Monday, December 07, 2015

Courier News

Courtesy of the 12/2/15 edition of Ida County Courier (www.idacountrycourier.com).  The Ida County Courier is available at Cubby's in Odebolt, and Sparky's in Arthur.

December 15th Informational pharmacy meeting in Odebolt

The City of Odebolt will hold an informational pharmacy meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 15, at 6:30 p.m., at the Odebolt Community Center. Alex Graber of TelePharm will be present to answer questions. The city urges residents to attend, as community support is needed to make it happen.

TelePharm is committed to delivering pharmacy services where they either don’t exist today or are at risk. Its unique technology enables them to put pharmacies in communities which couldn’t previously support one.

TelePharm has developed a technology solution that drastically reduces the costs of operating a pharmacy. This means that its pharmacies don’t need as many prescriptions in order to cover their costs. What it means for the public is that pharmacies can open and operate in small, rural communities where it wasn’t previously economically viable.

Independent retail pharmacies are closing across the United States, leaving many patients without local access to these critical health services. A pharmacy powered by TelePharm is the solution for these rural communities. It is a physical pharmacy, which can operate sustainably in rural towns.

TelePharm pharmacies become an integral part of the local community and offer lots of local benefits, including:
• Provide access to another healthcare provider, helping to fill gaps in care and improve overall health in the community.
• Prevent the need to travel long distances because prescription and over-the-counter medications will be available locally.
• Increase economic development by creating a storefront, quality-paid jobs and keeping money in the community.

TelePharm makes the process simple and easy for the community. Its main responsibility is to get community leaders together and measure the community’s interest. After that, TelePharm takes care of the rest.

The basic steps each community will need to take:
• Determine the community’s interest in supporting a local pharmacy.
• Complete the application identifying the community participants.
• Assist in identifying the pharmacy location (TelePharm prefers to pay rent).
• Help spread the word about the pharmacy opening.

TelePharm is committed to rural communities and bringing pharmacy services to underserved areas. TelePharm wants to give back to the community as much as possible, but they also know how important community support is to having a successful pharmacy. To show the community support and ensure the pharmacy’s success, TelePharm requires communities to participate in bringing a pharmacy to their community.

Participation can be made up of the community itself, any number of individuals from the community or both. The participant(s) help to cover the initial costs of getting the pharmacy up and running and then enjoy a portion of the profits of the pharmacy as long as the pharmacy is in operation. It is your community’s way of showing its desire to have a local pharmacy.

TelePharm has found that this type of pharmacy will only be successful in communities who support it and the community contribution does the following:
• It shows the community’s support.
• It allows TelePharm to deepen its relationship with the community.

TelePharm is committed to the communities it serves, so they’ve created a company policy to donate 25 percent of the profits of the local store back to the community each year. The pharmacy is owned and operated by TelePharm and its partners, so all the community needs to do is choose the best location and who is going to participate. TelePharm handles everything else.

Typically, it will take between six to eight months to get a Tele-Pharm pharmacy up and running. TelePharm and its partners work with all major insurance carriers and make every effort to ensure the public will never pay more for a prescription at a local Tele-Pharm pharmacy than they would at any other retail pharmacy.


www.idacountycourier.com


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