Michelle Britt: Why Pharmacists Need a Seat at the Policy Table

Independent pharmacies have spent the past several years absorbing shrinking reimbursements, rising operating costs and mounting administrative burden, pressures that have pushed many owners to rethink their business models just to stay open. In the first two installments of her video interview series, Michelle Britt, senior vice president of retail independent pharmacy at Cardinal Health, walked through the financial squeeze independent pharmacy owners are facing and the ways they are diversifying into wellness programs, preventative health services and clinical offerings to build new revenue streams.

In this final installment, Britt turns to the policy landscape and what needs to change to secure the long-term future of independent pharmacy. She argues that pharmacists occupy a unique vantage point in healthcare: they are often the first to see how policy decisions made in Washington or in state capitals play out for patients in real time. That frontline perspective, she says, needs a formal seat at the policymaking table if the industry wants to make lasting progress over the next five to 10 years.

Britt points to recent momentum on that front, citing a sustained advocacy push from pharmacists, state pharmacy associations and industry groups that is beginning to translate into real traction at both the state and federal levels, particularly around initiatives that make it easier for patients to access care directly through their local pharmacies.

Watch the full conversation for Britt's take on what durable policy change could look like for independent pharmacy, and how advocacy efforts already underway may be reshaping the conversation in Washington.

Access the previous episodes of her interview with PC:
1. Michelle Britt on the Three Forces Reshaping Independent Pharmacy Economics

2. Independent Pharmacy's Evolving Role: Michelle Britt on What's Next