3 Minutes on a Park Bench with Sherri Cherman of Elements Pharmacy

We spoke to Patch partner Sherri Cherman of Elements Pharmacy and she explained how she balances patient care with running a business.

Patch: How did you first get your start in patient care?

Sherri Cherman: I am a pharmacist and I’ve been a pharmacist for 25 years. I have done all kinds of work in patient care, ended up being the president of a very large pharmacy company where I developed programs for patients with chronic conditions, servicing HIV patients, transplant patients, patients with cystic fibrosis and other chronic conditions. I have run pharmacies, I’ve been in many disciplines of pharmacy and my favorite has always been in the regional, community pharmacy. That’s actually where I got my start. I went to pharmacy school at USC, I also have a bachelor’s of science in psychobiology from UCLA and I have a doctorate of pharmacy from USC. So that was really the genesis of it. My first job back in 1990 was in a retail community pharmacy and I went on to work in a very large company developing patient care programs.

Patch: How has your experience informed your current role at Elements Pharmacy?

Sherri Cherman: I have been at all levels of pharmacy. My absolute favorite thing to do is to help people in my own community. I feel that that is the highest contribution one can make in my role as a pharmacist. And in the other people who work for me. To be able to help people manage their medications, manage their side effects, manage their adherence, and to give the community…the people who walk in and talk to us in a professional, comfortable atmosphere.

Patch: How do you feel that your expertise in business has influenced your current company?

Sherri Cherman: The practice of pharmacy and owning a pharmacy is very highly regulated right now and also a very expensive endeavor, so a lot of the relationships that I have made throughout the years are relationships that I can use in order to get financing, in order to work with particular health plans, in order to work with particular medical groups. So the relationships that I have built over the years and people who know who I am and the things that I am capable of doing have been very, very wonderful about being open to this future working relationship with me.

Patch: What’s been the biggest adjustment for you in getting back involved in patient care?

Sherri Cherman: The biggest difference for me is getting into a situation where I’m doing everything myself because I’m starting over. I am now a start up vs. a very large company. I had people to do things for me as a I grew professionally. Now I am doing those things again myself. It’s very interesting. Healthcare has changed so much and it changes on a daily basis, so that is the other big change. The way healthcare is delivered today is different than it was last year, five years ago, ten years ago, but also different than two months ago.

Patch: There is a perception that the healthcare industry is constantly thriving, but it’s been a difficult business model in recent years. What steps do you take in your own company to make sure that you’re able to serve patients while being fiscally responsible?

Sherri Cherman: It’s very difficult being a community pharmacy right now. The margins are very slim. Insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers are vertically integrated and networks are narrowing, so we have to be very careful about our resources. We have to have some over the counter products that people can come in and purchase. We have to create volume. I also have a consulting business where I help larger pharmacy organizations to hone their skills and put the infrastructure in place to be successful. So I also have an income from my consulting business that helps me to sustain the pharmacy.

Patch: What advice do you give when consulting on balancing patient care with running a business?

Sherri Cherman: Having the systems in place, understanding your data, knowing how to mine your data and being able to organize your staff efficiently are key to all of that.

Patch: How has the community responded so far and what’s that experience been like for you?

Sherri Cherman: The community has responded very well, very positively. People love the store, they love the atmosphere. In some cases, it’s hard for me to compete with the mail order pharmacies that offer deep discounts for multiple medications at some of their big box outlets. That’s a challenge. I’m trying to figure out how to meet that challenge. The community has responded very positively. My community, specifically, likes to support local businesses, so I’ve gotten a wonderful outpouring of support.

Patch: What do you think is the key to success?

Sherri Cherman: The key to success is finding a niche, finding a gap, knowing what you’re good at, giving wonderful service, excellent patient care and finding something that is not being addressed today and is not being addressed sufficiently. I have a few areas that I’m addressing, such as transitions of care from the hospital or nursing home back to the home so that people do not get readmitted to the hospital, that is one niche. Other niches that I’m addressing are immunization, travel medicine.