Community Pharmacy Insights from the Road: An interview with Athena

Lesson from the Road: Creating Pharmacy Spotlights. Featuring Robin Rhea, Marketing Manager at Pharmacy Marketplace. 

Athena (Pharmacy Marketplace AI): Robin, you’ve spent the past several weeks visiting community pharmacies and filming the Pharmacy Spotlight series. What stood out to you right away?

Robin Rhea: Thanks, Athena. What started as a chance to capture great stories quickly became something much more meaningful. Sitting down with pharmacists, technicians, and owners gave me a real look at what life is like behind the counter. It’s fast-paced, complex, and incredibly patient-focused. You can’t fully understand community pharmacy operations until you see them in action.

Recent Pharmacy Spotlights

Cumberland Vital Care

Crossville, Tennessee

Cumberland Vital Care is a trusted community pharmacy in Crossville, Tennessee, known for its personalized approach to patient care and commitment to improving health outcomes. By focusing on strong relationships, specialized services, and attention to each patient’s unique needs, their team goes beyond traditional pharmacy services to support the overall well-being of their community.

Gibbs Pharmacy

Lebanon, Tennessee

Gibbs Pharmacy and Compounding Center is Tennessee’s locally owned independent pharmacy located in Lebanon, Tennessee, providing personal healthcare to patients since 1989. Known for its commitment to individualized care, the pharmacy combines trusted service with specialized compounding and a strong focus on building lasting patient relationships to support the health of its community.

Medi-Thrift Pharmacy

Jamestown, Tennessee

Medi-Thrift Pharmacy in Jamestown, Tennessee is a trusted community pharmacy dedicated to providing personalized care and dependable service. With a strong focus on patient relationships and accessible healthcare, their team goes beyond dispensing to support the overall health and well-being of the Jamestown community.

Anderson Drugs

Etowah, Tennessee

Anderson Drugs in Etowah, Tennessee is a locally trusted community pharmacy committed to personalized care and reliable service. With a focus on building strong patient relationships and meeting individual healthcare needs, their team provides support that goes beyond prescriptions to help improve the overall well-being of their community.

Community Pharmacy Workflow Challenges and Efficiency

Athena: Let’s start with operations. What did you observe about pharmacy workflow?

Robin: Community pharmacists are incredibly BUSY. Their days are filled with patient questions, prescription processing, endless phone calls, clinical services, and constant problem-solving. There’s very little downtime, and even the short format of our Pharmacy Spotlight interviews require coordination.

That’s why pharmacy workflow efficiency is critical. Any tool that reduces manual tasks and improves operations can make a meaningful difference. Pharmacists need solutions that are fast, intuitive, and designed for real-world workflows to decrease stress.

PBM Challenges, Reimbursement Pressure, and Underwater Claims

Athena: PBMs continue to be a major topic across the industry. Did that come up during your visits?

Robin: In every conversation. Pharmacists are consistently dealing with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), underwater claims, and reimbursement challenges.

This is a daily operational and financial burden. PBM reimbursement issues impact independent pharmacy sustainability and force pharmacies to balance patient care with business viability.

Patient Care and Community Health in Independent Pharmacies

Athena: Despite those challenges, what impressed you most?

Robin: Their commitment to patient care. Community pharmacists go far beyond dispensing medications. They are deeply invested in patient health outcomes and overall wellness.

They strive to know every patient by name, understand their unique medical conditions, and help them navigate both clinical and financial aspects of care. This level of personalized healthcare is what makes community pharmacy essential, especially in rural and underserved areas. It's really inspiring to see. 

Patient Engagement and the Value of Knowing Your Patients

Athena: How important is patient engagement today?

Robin: It’s foundational. Patient profiling and engagement are not just pharmacy marketing strategies, they directly impact outcomes.

When pharmacists understand their patients, they can improve medication adherence, identify risks earlier, and deliver more effective care. This is a key differentiator for independent pharmacies compared to large chains.

The Future of Community Pharmacy: Growth and Innovation

Athena: What direction is community pharmacy heading?

Robin: There’s strong momentum. Independent pharmacies are adapting by improving workflow, optimizing purchasing strategies, and investing in smarter pharmacy marketing.

We’re seeing more collaboration, innovation, and a shift toward data-driven decision-making. Community pharmacy is evolving to stay competitive in a challenging healthcare landscape.

How Pharmacy Marketplace Supports Independent Pharmacies

Athena: Where does Pharmacy Marketplace fit in?

Robin: Pharmacy Marketplace helps pharmacies streamline operations, improve purchasing decisions, and better manage PBM-related challenges.

When pharmacists gain back time through more efficient systems, they can reinvest that time into patient care, which is where they make the biggest impact. But pharmacies are recovering thousands of dollars with Pharmacy Marketplace and our PBM Appeal tool as well. We want pharmacies to take full advantage of recovering underwater claims. 

Final Takeaways from the Pharmacy Spotlight Series

Athena: Any final thoughts?

Robin: The Pharmacy Spotlight series highlights individual pharmacies, but together they tell a larger story about community pharmacy resilience, innovation, and patient commitment. 

From pharmacy workflow challenges to PBM pressures to patient engagement, independent pharmacies are doing everything they can to serve their communities and strengthen their businesses.

Community pharmacy is not just surviving, it’s growing stronger together. We hope pharmacies everywhere are curious to learn more about how Pharmacy Marketplace and you, Athena, are helping Community Pharmacies rise above the noise and advance the mission of pharmacy. 

Is your pharmacy special too? We'd love to feature you in a Pharmacy Spotlight. We would love to visit your pharmacy and hear your story first hard. Share your story here.

Read all of our Pharmacy Spotlights here.