Initiatives to bring health care closer to home have been rolling out across the province and Walsh’s Pharmacy in Arthur is leading the pack.
To celebrate its 62nd anniversary on Sept. 12, resident pharmacist Joe Walsh and his team unveiled a new “virtual store kiosk” that will become a permanent fixture in the store.
The whole idea, says Walsh, is to “keep people in their homes longer” and make pharmacies a go-to health care destination within the community.
The goal of the health care closer to home campaign is to see more Canadians going to local pharmacies for their primary health care needs, thereby allowing physicians to care for more serious or complex conditions.
“There’s all kinds of studies that show if you’re in a home you heal easier and you’re healthier,” says Walsh. “That’s the whole idea of the home health aspect.”
The kiosk is easily accessible to customers and patients, providing personal aids and assistive device details, along with product suggestions and demonstrative videos.
Walsh’s is only one of two stores in the province to have the interactive station.
“Say your father or mother has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and you come in wondering what you can do for them,” says Walsh. “You click on ‘medical condition’ and then ‘Parkinson’s’ and this has all the products that will help a Parkinson’s patient, so it takes out all the guesswork.”
To use the kiosk, customers simply search for a particular ailment, or if a condition is unknown other options include selecting a body part or room of the home they require assistance in.
Often times this means discovering useful products they weren’t aware were even available.
“People go ‘Wow, I didn’t realize there’s that for me or something to help me do this,’” BIOS Medical sales vice president Jennifer Pulis says.
It also provides discretion for those who may shy away from asking about or purchasing certain products.
“Someone may come in to pick up their prescriptions … and realize they need some help with incontinence,” says Pulis. “They can come on here, buy their briefs and order them and have them delivered. They have the ease of having it sent straight to their house.”
Another bonus of the kiosk is the increase in available products – an addition of some 6,000 items that previously would have been impossible to house in the small store.
“It gets rid of all the questions you have,” says Walsh. “I can only show you so many products in my flyers. This computer system has 6,000 items, so the whole idea is getting the information to Mrs. Smith who’s 86 years old who doesn’t know there’s a (product) that can help her.”
Added Pulis, “Ultimately what we’d like to do, is have this become a home health care store-within-a-store concept.
“This allows the customer to look at it and Joe can order it for them and they can pick it up or have it delivered right to their home.”
Walsh’s Pharmacy is located on George Street in Arthur.
