We know the role pharmacies play in our community but there are a lot of other local organisations that also play important roles in our communities; whether those be schools, sporting clubs, or other community activity or support groups. These groups are often running engaging programs in our communities and, as such, attract strong memberships and loyal audiences. They are also often looking for funding to help support their endeavours. This provides a great opportunity for community pharmacies to sponsor these organisations which provide wins for all involved. However, if you are considering sponsorship, or maybe you already use sponsorship, a well-thought-out approach, aligned to what you are trying to achieve as a pharmacy business, is crucial to success. Mark Thompson, from consultancy Sports Rights Tech, and someone with a long history of working in sponsorship, across organisations like Brumbies Rugby and St Vincent de Paul, as well as being a co-founder of the world’s first sponsorship management software company, SponServe, joins us to discuss how pharmacies can best utilise sponsorships as part of their marketing and business objectives. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pharmacy Business and Career Network Podcast

How to Use Sponsorship Successfully - Mark Thompson - SRT - Ep 84

At times, owning and running a pharmacy business can be overwhelmingly challenging. Seeking the assistance of a pharmacy lawyer is critical to your success as a pharmacy owner. Not only can a lawyer assist you to navigate through the complexities of business ownership; an experienced pharmacy lawyer can also support you through any conflicts or incidents that may arise. Consulting a suitably experienced pharmacy lawyer at an early stage can often prevent the kinds of issues and disputes which may adversely affect the value of your business later on. Principal, Georgina Odell, from Meridian Lawyers spends some time with us discussing why, through the various stages of pharmacy ownership, it is useful to have a legal expert engaged to provide insights and support, help you to manage risks, and offer sound advice. The Pharmacy Guild is dedicated to supporting your business and together with Meridian can provide legal support and advice regarding buying and selling a pharmacy, rent, partnerships, mediation and dispute resolution, ownership regulation, new pharmacy approvals, and other business operations. For more information go to www.guild.org.au/resources/business-operations and www.meridianlawyers.com.au/health-sector/pharmacy/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why Legal Advice is Important for Pharmacy Business - Georgina Odell - Meridian Lawyers - Ep 83

The mission of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia is to enable community pharmacy to serve the needs and preferences of patients and health consumers across Australia using pharmacy’s unique role in medication management and safety. The Guild’s focus areas, based on strategies, outcomes and measures are Member services and engagement, Advocacy, Community Pharmacy Sustainability, and Governance There is a Guild branch in each state and territory to provide members with tailored support for business operations, workforce, training, and advocacy. The branch staff delivers Guild initiatives through member pharmacies, maximising member value, and strengthening community pharmacy as a pillar of health care across Australia. Today we speak with Monique Mackrill, Tasmanian Branch Director, about the work that the Guild is doing at the coal face and what opportunities are available to community pharmacies See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Day in The Life of a Guild Branch - Monique Mackrill - Ep 82

The National Australian Pharmacy Students' Association (NAPSA) represents students from 18 universities nationwide studying either an undergraduate or postgraduate pharmacy  program.  NAPSA is committed to advocating for Australian pharmacy students to ensure their future is prosperous and their status, rights, and privileges are protected.  In this episode, we speak with Verity Boustead, newly elected president and 4th year Monash University student, about her experiences in the new role and life as a student during a global pandemic See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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The Council of Small Business Australia (COSBOA) is the country’s peak body exclusively representing the interests of small businesses.  In this episode, we speak with newly appointed COSBOA CEO, Alexi Boyd, about the important advocacy work of COSBOA, the impacts of COVID on small business, and the way forward to reopening and rebuilding the economy. The Pharmacy Guild of Australia is a proud member of COSBOA and actively participates to ensure the voice of community pharmacy business is heard and counted.  To learn more about COSBOA, visit cosboa.org.au and for more information on how the Guild supports you and your business visit guild.org.au/membership See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How COSBOA is Representing the Interests of Pharmacies - Alexi Boyd - Ep 80

Community pharmacies are the most accessible health destination in Australia and therefore are often the first place patients go when they need help to maintain their health, mental health, and wellbeing. The Covid – 19 pandemic has highlighted just how important community pharmacies are in providing care, advice, and health services, however, frontline health provision can bring about heightened levels of pressure for pharmacy staff.   Today, we speak with Christine Morgan, CEO of the National Mental Health Commission and National Suicide Prevention Adviser to Prime Minister Scott Morrison. We discuss why it is vitally important that community pharmacies establish and sustain a mentally healthy workplace and ways in which pharmacists can manage their own mental health and support the mental health and wellbeing of colleagues. There are some great resources available to help you establish and maintain a mentally healthy workplace. The National Mental Health Commission Mentally Healthy Workplace guides have been created by experts to provide practical tips and advice on helping employers and employees look out for the signs that someone may need support, and assist them to find help when they need it. The guides can be found at www.mentalhealthcommission.gov.au  The Pharmacist Support Service (PSS) provides a listening ear over the telephone to pharmacists and pharmacy interns and students. In supporting pharmacists, PSS aims to benefit the public by ensuring that pharmacists maintain their health and well-being and so are able to provide an appropriate level of service to the Australian community. You can visit their website at www.supportforpharmacists.org.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Creating Mentally Healthy Pharmacies - Christine Morgan - National Mental Health Commission - Ep 79

The intern journey can be a daunting prospect but with the right attitude, preceptor and program, the intern year can be rewarding not only for the intern, but also the preceptor, patients, and the pharmacy business. In this episode, we hear from Angus Koertz, MIMS/Guild 2020 Intern of the Year and his preceptor Tim Stewart, who was in fact the 2017 winner of the MIMS/Guild Intern of the Year, on their experiences through the intern journey. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2020 MIMS/Guild Intern of the Year with Angus Koertz and Tim Stewart - Ep 78

The rollout of electronic prescriptions is a once-in-a-generation change to community pharmacy and has changed the way we interact with our customers. The first electronic prescription token was dispensed just over a year ago, and there have now been over 7 million tokens transmitted. The next phase in the rollout of electronic prescriptions is the ability for patients to have their electronic prescriptions dispensed at the pharmacy of their choice without having to present a token. This is known as the Active Script List and today, we welcome two guests to the show to discuss this new capability both from a rollout point of view and an implementation view, from within a pharmacy. Andrew Robinson is a pharmacist and proprietor of two Melbourne pharmacies while Brad McCulloch is from the Australian Digital Health Agency, working in the Medicines Safety Program within the Digital Programs and Engagement Division. For further information about electronic prescriptions, you can head to the Australian Digital Health Agency website at digitalhealth.gov.au, as well as the Pharmacy Guild of Australia’s Electronic Prescription Hub at guild.org.au/resources/automation/digital-health/digitalhealth. There are also more training opportunities on GuildEd for both pharmacists and pharmacy assistants. Simply visit www.guilded.guild.org.au for more information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Electronic prescriptions - Understanding the Active Script List - Andrew Robinson and Brad McCulloch - Ep 77

Nutrition is important at every age. Your children need proper nutrients to stay healthy and strong, and to grow up to be healthy and strong. Nutrition for children can also help establish a foundation for healthy eating habits and nutritional knowledge that they can apply throughout life. However, what if meal times are a battle and your child is reluctant to eat a variety of foods? Should you be concerned? How can you ensure your child is getting enough nutrients? How do you change habits and the relationship your child has with food? In this episode, we speak with Karina Savage, leading Paediatric Gut Health Dietitian from Smartbite Nutrition, and mum of two young children. Karina has been helping families, clinically, for 20 years and loves to take the stress out of feeding little ones. Karina is incredibly passionate about the gut, specialising in food intolerance, allergy, and helping babies with irritability and gut issues. Karina also loves supporting parents who have fussy eaters, both through individual consultations and her feeding fussy eaters program. You can find more information at www.smartbite.com.au as well as further nutrition education for, all stages of life, on the GuildEd website at www.guilded.guild.org.au  The Guild would like to thank Abbott Australasia for sponsoring today’s podcast and supporting community pharmacies. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Supporting Fussy Eaters - Karina Savage from Smartbite Nutrition - Ep 76

Asking better questions creates stronger professional and personal relationships resulting in more empowerment, engagement, motivation, and better outcomes for everyone.  As such, Lindsay Tighe and Tina Dolphin, from the organisation Better Questions, join us to talk about transforming our communication. We discuss how to improve your communication skills including what makes a better question, how to avoid telling, and the importance of listening. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transforming Your Communication - Lindsay Tighe and Tina Dolphin from Better Questions - Ep 75

We speak with recently elected Guild National President, Trent Twomey and gain some insight into his first 100 days in the role. Trent discusses the highlights, challenges, and opportunities facing the sector and the vision for community pharmacy as we work towards the Guild’s centenary in 2028. We also learn more about the man himself, his career pathway, the people who have supported his journey, and his experiences as a regional community pharmacist. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The New Guild National President – Trent Twomey - Ep 74

Ian Shanks has been a pharmacist for over 40 years, is owner of the Fullife Pharmacies Group and CEO of the Fullife Foundation, an Australian charity focusing on the health of women and children in Ethiopia. Ian has had a lifelong interest in philanthropy, and through his pharmacies has been able to raise awareness and to support many charities both locally and internationally over the years. With the support of managing partners in his pharmacies now, Ian is able to focus on integrating his dual passions of continually developing the Fullife Pharmacies’ model as one of wellness and health management, with the complete integration of the Fullife Foundation, to help those he serves live a full life. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Community Pharmacy and Corporate Social Responsibility - Ian Shanks - Fullife Foundation and Fullife Pharmacies Group - Ep 73

For those who work in the health care space, there are quite a few rules and regulations that apply to how you promote and communicate services and products. For services, the rules are set down by Ahpra (the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency), but for products, particularly those deemed of a therapeutic nature, the Therapeutic Goods Administration has an Advertising Code.  The Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code ensures that the marketing and advertising of therapeutic goods is conducted in a manner that promotes the quality use of the product, is socially responsible, and does not mislead or deceive the consumer. That Code has a legislative Act and in 2019 the penalties attached to that Act were significantly increased.  The penalties apply to the organisation that’s publishing the advertising material, so it’s particularly important that our community pharmacies are aware of the Code and how they can comply – and not incur penalties. In this episode, we chat with Emi Gosling, Principal consultant from e-MAS about how advertising and marketing of therapeutic goods is regulated for health practitioners, and how community pharmacies can adapt their clever content for use on social media all the while ensuring materials sit on the right side of all the rules. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Advertising of Therapeutic Goods by Pharmacies - Emi Gosling - Ep 72

The words ‘unprecedented’ and ‘pivot’ have become the buzz words of the past year and for good reason. The world is still coming to terms with immense and rapid change and so too is community pharmacy. Community pharmacies stepped up to provide frontline healthcare and support to their patients and the wider community during the pandemic and they continue to be engaged, willing, and equipped to play an integral role in the response to Covid 19. In this epsiode, we speak with Andrew Pattinson, Head of Strategy and Partnerships for Pharmacy Platform, a business that assists pharmacies to build customer engagement by improving their marketing, retail, professional services, and HR performance.   Andrew discusses the challenges, opportunities, and learnings of 2020 and how to manage change in order to ensure community pharmacies continue to evolve into health hub destinations. We chat about change management principles, how to put them into practice and how to empower teams to champion change. The Guild is dedicated to supporting community pharmacies on their change journey. Guild members can access the CP2025 Framework for Change document at www.guild.org.au and for more information and support contact your local Guild branch.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Making the Change – Change Management with Andrew Pattinson - Ep 71

We’re living in a digital world and this means that a website is crucial for all business. Community pharmacy is no exception. Consumers today are more likely to visit a website before they visit the shop, and they’re looking for all the information they can get to make an informed impression.  Businesses also need to engage their customers online and this is where social media comes in! Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn allow community pharmacies to build relationships with customers, increase market reach, and develop their brand voice. Today, we welcome back Aaron D’Souza, pharmacist and General Manager of Guild Digital, to run us through the importance of an online presence for community pharmacies. An expert in enabling pharmacies to realise their business goals through digital technologies, Aaron provides his best tips and tricks to make the most out of websites and social media. This episode is brought to you with the help of the Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, Small Business Digital Champions project. Further information can be found at https://www.business.gov.au/Grants-and-Programs/Digital-Champions See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Importance of an Online Presence - Aaron D'Souza - Ep 70

Welcome to the Pharmacy Business & Career Network Podcast, brought to you by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia. Focussing on pharmacy management and ownership, the PBCN podcast supports the improvement and growth of your business performance with insights and advice from a range of industry professionals. The PBCN Podcast; supporting your journey every step of the way.