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Rex Pharmacy, a Health Mart® pharmacy, Receives McKesson's 2016 Pharmacy of the Year Award
[June 27, 2016]

Rex Pharmacy, a Health Mart® pharmacy, Receives McKesson's 2016 Pharmacy of the Year Award


MCKESSON IDEASHARE - Rex Pharmacy, a Health Mart pharmacy located in Atlantic, Iowa, has been named the 2016 Pharmacy of the Year Grand Prize Winner by McKesson Corporation. McKesson's Pharmacy of the Year award recognizes independent pharmacies that are driving the future success of independent pharmacy through the delivery of superior patient care. Rex Pharmacy has been a McKesson customer and a member of Health Mart® since 2011 with pharmacy owner Josh Borer, who was honored in a special awards ceremony during the Opening General Session at the McKesson ideaShare 2016 conference in Chicago.

"Rex Pharmacy and all of our regional winners are dedicated to providing their customers with extraordinary service that improves patient care and demonstrates why community pharmacies continue to thrive," said Mark Walchirk, president, McKesson U.S. Pharmaceutical. "McKesson and Health Mart will continue to invest in progressive strategies, innovative solutions and clinical services that support the growth of independent pharmacies through the delivery of quality patient care."

Aggressively implementing a medication synchronization program after attending McKesson ideaShare for the first time in 2013, Rex Pharmacy now has more than 415 patients enrolled to pick-up all of their medications on a scheduled basis. Borer not only attributes 20% store growth to the successful transition to an appointment-based model, but also improved patient care. The pharmacy is currently performing in the top 20% in all quality measures. "I'm proud to carry on the community legacy of Rex Pharmacy, which was founded more than 75 years ago. It is very important to me and my entire staff that we remain a healthcare destination, a place where patients come for better outcomes," said Borer. "Our collective focus on viewing our patients' health as a whole, drives us to continually look at offering innovative new services and proactive, personalized service. Shifting to an appointment-based model was the first step in this transition, and we've followed that with adherence packaging, pharmaco-genetic testing and transitions of care services to help provide medication continuity when our patients are moved from one care setting to another."

Dedicated to helping patients manage their prescriptions properly, Borer and his technicians regularly perform patient outreach programs, calling on the first prescription fill to ensure compliance, birthday calls and even the occasional "just checking in on your health and medication" calls. In addition to a successful 340B relationship with the local health system, Rex Pharmacy also helps monitor medications and provides compliance packaging for several residential care facilities and intermediate care facilities.

Community involvement is a significant focus at Rex Pharmacy and everybody on the staff is involved with various community groups or activities. According to Borer, "not only does this help generate customer relationships and loyalty, but you also get to know their need, what they're looking for, and by being out there in the community helping, you get ideas from your customer base that maybe you wouldn't have thought of on your own."



The pharmacy has also been successful in growing their business with innovative marketing efforts developed using Health Mart's Local Marketing Support program. Borer hosts a local radio program offering seasonal health tips and his other marketing efforts include in-store promotional tools, radio spots, social media through Facebook and Twitter (News - Alert), and a mobile and search-friendly pharmacy website at www.RexRx.com. The pharmacy actively cultivates relationships with local prescribers with fax blasts of differentiated service offerings, personal visits and hosting "Business After Hours" receptions focused on the partnership with the prescriber community for better patient outcomes.

McKesson recognized three additional pharmacies as Pharmacy of the Year regional winners for their innovation and outstanding contributions to their communities. This year's regional winners are:


  • Mountain View Pharmacy in Pleasant View, Utah, owned by Hal Roe. The pharmacy is one of five Health Mart pharmacies owned by Roe, who plans continued expansion through exceptional customer service and innovative marketing. Roe has served as a speaker to his peers at the past two Health Mart Town Hall Series on Star Ratings and Med Sync. In addition to extensively using the Health Mart marketing hub, Roe also instituted "Provider Lunch and Learns" to market the pharmacy's unique services, such as compounding, patient adherence initiatives, and medication compliance packaging. Mountain View Pharmacy actively maintains a social media presence and deep community involvement of the entire staff has generated very strong customer loyalty and retention rates.
  • Family Health Mart in Hampstead, MD, owned by Eric Yospa. Family Health Mart has served the Hampstead community as an independent compounding pharmacy since 1975. Second generation pharmacist-owner Eric Yospa bought Family Health Mart in 2007 from his father, who still works at the pharmacy. Yospa, who regularly counsels patients on managing their medications, was featured in the Health Mart Local Hero Advertising campaign, featuring radio, TV and outdoor advertisements that championed Health Mart pharmacists as local unsung heroes.
  • Iuka Discount Drug in Iuka, MS, owned by Chris Cornelison. Iuka, a Health Mart pharmacy, holds weekly staff meetings focused on customer service and ensuring that the pharmacy takes care of each patient's every need. For example, Iuka hosted a Medicare Part D event to help educate patients on choosing the most cost-effective plan that's right for them and recently implemented a "Free Vitamin Program" for more than 700 children. When an employee's son was diagnosed with autism, Cornelison helped create a Foundation to place service dogs with autistic children in the community. Cornelison was named entrepreneur of the year by Pharmacy Development Services based on the growth of his pharmacy and the launch of a line of supplements and drug nutrient depletion products designed to help keep patients healthy.

For more information on McKesson and Health Mart's announcements from McKesson ideaShare 2016, please visit McKesson's online newsroom at www.mckesson.com/newsroom or mckessonideashare.com.

About Health Mart®

Health Mart is America's fastest-growing independent pharmacy franchise with more than 4,700 locally owned community pharmacies across all 50 states. Health Mart pharmacists provide personalized care and take the time to help patients understand their prescription-drug coverage, how to safely manage multiple medications, and how to take advantage of lower-cost medication options. As an important member of the healthcare team, Health Mart pharmacists possess strong clinical knowledge and partner with their patients, and their patients' other healthcare providers, to help them manage and improve patients' health. The Health Mart franchise is owned by Health Mart Systems, Inc., which is an affiliate of McKesson Corporation. Pharmacists interested in learning more about joining Health Mart can explore becomeahealthmart.com. Consumers can find a locally owned Health Mart pharmacy by visiting healthmart.com, where you will also find comprehensive online health and wellness information.

About McKesson

McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 5th on the FORTUNE 500, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to making the business of healthcare run better. McKesson partners with payers, hospitals, physician offices, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies, and others across the spectrum of care to build healthier organizations that deliver better care to patients in every setting. McKesson helps its customers improve their financial, operational, and clinical performance with solutions that include pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management, healthcare information technology, and business and clinical services. For more information, visit www.mckesson.com.


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