What About Pharmacists?

With growing responsibilities in chronic disease management and consultancy services, pharmacists are playing a bigger role in healthcare than ever before. That makes them a crucial audience for healthcare brands. Get engagement right, and you can influence patient decision-making, improve medication adherence, and ultimately impact both outcomes and commercial success.

Pharmacists are on the front line of patient care, consulting daily, handling pharmaceutical products, advising on medicines, dosing, and adverse events, and making crucial treatment recommendations. While GPs and specialists can be hard to reach, pharmacists are right there—on the doorstep—arguably knowing patients and their needs better than anyone. 

Understanding the Frontline Perspective 

If you want to engage pharmacists in a way that truly resonates, you need to hear from them directly. In this episode, I sit down with Thorrun Govind—an influential British pharmacist, solicitor, broadcaster, and former chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in England—to explore how pharma can move beyond transactional interactions and build real, meaningful collaborations with frontline HCPs. 

Understanding Where Pharma Engagement Falls Short 

• Interrupting Their Workflow – Dropping in unannounced or engaging at peak hours disrupts pharmacists’ work and shows a lack of understanding. 

• One-Sided Conversations – Simply pushing product data isn’t enough. Listening to pharmacists’ needs and challenges is key. 

• Ignoring Their Expanding Role – Pharmacists are delivering more clinical services than ever. Pharma should align its support accordingly. 

• Lack of Advocacy – Why are GPs and other HCPs training pharmacists when pharmacists themselves should be leading the conversation? Many feel overlooked and undervalued by the industry. 

Thorrun and I break down these challenges and offer practical solutions to help you engage pharmacists in a way that adds value—for them, for patients, and for your brand. 

If you found the conversation insightful and want to put these ideas into action, get in touch for a friendly chat with me or Thorrun. 

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