Managing Medications

on February 18, 2015 at 12:58 am

Kevin Glick
Lihue Pharmacy Group

Please tell us about your business. We provide pharmaceutical drugs and the services associated with them. People bring in a prescription, we check it and make sure it’s accurate, and that it’s the right drug for the right patient. Once we’ve processed it and cleared the claim through the insurance carrier, we talk to the patient about their medication — how to take it appropriately and what to do with it. We have three locations: one in Lihue, one at Wilcox Memorial Hospital in Lihue and one in Kapaa.

: Kevin Glick

: Glick fills a prescription

Where did you go to college and what did you study? I attended Oregon State University many years ago and got a degree in zoology. I went out prepared to look for a job and found out there wasn’t a rich market for zoologists. A guy I knew was in pharmacy school and he encouraged me to look into it. It seemed like a good profession. I applied and was accepted to Oregon State University’s College of Pharmacy.

Why health care? I really like science. Pharmacy is a really good way to integrate my interests in biology, chemistry and interacting with people — it just seems to work.

What is your professional background as a pharmacist? First, I did my 2,000 hours of internship. After that, I heard about an opening in Hawaii and so I bought a one-way ticket to Honolulu. I worked for a pharmacy company there for 11 years and also went through specialized training for infusion care, like IV therapy, to provide medicines to people in their homes. When there was an opportunity to open up an infusion pharmacy on Kauai, I quit my job on Oahu and came here in 1992.

What is an infusion pharmacy? A place like Lihue Pharmacy Group that provides IV antibiotics. A lot of times the antibiotics you have to take for a particular infection aren’t effective if you take them orally, and so they are administered through an IV line. Also, it includes chemotherapy for cancer patients. We have provided these services since we opened, but now include prescription drugs and home medical equipment and supplies.

: Pharmacist Kevin Glick with staff member Lilybeth Aguilar | Coco Zickos photos

: Lihue Pharmacy Group offers an array of medical products and services at each of its locations

Why do you do what you do? I really like the patient contact. I really think a community pharmacy is a way for you to have an ongoing effect on people’s health. You see them repeatedly and have an opportunity to help them in the long run with their health.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of your business? When you have an impact on someone’s health, it’s a great experience for everyone — the patient feels better and we get a reward by feeling that we’ve contributed in something beyond just working for a salary. Also, I get to work with really great people. We have a great staff. Just being able to work with people who come with the same passion for this work, I feel lucky to have that. We work hard but none of us feels like it’s a job.

What’s the most challenging aspect of your business? At this time it’s getting reimbursed appropriately for the medicines and services we provide. There is a mentality that if someone will do it for $5, we’ll do it for $4, and I call that the race to the bottom. Turning what we do into a commodity has had a real negative effect on pharmacies. What we provide has incredible value.

What makes you get up every day and go to work? I like the activity of it — showing up and looking to catch things. I also like counseling patients about medications; I love the interaction of the science, medicine and the humanity of it.

What are some of your future plans for this business? I’m in the process of opening a pharmacy in Kona on Hawaii island.
kauairx.com
246-9100
kglick@kauairx.com

Managing Medications

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