Editor's Note: We asked Pat Gallagher to jot down some notes for the Woolworths debate, and he has come up with some unique commentary.
While it is only in "dot point" form, it is still informative (done on the run within a busy consulting practice)
He comments on Australian pharmacy's "world best practice", and I am certain that this will be pharmacy's central theme for any defence of their position as gatekeeper of medicines.
Woolworths understand that striving for excellence always wins out, and so does pharmacy.
It just remains to be seen to what degree of excellence pharmacy aspires to, and it must be seen to be better than Woolworths, at least in the health arena.
Read on with interest.

2. 2005/2010
By which time we will know what is what.
There are 3-tiers to power. Control, exchange and ownership.
In terms of health it is about Information Management (IM), more than it is about supply or size/location.
If pharmacy is to survive, intact, it needs to address IM.
This means all the things we have ever talked about, notably broadband and excellent inter-health communication and interoperability.
Harder for Woolies to fight a combined pharmacy/hospital, nursing home, GP network of IM interaction. That being, if they intruded, it would be made weaker!
Health governors, including pharmacy need to control the IM, they need alliances and infrastructure to exchange the IM and then ensure that pharmacists, community and hospital own the IM as part of a holistic all-of-health model

3 Woolies
They would be looking at all and every option.
Buy a banner group.
Buy a wholesaler (think Hallams).
Buy individuals/licences.
The service station opinion is very plausible and strong.
Believe it.
Cadet ships, NZers, are all on the table.
Wal-mart is the model Woolies are following.
Woolworths are trying to recruit pharmacy Information Technology people
Back in the 1960s at Souls there was a shared junior executive training with Woolies.
All of the above options were used as training, even back then, particularly as Souls, were very close to Boots as the UK chain specialist.

4 Data
Aside from the IM issues above the government wants data.
If we follow this path it would be useful to do a SWOT on pharmacy's ability to better handle clean, aligned, synchronized and useful data.
That is, unique IDs, done better, as part of an all-of-health model (again)

5. Rural
Strong point for pharmacy.
But, and this is a big but, people will have to re-think their opposition to direct mail delivery, particularly for repeat scripts (diabetes, etc) and veterans, aborigines, etc.

Summary
The strongest point we have is that Australian community pharmacy is at worlds best practice.
It is not a basket case.
Like politics it is all about perceptions.
Winners are stronger then losers.
As long as the customer traffic holds seamlessly between pharmacy's and other healthcare providers the strength remains.
Obviously the key is the PBS.
Govern, exchange and own the PBS and you win.
It is the single factor that Woolies can't easily argue as their strong point.
Crucial battleground.
The Guild will need to use it the right way.
One thing, (controversial as it is), the Guild could do is truly attack PBS rorts - particularly scripts that end up offshore.
Attack not defend.

Next article in Woolworths series---------->