The Pharmacy Post

Is Your Pharmacy Ready for Summer?

It’s summertime, and that means lots of people are traveling all over the country and abroad. With so many trip details on their minds, sometimes essential items and prescription planning can fall off their radar. But being a proactive pharmacist, you can help make sure your customers are covered for their meds, know to check border crossing rules, and have all the products they need for a safe and fun vacation!

Stocking seasonal products in high visibility areas of your store should be a priority. These include the obvious like sunscreens and sunburn ointments, but don’t forget about the more natural-remedy customers who might prefer alternatives like chemical free mineral based creams to help tackle the sun.

Something you’ll want to let your customers know is that different countries have different laws regarding what kind of medications you’re allowed to bring across borders. A little bit of research ahead of time can save them from a bad situation where they lose vital meds without warning by simply not being prepared. Encourage your customers to contact the embassies of the countries they’re visiting for guidelines on what medications they can bring in, and how much as well. Some will allow prescriptions but only up to a certain day supply. If you felt like being especially proactive, you could do a little research yourself on commonly visited countries and the restrictions they have for bringing in medications.

Another thing you can proactively offer is to make sure your customers are refilling their prescriptions in time, so they don’t run out while they are traveling. Trying to refill prescriptions especially in a foreign country can be difficult if not outright impossible! It’s also recommended that they keep their meds on their person and not in checked baggage to remove the risk of lost bags leaving them without their drugs unexpectedly.

You may find it handy to make a little cheat sheet flyer with some of this critical information to pass out to your customers. If you keep an email list of your customers, you could also put this information in an email with a reminder to make sure they fill their prescriptions before they leave. The last thing to consider is depending on where your customers might be going, they’ll want to make sure they have all the vaccines they need.

By providing your customers with these easy value-added services, you can both ensure your customers are covered and protected, and know how much you value them. These small things can add up in developing the kind of relationship that keeps them loyal for years to come.