Cardinal Health Celebrates, Encourages Female Community Pharmacy Ownership

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Jul 21, 2011, 08:30 ET

LAS VEGAS, July 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Cardinal Health today introduced an initiative to encourage female pharmacy students to consider community pharmacy ownership.

In conjunction with the National Community Pharmacist Association (NCPA), Cardinal Health introduced the "Women in Pharmacy" initiative at its Retail Business Conference (RBC), the company's annual, national trade show for independent pharmacies, taking place July 20-23 in Las Vegas.

While more than half of all pharmacy students are women(1), only a fraction of community pharmacy owners in the United States are female. At the same time, statistics show that the pharmacy profession in general is aging, with more than thirty seven percent of pharmacists over the age of 55(2). Mike Kaufmann, CEO of Cardinal Health's Pharmaceutical segment, says that these trends point to a need to encourage female pharmacy students to consider careers in community pharmacy.

"Today, the vast majority of community pharmacy owners are men, even though women comprise about half of all practicing pharmacists. To support the growth and long-term viability of community pharmacy, we need to do more as an industry to encourage women to consider owning their own pharmacy," said Kaufmann. "Through our new Women in Pharmacy initiative, we're honored to celebrate and share the success stories of the female pharmacy owners we serve. We believe these real-life, inspirational stories are the best way to capture the imaginations of future pharmacists – to help them understand both the tangible and intangible benefits of a career in community pharmacy."

Cardinal Health's new Women in Pharmacy initiative will work through NCPA Student Chapters to encourage female pharmacy students to consider careers in community pharmacy, by sharing the success stories of 20 of Cardinal Health's most successful female pharmacy owners. These success stories will also be promoted through a series of print advertisements, promoting female pharmacy ownership in student-focused pharmacy trade publications.

To ensure the company is in tune with the insights and needs of female pharmacy owners, Cardinal Health also actively recruits women to participate in its National and Regional Retail Advisory Boards and its Managed Care Advisory Board. These boards, comprised of independent pharmacy owners from across the country, meet regularly with Cardinal Health leaders to help the company develop support services that can help community pharmacies succeed.

Further demonstrating its commitment in this area, Cardinal Health also this year launched a $1.1 million scholarship program, providing scholarship funding to pharmacy schools throughout the nation. The largest portion of these funds were focused on schools that have demonstrated commitment to advancing the independent pharmacy profession. These schools offer curricula focused on operating an independent pharmacy; support student-run chapters of NCPA; endorse internship and co-op programs with local independent retail pharmacies and demonstrate high post-graduate placement rates in community pharmacy settings.

The company's Pharmacy Ownership and Transition Strategies team, which specializes in connecting buyers and sellers of community pharmacies, also works with pharmacy schools around the country to ensure today's pharmacy students understand the benefits of owning a pharmacy; and to provide support to students interested in either starting their own pharmacy.

"Entrepreneurial pharmacists come in all genders and nationalities. NCPA is pleased to work with Cardinal Health's new Women in Pharmacy initiative to inspire a new generation of female pharmacist entrepreneurs. Pharmacy ownership is a perfect choice for pharmacy students to consider when seeking a career in which they have a say in how they practice and care for their patients," said NCPA CEO Douglas Hoey, RPh, MBA.

About the Cardinal Health Retail Business Conference (RBC)

The Cardinal Health Retail Business Conference (RBC), held July 20 to July 23 in Las Vegas, provides independent pharmacies and pharmacy franchise owners with the opportunity to network with and learn from thousands of their peers from across the nation while gaining new insights to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their businesses. The annual event provides nearly 7,000 attendees – including independent pharmacy owners, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, pharmaceutical manufacturers and other pharmacy industry professionals across the United States – with buying opportunities, continuing education sessions and programs to help improve patient care, efficiency and profitability. For more information, visit www.CardinalHealthRBC.com.

About Cardinal Health

Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) is a $99 billion health care services company that improves the cost-effectiveness of health care. As the business behind health care, Cardinal Health helps pharmacies, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and physician offices focus on patient care while reducing costs, enhancing efficiency and improving quality. Cardinal Health is an essential link in the health care supply chain, providing pharmaceuticals and medical products to more than 60,000 locations each day. The company is also a leading manufacturer of medical and surgical products, including gloves, surgical apparel and fluid management products. In addition, the company supports the growing diagnostic industry by supplying medical products to clinical laboratories and operating the nation's largest network of radiopharmacies that dispense products to aid in the early diagnosis and treatment of disease. Ranked #19 on the Fortune 500, Cardinal Health employs more than 30,000 people worldwide. More information about the company may be found at cardinalhealth.com and @CardinalHealth on Twitter.