What is a pharmacist?

Gavin Birchall is a pharmacist, designer and marketer who has created, led and marketed businesses at senior level and carried out the first research into the brand of pharmacy on the planet. Having spent 15 years in community pharmacy, practising in both independent and multiple owned pharmacies, Gavin has worked in academia, primary care and representation.

He was instrumental in setting up a 21 strong community pharmacy group where he was Operations and Marketing Director and Superintendent Pharmacist.

Frustrated by the lack of recognition received by pharmacy, Gavin completed research into the brand of pharmacy as part of a Masters In Graphic Design and in 2015 set up a pharmacy specialist design and marketing agency, DOSE Design and Marketing Ltd, to support pharmacies to present and promote themselves more effectively. Gavin and his associates now support a range of clients in community pharmacy and beyond.

On the podcast, we had a wide-ranging conversation about pharmacy now and into the future. I asked Gavin the following questions:

• What is a pharmacist?
• How is pharmacy as a profession perceived?
• As pharmacists have we lost our entrepreneurial spark?
• Why are there very few start-up community pharmacies?
• If you were starting a business again tomorrow what would your strategy be?
• Has pharmaceutical care been forgotten?
• How does technaceutical care fit into the future agenda of pharmacy?
• Why have General Practitioners protected their brand so effectively compared to pharmacists over the years?
• What is the importance of independent prescribing to the future of the pharmacy profession?
• What will the effect of the erosion of the community pharmacy contractor model have on our profession?