and customers. This project goes beyond the ‘one model fits all’ approach in suggesting both contingent business models and contingent change models.
The Change Management and Community Pharmacy Project will identified high priority and value-added services that support the community pharmacy of the future. The research provided:
- A snapshot of the current context of change in community pharmacies, specifically with regard to the delivery of services;
- The costs and benefits of moving to a more service-oriented model
- A how-to guide for implementation that includes a range of practical change strategies to support individual community pharmacies in the uptake of services for the future
- Methods for the Guild and the Government to support and accelerate the uptake of existing and new services appropriate to the Third Agreement and for future Guild/Government Agreements.
- The project methodology was comprehensive, and included consultations with pharmacists, industry opinion leaders, key stakeholders and consumers. Additional analysis involved a targeted international literature search, analysis of community pharmacy’s strengths and weaknesses and how they might be best addressed, and analysis of the economic factors influencing the delivery of new products and services by community pharmacies. |
