Industry Focus

12 Industry Focus CUSTOMER CONVERSATION For Westpac Healthcare, customer relationships are more than "a standard transactional function", says Relationship Manager Peter Elkerbout. Industry insights, techniques and strategies to help customers achieve business success and personal wealth are priorities. Peter has worked with pharmacist David Manuel on various projects over the years. "David is a very insightful individual and has extensive industry knowledge, hence I often spend time speaking with him to get an idea about what's going on in the industry," Peter says. David, you're the sole proprietor of Amcal Max Tuart Hill and a partner of Amcal Max Burswood (both in WA). How long have you been in business? Twenty years at Tuart Hill and 15 years at Burswood. They're both seven-days-a-week, late-night businesses. Tuart Hill has been there for over 60 years so it's a very mature, community-based business. It is focused on professional services and community involvement. The specialty areas are aged care, compounding and opiate dependency. What does modern pharmacy look like? We're very much the last vestige of the true small business with a strong community focus. In fact, I would argue that for the majority of pharmacists across the country, their measures of success are more about fulfilment and community involvement than profit, which is a message we need to send to government. It has a unique place in the Australian landscape, insofar as we are the custodians of an amazing social policy called the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), and we must do everything we can to protect that on behalf of all Australians. Do you believe pharmacy is being affected by big businesses? Firstly, I don't think pharmaceuticals are ordinary items of commerce, a view that is consistent with the quality use of medicine principles espoused by various governments for many years. One could argue that the big-box discount model is commoditising pharmaceuticals as ordinary items of commerce. Having said that, the model is a natural progression for a population seeking increased value, so it has its place, but it seems to come at the expense of the traditional pharmacy model. It also creates opportunity for specialty pharmacy and for those who want to focus on the delivery of primary healthcare and professional services. Can you elaborate on this focus? Currently, our income is based on volume of care. It's very much an activity-based funding model—if you process a lot of prescriptions in the dispensary, you have prospered. In my view, that doesn't equate to quality healthcare. The challenge is to optimise the use of the PBS to keep people out of hospital and to improve their quality of life. In what direction is funding moving? We have to reduce our concentration risk on government funding—that's a given. Health is going to evolve as a public/private partnership, which is going to involve greater participation from other stakeholders, such as private health insurers, large employers, state governments and consumers. I see it moving towards more of an outcome-based payment system, rather than the activity- based payment system we currently operate under because that is, in my view, a poor measure of the value of community pharmacy. We need to look more closely at the data we collect and use it more effectively to allocate the diminishing resources. How does having a good banking relationship help you in your work? I get the most amazing value from the resources available at Westpac. Having a Relationship Manager with whom you build a relationship of trust is a safety net. I'd also encourage anyone to use their business manager as a resource for business advisory and benchmark data. My business managers have backed me as an individual, they've understood what motivates me—that's why I've never moved from Westpac. I couldn't be where I am without Westpac's support. Pharmacist David Manuel wears many hats: proprietor of two pharmacies; WA branch committee member of the Pharmacy Guild; and non-executive director on the board of Sigma Pharmaceuticals. He combines his sense of humour with his passion for running small businesses that service the community WORDS: AMAL AWAD A chat with David Manuel LEFT: Pharmacist David Manuel sees the industry moving towards a more outcome-based payment model.

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