member section
IPA Member Spotlight on:
Todd Thompson, RPh
By: Jacob Shell, PharmD University of Iowa College of Pharmacy The landscape of Iowa can be summarized as a collection of many small rural communities with a few densely populated cities. This landscape can be problematic when attempting to deliver healthcare to the more rural parts of our state. Todd Thompson and his counterparts at Reliant LTC have a solution with the inception of Victor Drug, Iowa’s first telepharmacy. Why Pharmacy? Todd Thompson’s interest in pharmacy grew out of a family connection. His brother-in-law was working as a pharmacist at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids where Todd was able to shadow his relative and develop his own interest in the profession. He decided to change majors early in his college career, and went on to graduate from the University of Iowa in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy. Early Career After graduation, Todd took a job as a staff pharmacist with Econo Foods in Muscatine, but unbeknownst to him the store had planned to close just 6 months after he was hired. He then moved across town and took a position with Hy-Vee in Muscatine, where he spent the next 6 years of his career as the pharmacy manager. After leaving Hy-Vee, Todd took a job with Walgreens where he worked 7 on/ 7 off, a schedule that allowed him time to develop ideas for starting his own business. Transition to Ownership With an opportunity to purchase an established pharmacy, Todd decided to leave his job with Walgreen’s and
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take ownership of Remedy Drug in Montezuma, a family-owned pharmacy for more than 100 years. In 2007, Todd and his cousin put their minds together and started Reliant LTC, focusing on the provision of long-term care to a variety of local facilities. In addition to Remedy Drug, Reliant LTC operates 5 other pharmacies and provides services for 24 nursing homes. Today, Todd spends much of his time in a management role, building and strengthening relationships with his business partners. The most rewarding aspect of his current position is the long-term care portion of his business; Todd believes long-term care provides pharmacists with the greatest opportunity to improve patients’ quality of life and impact the lives of their families. Telepharmacy Four years ago, the small town of Victor, IA lost their community pharmacy; one year ago, they got it back in the form of Iowa’s first telepharmacy. Todd Thompson believes that telepharmacy is an improvement over traditional community pharmacies in both safety and accuracy. How can this be? First and foremost, the software that Victor Drug utilizes requires more checking and verifying than most community pharmacies. This software, which was personally developed by Todd’s stepson as an improved version of currentlyavailable programs, also requires consultation on every prescription that is dispensed. In Todd’s opinion, this enables the pharmacist to engage the patient in a more valuable and beneficial consultation, and patients have been very receptive to this interaction. The success of Victor Drug did not come easy, however. Todd and Reliant LTC had to clear numerous legislative hurdles as their proposed telepharmacy was Iowa’s first ever. It took 10 months from the time the Board of Pharmacy
approved the idea until the doors of Victor Drug were opened. Todd wanted to ensure that his pharmacy was utilizing software capable of improving patient safety, not just meeting the status quo. When asked what role he believes telepharmacy will play in Iowa, Todd’s response was very clear: “Telepharmacy is a great tool for small owners to survive on a lower volume of prescriptions.” Community Involvement Aside from his career in pharmacy, Todd is very involved with his community. He is very passionate about his faith and has served as an elder at his church for the past four years. Todd also spends his time coaching basketball and working with young adults in his community. He has always tried to involve young people in his business, and is proud to say that eight of his former employees have graduated from or are currently enrolled in a PharmD program. When he has some time of his own, which is few and far between, Todd enjoys trout fishing and playing golf. Vision for the Future As the practice of pharmacy continues to evolve, Todd believes the practice of pharmacy will become more and more automated. He bases this belief on two realities: prescription reimbursement continues to diminish, and automation allows pharmacies to operate more efficiently. By utilizing technology to their advantage, Todd believes that independent pharmacies can and will stay competitive.