CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio — For Larry Schieber, owner of Schieber Family Pharmacy, a member of the Medicine Shoppe Family, pharmacy was all in the family. His father owned and operated an independent pharmacy when Larry was young, so he could say it was in his blood. “His store was very typical at that time and even included a soda fountain. I never deviated from my plans to go into pharmacy and graduated from Ohio State University College of Pharmacy. After graduation, I worked for an independent pharmacy for about five years followed by five years in pharmaceutical sales. While I was calling on pharmacies, I discovered that I still had a very strong interest in owning my own store. The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy franchise offered a lot of advantages, so we became a franchisee and opened our store in 1989. We have been in the same location ever since.”

Larry Schieber, Schieber Family Pharmacy, 212 Lancaster Pike, Circleville, Ohio 43113, schieberpharmacy.com

He said the major advantages of being a member of a franchise are the availability of a comprehensive business plan, marketing plan, and step-by-step instructions on how to open a pharmacy. “These were extremely valuable when we were getting started. I had no accounting background prior to opening. I believe the user-friendly accounting systems kept me from making many costly mistakes. The old saying ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’ really holds true here, and the system really worked in my case.”

He says the pandemic changed the way he runs his business now. “The pandemic did change our operation, in some ways for the better. We were among the first providers in our county to offer COVID-19 vaccinations, and we have expanded our immunization offerings since. Many people that were not already customers liked our efficiency and friendliness and became customers after receiving their vaccine. We also now participate in CPESN’s Flip the Pharmacy program and are working toward providing more services in our pharmacy.”

“The initial public interest in getting a COVID-19 vaccine was unlike anything I had ever seen. We actually had people with tears of joy in their eyes because they were able to get the vaccine. I think people were impressed with our ability to vaccinate large numbers of people effectively. We used an online appointment system for quite a while, which worked very well, before moving to walk-ins,” he explains.

The store utilizes several technology solutions in its pharmacy. “We use the inventory management system from Cardinal Health for ordering and inventory control. We also use Kirby-Lester counters, which interface with our pharmacy software and have greatly increased accuracy. We are currently installing texting capabilities to minimize time spent on routine phone calls.”

When asked about the services they take the most pride in, Schieber says, “I think our immunization program has been a huge success and makes a difference in the health of our patients. I would also say our MedSync program and the compliance packaging service we offer follow as a close second. We use the Dispill-USA Medication Adherence Packaging System  to offer compliance packaging to our patients, and we have been very pleased with it. I think these programs have greatly increased compliance and, therefore, the health of our patients. These programs have also increased communication and engagement, and we are now in regular contact with patients and ­prescribers.”

He says his pharmacy is very active in Medication Therapy Management (MTM) programs and tries to complete as many as possible. “We have also partnered with a local business to provide screenings, clinics and educational programs. Through Cardinal Health and CPESN, we have also become active in recruiting patients for clinical studies. This is cutting-edge research that will specifically target patients for new medications being developed. It is exciting for pharmacists to be involved in this research, and we are honored to participate.”

He notes that his pharmacy strives to work with everyone in the health care “chain,” and the key to that is communication. “We reach out regularly with concerns regarding interactions, noncompliance and suggestions to optimize each patient’s pharmaceutical regimen. For older patients in particular, we constantly ask, “Is this drug still necessary?” And, if so, are we able to reduce the dose to avoid adverse effects? I think that communication is at the heart of education. We constantly ask our patients if they have any questions about their medications and, hopefully, they feel free to reach out anytime they have ­concerns.”

Schieber says his favorite part of the job is helping to improve the health of the patients. “I also enjoy the bantering back and forth that goes on with many of them. We try to keep our atmosphere light and fun and I think this helps our patients feel free to reach out to us at any time.”

He adds that the pharmacy does quite a bit of work with a local hospice. “One particularly cold, rainy night I was called to provide some medication for a dying patient around 3 a.m. In this situation, neither the patient’s husband nor the hospice nurse could come and pick it up, so I drove to a nearby town to deliver it. The next morning the husband came to the store to thank me for making the delivery. To this day, he still comes in and tells me how much he appreciated me making the trip.”

He cites two people who helped him get his start in the business. “Prior to opening our store, I was in sales and called on pharmacies as part of my job. There was a couple, Ron and Cindy Henderson, in Chillicothe, Ohio, who operated a Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy that were particularly helpful and encouraging to me all along the way. I will be forever grateful for their help and guidance in opening our own Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy,” he ­concludes.