Pharmacy Podcast Network

A strong marketing strategy depends on the variety and relevance of your content. In this episode, we dive into what a diverse content strategy is, why it matters, and how it can elevate your marketing efforts. We’ll highlight the key benefits of producing varied content, common pitfalls to avoid, and practical tips for integrating different content types across your channels. Tune in to learn how to engage your audience more effectively, strengthen your online presence, and make your marketing work harder for you.

On this episode of This Week in Pharmacy, we examine three major forces shaping healthcare today: the global impact of conflict on health security, the continued evolution of personalized specialty pharmacy care, and the over-the-counter products patients rely on most. We open the show with Aman Gupta, Managing Partner, Asia-Pacific at SPAG FINN Partners, and contributor author at MedikaLife. Aman joins TWIRx to discuss his latest MedikaLife article, which argues that global conflict is quietly undermining health security by redirecting funding, attention, and infrastructure away from healthcare and toward defense priorities. As military spending rises, health systems—especially in low- and middle-income countries—face growing pressure from shrinking access, rising costs, workforce shortages, disrupted supply chains, weakened disease surveillance, and reduced emergency preparedness. Conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan demonstrate how attacks on healthcare systems, displacement, malnutrition, and shortages of essential medicines can rapidly turn health access into a survival issue. Aman urges policymakers to treat health as strategic security infrastructure, not as a secondary social expense. TWIRx also gives a special shout out to the Indian Pharmaceutical Association, recognizing its continued leadership and advocacy for the pharmacy profession. Next, we welcome Dr. Chris Antypas, PharmD, with Perigon Pharmacy 360, for a discussion on how specialty pharmacy is becoming increasingly personalized. As complex therapies continue to advance, pharmacists are playing a critical role in ensuring medications and treatment plans are customized to optimize patient care. We explore how technology, workflow processes, clinical expertise, and pharmacists who deeply understand specific disease states are essential to successful specialty pharmacy outcomes. To wrap up the episode, returning guest Shanley Chien Pierce, Senior Editor, Health at U.S. News & World Report, joins us to review the latest OTC medicine and health product evaluations. Top-rated products include Children’s Delsym for coughs, Unisom for sleep, and Pedialyte for electrolytes, along with skincare favorites such as La Roche-Posay for retinol and Aquaphor for lip balm. For the full list covering more than 128 categories, visit the U.S. News Best OTC Medicine & Health Products rankings. Sponsored by Perigon Pharmacy 360 Listen & Subscribe Stay connected with This Week in Pharmacy and the Pharmacy Podcast Network for conversations with pharmacy leaders, healthcare innovators, policy experts, and industry voices shaping the future of care.

What's the difference between marketing and advertising and why does it matter for your pharmacy? In this episode of the Bottom Line Pharmacy Podcast, Austin Murray sits down with Bruce Kneeland, longtime independent pharmacy advocate and host of the Pharmacy Crossroads podcast, for a candid conversation about what it really takes to grow an independent pharmacy in today's competitive landscape.Bruce shares his fascinating journey from a chance job posting at BYU that landed him in Fargo, North Dakota, to senior roles at Health Mart, AmerisourceBergen, and eventually becoming a consultant and road-tripper who has visited pharmacies coast to coast.In this episode, Bruce and Austin cover:- Marketing vs. advertising and why confusing the two is costing pharmacies patients- The word-of-mouth myth and why relying on it alone is "killing you slowly"- Messaging that connects how to talk about complex services like compounding in language patients actually understand- The B2B opportunity and why your real customer for compounding and specialty services might be the prescriber, not the patientAnd more!

On this episode of This Week in Pharmacy, we examine two major forces reshaping the profession: the unfinished business of pharmacist provider status and the legal landscape around direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical distribution. In part one, Erik Abel, PharmD, MBA, discusses his May 2026 analysis, “So Pharmacists Want to Be a Provider: Where the Profession Lost Its Way and Perhaps a Path to Get Back.” Abel argues that pharmacy’s provider-status challenge is not a lack of clinical evidence, but a lack of operational infrastructure: credentialing, payer contracting, revenue cycle management, interoperability, and scalable business models. In part two, Darshan Kulkarni, PharmD, Esq., joins the show to discuss direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical distribution, legal risk, regulatory scrutiny, telehealth-linked prescribing, manufacturer strategy, and what pharmacists need to understand as drug distribution moves closer to the patient. This week in pharmacy news, Pittsburgh-area pharmacies continue to face uneven access to Adderall and other ADHD medications, years after the FDA first identified shortages in 2022. Patients are still calling multiple pharmacies, switching medications, rationing doses, or going without treatment as availability varies by dosage, formulation, manufacturer, and wholesaler. Pharmacists are also using medication therapy management to protect older adults from preventable medication-related harm. MTM reviews can identify risky prescriptions and OTC products, including diphenhydramine, duplicate therapies, drug interactions, and long-term proton pump inhibitor use that may need reassessment. In 340B news, CVS Health is facing federal lawsuits from major health systems alleging CVS Specialty and WellPartner improperly retained approximately $250 million in savings that should have gone back to covered entities. The litigation adds pressure to debates over PBM integration, contract pharmacy arrangements, and 340B transparency. On Capitol Hill, lawmakers are pressing the Department of Defense to commit to annual audits of the TRICARE pharmacy contract as concerns continue around PBM conflicts of interest, reimbursement practices, network adequacy, and access for independent and community pharmacies.

Today’s guest and I fundamentally agree on the basic premise of the body’s innate wisdom and capacity to heal, especially when we view it in a broader ecological context. According to him, infertility doesn't mean the body is broken; it's actually making intelligent, adaptive, and protective decisions made by the 4 foundational systems of the body that created life in the first place based on environmental conditions, resources, safety, and energy. Nick Dorsey, FDN-P, is a systems-based fertility and health educator, biochemist, and former chemistry educator who helps couples understand why fertility shuts down even when labs look normal and they're doing all the right things. With a Master's in biochemistry and over a decade teaching chemistry, physics, and environmental science, he translates complex biology into a clear understanding of how the body makes decisions. Nick’s research and experience supports that the body isn't broken, it's adapting intelligently to depletion, toxicity, and chronic stress, and symptoms like inflammation, fatigue, anxiety, gut dysfunction, and unexplained infertility are protective signals from a system in survival mode.Nick teaches health through the Four Pillars of biological readiness: the microbiome as the environmental interface, mitochondria as energy and resource allocators, minerals as the electrical and enzymatic stabilizers of physiology, and the nervous system as the regulator of safety and coherence. Rather than chasing symptoms, his work restores these systems so the body can repair, regulate, and reproduce when conditions are biologically appropriate. Functional labs reveal patterns of adaptation that explain why the body is saying not now, and what it needs next.Nick works with individuals and couples through high-touch, data-informed programs, with a long-term commitment to healthy pregnancies, births, and families across generations. He's a father of two with another on the way, both born at home, and long before biochemistry he spent most of his life teaching, coaching, and supporting children, including leading a youth ministry for kids with disabilities. Connect with Nick via:Email: Nick@functionalchemistry.com IG: @FunctionalChemistryYT: @FunctionalChemistry10

This week, This Week in Pharmacy examines several stories shaping the business, clinical, and legal future of pharmacy practice. In TWIRx News from Pharmacy Times from Megan Maroney, PharmD, BCPP, FAAPP, focused on antidepressant use, withdrawal concerns, deprescribing, and shared decision-making. The key takeaway: patients should never stop antidepressants abruptly. Pharmacists can play a vital role in reducing stigma, educating patients, and supporting safe conversations about tapering, side effects, and long-term treatment. In health technology news, FDB research presented at the 2026 AMIA Amplify Informatics Conference found that patient-specific, risk-based medication guidance reduced pharmacy alert volume by 70% in a high-volume community pharmacy setting. The model consolidates alerts into one actionable message tied to the patient’s most relevant risk, helping reduce alert fatigue and improve workflow. Finally, we review a federal court ruling in Eli Lilly’s lawsuit against Houston-based Empower Pharmacy over compounded tirzepatide versions of Mounjaro and Zepbound. The judge dismissed key federal trademark and Texas unfair competition claims, while allowing other state claims to continue.Andy Crawford, with Keysource is back on TWIRx talking about the U.S. Supreme Court taking up Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. v. Amarin Pharma Inc., a case that could significantly affect generic drug competition. At issue is whether Hikma’s marketing materials and public communications around its generic version of Amarin’s fish oil-based cardiovascular drug improperly promoted a still-patented use. Hikma and the broader generic industry argue the case is about protecting “skinny label” rules, which allow generics to carve out patented indications while still bringing lower-cost medications to market. For pharmacists, the decision could influence generic availability, substitution confidence, pricing pressure, and how manufacturers communicate with providers and pharmacies. Thanks to our sponsors, CassianRx and IPC, for supporting independent pharmacy, innovation, and the future of patient-centered care.

In this episode of Executive Dose, Marc Essensa, CEO at IPC, joins the conversation to discuss what leadership looks like inside community pharmacy during one of the most pressured moments in the profession. The episode explores how vision, strategy, ethics, and creative thinking can help independent pharmacies not only survive, but compete and grow. Marc and Stephen examine the realities facing pharmacy owners today, including reimbursement pressure, shrinking margins, labor challenges, operational overload, and the emotional toll of pharmacy closures. The discussion moves beyond day-to-day survival and focuses on what separates leaders who react from those who lead with clarity and discipline. The episode also highlights the importance of building a business model that can compete, using partnerships, technology, operational efficiency, and new service models to create long-term value. Marc also speaks to the role of business ethics and trust, emphasizing that in community pharmacy, leadership character is not optional — it is part of the business strategy. Key Topics Leadership under pressure in community pharmacy How pharmacy owners can lead with vision during uncertainty Strategic mistakes that weaken independent pharmacies Operational efficiency, differentiation, and growth opportunities The role of IPC in helping pharmacies compete Why ethics, transparency, and trust matter in pharmacy leadership Creativity, courage, and innovation in the future of community pharmacy