Doc Heilinbel's Pharmacy Emphasizes Personal Touch
Sunday, February 5th, 2012
With the advent of national pharmacies such as CVS, Walgreen's and Walmart, the old-fashioned pharmacist who personally knows the customers and is invested in their care has become somewhat of an anomaly. That is unless you are at Doc Heilinbel's Pharmacy in Albany.
"We want to know the people we are taking care of," said Chris Cleveland, owner and pharmacist at Doc Heilinbel's. "We try to call customers by name and provide the service they need. We're one of the few pharmacies that will deliver, for example."
Cleveland opened Doc Heilinbel's in 2007 after working since 1995 as a pharmacist at several different chains. The name Heilinbel is a compilation of the names of Cleveland's three children: Heilser, Rawlins and Campbell. The face on the logo for Doc Heilinbel's Pharmacy is Cleveland's great grandfather, who was also a pharmacist.
A Positive Outlook for 2012
Cleveland opened the pharmacy five years ago with two full-time employees. Today, four full-time technicians work in the pharmacy.
"People are getting to know us in the area and have heard about us through word of mouth. We're in year five and we're still growing so I have no complaints," Cleveland said. "Prescription counts were up about 10 percent this year and I expect we'll continue growing in 2012."
That positive outlook is consistent with the findings of the DrugTopics' 2012 Business Outlook Survey, an annual survey of more than 700 community, hospital and long-term-care pharmacists that examines the current industry climate and future prospects. In this year's survey, which was taken in late October, 70 percent of community pharmacists who responded predicted a good, very good or excellent business year for 2012.
At Doc Heilinbel's, Cleveland is adding a new register to reduce customer wait time for making a purchase. The pharmacy accepts most insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid.
Adding More Services to the Pharmacy
According to Cleveland, the pharmacy does its own compounding and is equipped to supply whatever medications a customer needs. "There is not much we can't do." He is also evaluating offering certain vaccines to customers in the pharmacy.
"We offer the flu vaccine and I'm looking into offering the shingles vaccine in 2012," he said.
Providing pharmacist-administered vaccines, health screenings and education are all ways pharmacists are expanding their services beyond dispensing prescriptions, which can be very competitively priced. Changes to Medicare Part D now enable pharmacists to be reimbursed for services such as creating a medication treatment plan, reviewing medication plans to identify adverse drug events and working with patients so they are more likely to stick to a medication regimen.
Offering Entertainment in the Gift Shop and at the Fountain
In addition to the pharmacy, Doc Heilinbel's includes a gift shop and a fountain that serves ice cream and drinks. Cleveland's wife, Margot, runs the gift shop, which carries jewelry, scarves, toys and one-of-a-kind items not found at retail chain stores, with the help of four part-time employees.
Both the gift shop and the fountain entertain our customers while they're here. Margot has new jewelry in from Waxing Poetic® and Allison Craft, a local artist. And we mix Cokes, shakes and malts at the fountain," Cleveland explained.
Doc Heilinbel's Pharmacy is located at 2409 Dawson Road in Albany. For more information, call the pharmacy at (229) 889-9203.
