I am NCPA

PHARMACY: Phipps Pharmacy, McKinsey, Tenn.,
with five locations

EDUCATION: University of Tennessee Health Science
Center College of Pharmacy

THE ADVOCACY ARGUMENT: “There are a couple of reasons why NCPA’s Congressional Pharmacy Fly-In was so important to me. The relationship between legislators and pharmacists is key and paramount to our success. We have a lot at stake right now, and while it’s not my first Fly-In, many people in my delegation from Tennessee were there for the first time. First time or not, we all wanted to be involved and, through NCPA, we had a roadmap to try to make a difference. That roadmap helped put their minds at ease, and NCPA does a great job of laying the groundwork and helping us to do our jobs.”

PERSONAL TOUCH: “To me it’s all about relationships. Whether it’s in Tennessee at our state house or in D.C., I try to learn as much as possible about the staffer or the legislator. I try to learn about their families or their pets or their interests, because I’m here as a person talking to another person, and that makes ‘the ask’ a lot more effective. When I saw Buddy Carter at APHA, the first thing I did was ask him about his granddaughters, and that made our conversation go better than if I had just jumped in to ask for PBM reform. Whether you’re behind the counter dealing with patients or at a national NCPA meeting, relationships are paramount to success. That’s what’s made me see success. I moved into a new area and opened a pharmacy – never having owned a community pharmacy before – and those relationships were critical for me. Lots of people can offer you to-do lists if you’re a legislator, but few can find a level with them. And it’s a level of comfort that you find is important with patients, too.”

RELATIONSHIPS PUSH POLITICS: “All politics are local, it’s been said. I’m a pharmacist and a county commissioner so I have seen that first-hand. We need to see what’s happening at the state level as relevant to the national level, and vice versa. NCPA does a great job of weighing those two efforts pointed at different levels of government. The through-line of this interview is about relationships and if you develop good patient relationships, you have an opening to discuss issues with them. If they’re asking about mail-order drugs and they trust you, you can paint a picture for them about what’s going on. I don’t use terms like ‘vertical integration’ with them, but I explain to them why their choices are being compromised.”

GRASSROOTS IN ACTION – ONE PATIENT AT A TIME: “We had Tennessee 1070, our PBM law that prohibits payments below cost, and I know hundreds of patients who sent messages to legislators. I did not help them do that via mass text or mass email. I helped them do that by talking to every single one of them, square in the eyes, and leveling with them in a conversation. If you have the best interests of your patients at heart, and they know that, they’re receptive to that kind of conversation.”

COMMONALITIES PUSH PROGRESS: “We have so much more in common than we have differences, between pharmacists, among patients, and within our country. I think you have to focus on the things that we all share – common interests – and celebrate those to get something done. Going negative and focusing on the negative is always the first step to failure. With patients, it’s similar, because we all want to live a happier, healthier life. We all want to be as prosperous as we can. Some people want to pursue one pathway to that life. Others want to pursue another pathway. If you’re working with groups, you have to find the common thread. If you’re working with an individual, you have to find what drives them to find the common experience. Take care of the commonality. That’s what I say. Think about the bricklayers building a cathedral in the 1600s. You talk to one bricklayer, and he says he’s doing it for his family. You talk to the mason, and he’ll say he’s building a wall. Ask a carpenter, and he’ll say he’s working for a higher power. All different motivations, but aimed at the same goal.”

WHAT NCPA MEANS TO ME: “What NCPA has done for me in the past – much of it was about representing the profession, for me. It was part of my identity to be an independent pharmacist and NCPA was perfect for me. Along with that, NCPA provided benefits and services. As time has evolved, to me, NCPA has become a core group for me – and I use the phrase “pharmacy gladiators” all the time, and NCPA brings us together to protect independent community pharmacists for the future. What do I see now? There’s a difference between being a member and an involved member, and that was a choice I made a long time ago, to be an involved member. It’s about progression for me. It’s about using my skills to move the profession forward with NCPA as my partner.”