AMBIENCE DISPENSED WITH THE PILLS.Byline: JULIA M. SCOTT Staff Writer Local pharmacies are taking a hit from Medicare Part D, but a few shops are bucking the trend by focusing on unique businesses strategically placed at the front of their stores. These front-end businesses, like the ones at three pharmacies highlighted below, offset sinking drug profits and offer a window into what independent pharmacies may look like in the future. Old-fashioned appeal Fair Oaks Fair Oaks, town, United States Fair Oaks, uninc. residential town (1990 pop. 26,867), Sacramento co., N central Calif., on the American River, in a growing citrus fruit and farm area. Pharmacy in South Pasadena South Pasadena (păs'ədē`nə), city (1990 pop. 23,936), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles; inc. 1888. Medical supplies, clothing, and transportation and electronic equipment are manufactured. is known less for its drugs than its antique tin ceilings, light fixtures and a soda fountain imported from a pharmacy in Joplin, Mo. Customers sip old-fashioned egg-cream sodas at the counter or eat sandwiches at tables while pharmacist and owner Zahra Shahniani fills prescriptions. The pharmacy brings in 75 to 80 percent of the revenue, but patrons often line up for table service at the restaurant, said general manager Ron Stock. Neither would be viable without the other. "We make jokes what a pain the restaurant is to run, but we have to have it," Stock said. "All of this draws people to come here." Anne Dixon remembers coming to the pharmacy when she was 7 years old. Back then it was a stuffy place where employees watched closely for shoplifters. Now, Dixon, 53, was sharing an ice-cream sundae with her daughter and a friend. She doesn't use the pharmacy because it is not covered not covered Health care adjective Referring to a procedure, test or other health service to which a policy holder or insurance beneficiary is not entitled under the terms of the policy or payment system–eg, Medicare. Cf Covered. by her health plan. "If you live in South Pasadena, this is the kind of place you like to take visitors," she said. Medical specialty medical specialty Any specialty that provides non-interventional Pt management, ie with drugs, or with minimum intervention–eg, balloon catheterization Examples Internal medicine–allergy and immunology, cardiology, gastroenterology, hematology/oncology, John Sykora has made a living selling products that chain stores don't want to touch. Sykora, who has owned Abrams & Clark in Long Beach for 30 years, specializes in ostomy ostomy Surgical opening in the body, or the operation creating it, usually to allow discharge of wastes through the abdominal wall. It may be temporary, to relieve strain on damaged organs, or permanent, to replace normal channels congenitally missing or surgically removed products like pouches that collect feces after rectal surgery. Early in his career, he was exposed to the equipment while working in a hospital's surgical ward. "I had a comfort level working with these products that maybe other people didn't," said Sykora, 63. Ostomy products, mastectomy mastectomy (măstĕk`təmē), surgical removal of breast tissue, usually done as treatment for breast cancer. There are many types of mastectomy. In general, the farther the cancer has spread, the more tissue is taken. items and uncommon wound dressings generate about half his income. It's a steady revenue source because nearby chains shy away from Verb 1. shy away from - avoid having to deal with some unpleasant task; "I shy away from this task" avoid - stay clear from; keep away from; keep out of the way of someone or something; "Her former friends now avoid her" these non-impulse buys, he said. Selling specialized medical equipment dovetails with filling prescriptions, which is why he keeps the pharmacy open even though his income from filling prescriptions has dipped. "It's a nice complement to each other," Sykora said. Boutique? Dana Drug Store is shoehorned into a strip mall strip mall n. A shopping complex containing a row of various stores, businesses, and restaurants that usually open onto a common parking lot. Noun 1. like any other in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , but inside, this Burbank pharmacy sells Waterford crystal flutes, University of Southern California The U.S. News & World Report ranked USC 27th among all universities in the United States in its 2008 ranking of "America's Best Colleges", also designating it as one of the "most selective universities" for admitting 8,634 of the almost 34,000 who applied for freshman admission beer mugs and bath confetti imported from France. Official Clinique and Estee Lauder cosmetics counters line one side of the store, while the other offers miniature ceramic containers to preserve baby teeth. Oh, and you can fill your Lipitor prescription in back. "I have a lot of people who come into the store and don't realize there is a pharmacy," said Ash Zaky, who owns Dana Drug with his wife, Lois. "People think it's just a boutique." About half his customers come just for the gifts and luxury goods, he said. One customer in five comes strictly for prescriptions. Zaky, 45, has a business model that chains have championed and that he sees as his ticket to staying open. "The uniqueness of the store can actually give me a competitive edge in the marketplace," he said. "It's a convenience store." julia.scott(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3735 |
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