Today we’d like to introduce you to Deepa Pattani.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My journey started when I immigrated to the States with my parents at the age of 13. Graduating in the top 5% of my class, I was accepted into the six-year PharmD program at Rutgers University. College life was great and after graduating with a doctorate in pharmacy, I started working as a retail pharmacist. I learned that I really enjoyed patient interaction and being able to help but also felt that while I was thankful to have a job, all I was doing was pushing pills on people. I would know on paper what conditions a patient had but that patient would come and go and I wouldn’t know. Being on my feet for 14 hours a day without any food or bathroom breaks wasn’t easy and it took a toll on my own health. I knew I had to make a change and my career path took me to Virginia, where I worked as a critical care pharmacist at the biggest teaching hospital in the state. I had the time of my life, learning every day and being able to be a part of a patient’s recovery was a feeling I cannot describe.
However, there was still avoid. I started to notice that there were certain patients that would get better, leave the hospital only to be re-admitted within a few days of discharge. I started wondering where patient care was falling through the cracks. It almost became an obsession where I would start talking to strangers anywhere I met them – grocery stores, gas stations, malls, etc. I needed to know what could be done to help patients. Hospital work was great but there was no closure as you don’t get to follow patients home to see what will happen next. Finally, one of the major things I discovered was that most of those re-admissions were medicine related. The hospitals would provide wonderful discharge instructions, counsel patients when they left but most times, the person that would now be caring for the patient would be someone who was not provided those discharge instructions or training.
In addition, patients would get a whole list of new medications when they leave the hospital and they would already have a whole bunch of medications at home. There was a lot of confusion about what needs to be continued and what needs to be discontinued. Patients would be instructed to follow up with their primary care physicians, however, a lot of times, either the PCPs would have no idea that their patient was even in the hospital or patients wouldn’t be able to get an appointment to be seen until 2-3 weeks after discharge. So many things can and do go wrong within these 2-3 weeks. An average patient gets in to see their primary in two weeks, however, on average, a patient gets re-admitted back to the hospital within five days.
In 2015, I started a consulting company, mostly because I couldn’t find a job that did just this. I would visit with patients within 24 hours of discharge, go over all the medications at home and the new medications, counsel patients and their caregivers on what to continue and what was discontinued, go over their over-the-counter meds and supplements and make sure there were no interactions between all these medications. In three years, I single-handedly saw over 500 patients and followed up with them and prevented 100% of re-admissions that were medicine related. As rewarding and exhausting as it was, I had tremendous job satisfaction. Although all this work doesn’t always help pay the bills. That is when in February of 2019, my dream of owning my own independent pharmacy was realized. It was the start of Allen Pharmacy & Wellness. All along, I had wanted to own the kind of pharmacy that we grew up going to – where the pharmacist knows us, our families, our pets and could really be an integral part of a patient’s overall health & wellness. I can honestly say that going to work daily at Allen Pharmacy & Wellness is a joy I cannot express.
Every day, I get to be a part of my patient’s health journey. I know all my patients by name, who their family members and pets are. What is going on in their lives and being someone they can talk with and express their fears to has been rewarding is an understatement. I do not take this trust for granted, discretion is a big part of my job and knowing my patients have a safe place to be themselves and be honest is something I treasure. We have a relationship based on honesty and trust and that’s when I can honestly guide them to optimal health and wellness. I feel blessed to have a family that supports my work and keeps pushing me to excellence, even if it means less time with them at times. When we first started, I didn’t pray for success, I prayed that if what I want to accomplish is needed and valuable for our community, then please help those patients find us. And find us they did. Every day, when I lay my head on the pillow at night – tired and beat from the day, there is not one regret that I didn’t do for my patients. Every day, we give it our all and it shows in our patients getting better and living healthier, fuller lives.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road to accomplishing one’s goals and dreams is never smooth. However, if it weren’t for the curveballs along the way, I wouldn’t have accomplished what I have today. When I started the consulting company in 2015, it was an uphill road to find patients. Since there was no job that did this before, explaining to people why the service was needed was a challenge. Also, people always feel that when it is medicine-related, it should always be covered by their insurance so when it came time for them to hire me and pay out of pocket, a lot didn’t understand what the value add was. Of course, it was a lot easier for them to see the benefit, but there were a lot of hurdles to get them to see the end result. Finally, we even got hired by two physician groups to help all their patients.
After spending countless hours and helping every single patient, the group decided not to pay us. We lost a lot of money but took solace in knowing that we were able to help people. Of course, that doesn’t pay the bills so the decision to start the pharmacy was a tough one. With no money coming in and deciding further to put in your entire life savings into a brick and mortal business was not for the faint of heart. But I knew my calling and I knew what we brought to the table. It would only be about people knowing what we offer and they would flock to us, correct? WRONG!! Marketing is still such a challenge and knowing what works and what doesn’t seems nothing less than gambling, lol.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Allen Pharmacy & Wellness?
We are an independently owned retail pharmacy. That means we can do everything the big brands can do but with a personal touch. When you walk into our pharmacy, you are not a number and we don’t see a $$ on your head. You are an individual, a sick one at that and it is our job to help you feel better. You are not a customer but a patient. That means that we don’t need to always agree with you and give you what you ask for. We don’t?? No we don’t. What we need to do is discuss your health with you, talk to you about your options, help you see the healthier way to live.
We want to help patients get off of their medications, not add to the list. We want to help improve patient’s quality of life. Some of the services we offer include: Complete retail pharmacy (in-network with most insurance companies offering same co-pays as the big chains) Customized Compounding service Pet Medications Medication Reduction Program (partnered with patients physician – ask us for more details) Medication packaging service Physician approved weight loss program (for all ages and chronic conditions) Immunization/Vaccination services for ages three and over Free Delivery in select areas Delivery service available all over Texas Concierge delivery service for non-prescription items based on a subscription model Unique, one-of-a-kind gift items (partnered with local moms trying to support their families) Notary Service
What are your plans for the future?
Our plan for the future is to have a full clinical pharmacy experience. We are working toward a telehealth model and plan to offer certain labs in-house. Every parent knows that all things go wrong on Friday evenings when the doctor’s offices are closed and then have to make ER trips. We plan to offer basic tests like Flu, Strep, RSV, Covid-19, etc in the pharmacy.
Patients wait for a few minutes for results, If the test is negative, we can offer comfort tips or hydration options over the counter. If the test is positive, the patient will have the option to get on a telehealth visit with the physician while at the pharmacy and they can get their prescription filled right away while they wait. This will help patients get everything done in 1 trip while not spending extra money on things that won’t be helpful. We are also investing in state of the art appliances to help us vaccinate our community against COVID-19. We are thrilled that we are taking all necessary steps and although we may be a young pharmacy, we want our community to know that our 15 years of experience in the pharmacy industry is at their disposal and that our communities health and wellness is our top priority!
Contact Info:
- Email: info@allenpharmacywellness.com
- Website: www.Allenpharmacywellness.com
- Instagram: Allen_Pharmacist
- Facebook: #AllenPharmacyWellness
- Twitter: @AllenPharmacist
- Youtube: AllenPharmacist
Image Credits
Jim Miller
