The New Year has begun, and your patients are working on their New Year’s resolutions.
As an independent community pharmacist, you can help your patients reach their goals (and increase business along the way). Three of the most common New Year’s resolutions—to lose weight, to quit smoking and to get fit and healthy—are health-related and you can address them in your pharmacy.
According to research from the University of Scranton, about 45 percent of Americans set New Year’s resolutions each year. While 70 percent of those who set resolutions will stick to them for the first two weeks of January, only about 8 percent will successfully achieve their goals long-term.
With your support, your patients can stick to their resolutions well beyond January 14, and stick with your pharmacy, too. Here are some easy ways you can help your patients achieve their New Year’s resolutions and show off your pharmacy as a helpful place for all their health needs.
Provide useful, realistic tips
Many people fail to stick to their resolutions because they attempt to make huge, unrealistic changes.
You can help patients by pointing out small, everyday changes that they can make to help them lose weight and stay healthy. Share simple tips like replacing one unhealthy snack each day with fruits or vegetables or ordering smaller portions at restaurants.
Create flyers that include all your tips to hand out at the register and with prescriptions, or post your tips on your pharmacy’s social media pages. Encourage your patients to ask questions and share their concerns and progress. Talking publicly about their resolutions is another way to increase their chances of success.
Speaking with your patients about these tips in-person is a great opportunity to engage with them. You’ll get to know them better, and they’ll get to know you and your pharmacy better, too.
Feature helpful products in your front end
When it comes to weight loss and smoking cessation, products that can help are probably already in your front end.
Make sure your patients know that you have these products by featuring them in end caps or displays. Put up a sign that ties the products to a specific New Year’s resolution to help the display stand out.
You could also make a themed display. Like a weight loss display that includes healthy snack substitutes and OTC weight loss products; a smoking cessation display with nicotine patches, chewing gum and lozenges; or a healthy lifestyle display with vitamins and supplements.
Encourage awareness and adherence
Your patients want to be healthier this year. And you can help them overcome some of the biggest obstacles to healthy living: lack of knowledge about their health and non-adherence to their health and medication plans.
Talk with your patients about how their resolutions relate to their health conditions and medications, and how taking their medications as prescribed can affect the big picture of their health.
For example, the CDC has reported that non-adherence causes 30 to 50 percent of treatment failures and 125,000 deaths each year. Many patients don’t understand that non-adherence can seriously impede their health goals, and helping them realize this can get them excited about working with you to improve.
Recommend that your patients enroll in your medication synchronization program. This is a great first step to improve their adherence. Enrolling more patients can also build momentum for your program and boost your business with potential time-saving and revenue-increasing results. Here are some ideas on how to promote your medication synchronization program.
Promote your counseling services
The New Year is the perfect time to increase enrollment in weight loss and smoking cessation programs. If you offer these services, be sure to advertise them to your patients in-store and online.
Let your patients know that if they work with you one-on-one, you’ll help them better understand how they can pursue their resolutions, what they should reasonably expect to accomplish and the lasting effects their choices and goals can make on their health.
By committing to help your patients achieve their long-term health goals, you can build their trust in you and your pharmacy, and create satisfied, loyal customers.
As a pharmacist, you’re a valuable source of support to your patients. Following these tips can help them become part of the 8 percent that achieve their New Year’s resolutions.
