Former corporate pharmacist ditches the big-names and opens his own pharmacy
Harsh Patel’s long-time dream has always been to run his own pharmacy in the United States just as he did in India. After a decade of working in the corporate big-chain pharmaceutical world, his dream finally came true.
On June 22, Care RX Pharmacy opened for business at Tennessee Street and Magnolia Drive. The humble building is small but carries a broad range of health care supplies, home goods and standard convenience store fare.
An immigrant from western India, Patel moved to the United States in 1989 to better the lives of his family: his wife and three young children. He managed the pharmaceutical departments of Big Bend Walgreens and most recently, Costco.
Lamenting the rigidity and pace of corporate structure, he said, “I was not able to give enough time for my patients.” Paperwork eats up the time of most corporate pharmacists, who rarely get to know their patients.
He tried to give his patients a local pharmacy experience despite the high turnover of prescriptions but found the work to be impersonal. Now, at Care RX, Patel looks forward to building relationships with patients.
“People come for consultations, and they trust pharmacists [to give them drug information] more than their doctors,” he said.
Care RX is joining a community of other independent pharmacies in Tallahassee, including Economy Drug Store, Stewart's Pharmacy, Eastwood Pharmacy and Lake Ella Pharmacy.
Most of his customers come through word-of-mouth now, but he hopes to grow his business in the future. Many of them worked with Patel back when he was employed at big-name chains and appreciated his personalized approach to pharmaceutical care.
“At an independent level, you know the patients by name and you can give them the good feeling of a [small business]," he said.
By working on a small scale, Patel can fill prescriptions in seven minutes or less and initiate insurance provider-doctor communication much faster than corporate chains.
Care RX also commits to charging the same price or beating the price of every pharmacy in town.
Patel is troubled by the high markups and profit margins involved in medical care.
He recommends those without insurance to shop around, seeking affordable solutions to their medical problems. As a small business, Care RX’s products are much more accessible to those with high deductibles or lack health insurance entirely.
In an era of brand names and million dollar profits, Patel says shopping local is the smarter move for consumers. “At the end of the day, chain pharmacies are too busy. They’re just constantly producing prescriptions and you miss out on that personal touch.”
Care RX Pharmacy is located on 1167 E. Tennessee St., less than a mile from Tallahassee Memorial Hospital and many independent health care providers. The pharmacy is open 9 a.m.- 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday.
Contact Annie Cheng at acheng@tallahassee.com.