3 Reasons Why Now is the PERFECT Time to Add Functional and Lifestyle Medicine to Your Practice
Sep 16, 2021
Fellow Pharmacist and Healthcare Practitioners...
Rob here.
What a time to be in health care.
Chances are, being a pharmacist, you have been front and center during this COVID pandemic, and its safe to say, things might feel a bit overwhelming.
Whether you are in management, frontline in the trenches, or a combo of both… most days go by time starved, overworked, and under nourished…I know.
And, it doesn’t have to be that way.
You see…something about the practice of pharmacy, we are like chameleons of health care, we mold into current landscape, and we adapt…well, the best that we can.
The truth is the way we are doing it is not working for the long-term picture. We are treating it like a sprint, and the COVID thing is only one small sprint in the race against declining insurance reimbursements, staffing problems, continued competition from new directions, increasing demands and responsibilities…many might ask, where is the breaking point?
We are seeing it…it’s here. Health care practitioners are dropping out in droves, and in just a year we have gone from pharmacists looking at an anemic job market, to countless postings for help on Indeed and other job sites.
But, what about Functional and Lifestyle Medicine…now?
Obviously, opportunity from a profit center is critical, although that’s not where I want to start.
The #1 reason right now is the perfect time to introduce Functional and Lifestyle Medicine is SELF-HEALTH…and reversing the path to pharmacy burnout.
In my teachings I always start with measure of lifestyle, which are not only foundational elements to support ones immune system, but critical to preventing comorbidities such as inflammation, blood sugar dysregulation, various cardiovascular risk factors and other disease states, and more.
I start with my Functional Pharmacy 5:
- Diet
- Stress Management
- Movement
- Other positive Lifestyle Habits
- and the balance of Nutraceuticals and Pharmaceuticals.
When we as practitioners begin to balance and implement these qualities into our personal and professional lives…we make a major impact not only to our own wellness, but to others around us…and this is the numero uno key to preventing burnout.
The second reason why this is the perfect time…is OPPORTUNITY! OPPORTUNITY to add additional profit centers to a patient population who is clamoring for a voice of authority who will hear their wants, needs, desires and fears. Patients want to be validated in their concerns, and they want OPTIONS.
We have seen our profession become a pipeline for vaccinations, and that is fine, although they are not a magic bullet, they are only one part of the whole equation to healthy living.
And…they are not for everyone. We need to dispense empathy for our patients wishes…guide them, empower them, provide them options and support…and that is the Modern Alchemist Business model leading into nutraceutical sales, paid for consults and more.
The third reason why this is the perfect time to implement Functional and Lifestyle medicine, is that it provides you a Rewarding Career. My guess taking many of you back to your original reason why you got into pharmacy.
Digging back to the core of pharmacy, when lifestyle habits and nutritional recommendations where part of our arsenal of dispensing.
The time is now…reach out, email me, or click here to book a Free call with me.
