During American Pharmacists Month this October, Optime Care is highlighting how our pharmacists and staff thrive in a company culture that puts patients first.
This year we are sharing insights from our very own Dr. Brandon Salke, Pharm.D., pharmacist-in-charge, and Dr. Lindee Salke, Pharm.D., two dedicated pharmacy professionals who met as teenagers, attended the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis, married and now work together at Optime Care.
Not only have they formed a tight professional bond but have found that their work environment makes it easy to maintain professional distance. They also feel the benefits of working in a company that takes a patient-first approach.
“You can tell that the management at Optime Care, from the top on down, really cares about every employee and that it’s more than just about business,” says Lindee. “They make sure the employees are taken care of so that we are better able to focus on patient needs.”
Patient-Centric Attitude
Both Brandon and Lindee agree that the typical retail pharmacy fails to foster an environment that puts patients at the center of care. This is in contrast to Optime Care’s focus on facilitating
positive outcomes for the patient and, as a result, keeping a workplace that is more light-hearted and upbeat because it’s all about people. In retail pharmacy, too often phone calls with patients are limited to a few minutes and the focus is on meeting daily quotas.
“At Optime Care we have patients, not quotas,” says Brandon. “This allows everyone to interact with patients in a more compassionate way and provide better services and support for people whose lives depend on you. This is important, not simply for the patients but for the entire company, because we’ve seen too many patients who have been marginalized by the system or isolated by their disease state.”
Operational Focus on Patients
In his operations role, Brandon, who interacts less with patients than Lindee, nevertheless makes every decision based on how it will benefit the patient or how it will impact a pharmacist’s ability to positively impact the patient.
As Brandon puts it, “We have the pleasure of waking up every morning and coming to work knowing that we can make a big impact on each patient, whether directly or indirectly. It’s all about keeping the patient at the forefront of your mind.”
This October, join us in acknowledging the accomplishments of pharmacists, care coordinators, and everyone who touches patient lives by sharing stories and spreading the word about the valuable services pharmacy professionals offer.
To learn more about how our patient-first approach minimizes the daily impact of living with orphan and rare disorders and tailors a proactive service experience for each patient, visit here.
