On Tuesday night I watched President Obama’s State of the Union address, and as I sat there listening, I could not help but be energized, as his comments re-affirmed my ideas for what we as pharmacists can achieve.

Are we just content to sit back and reminisce “they way things used to be”- “remember when” and focus all our attention, and the existence of our profession, our career and our business on the reimbursement rates of drugs and shrinking margins?

I say absolutely not!

As President Obama said: “The first step in winning the future is encouraging American innovation.…  In America, innovation doesn’t just change our lives. It is how we make our living.” How can you be innovative and change your practice, creating a blueprint for your future and the future of your family, while providing extraordinary pharmacist care to your patients? Being innovative is being part of Health Care Reform, creating a niche and providing MTM programs for our patients. We are a critical cog in the Health Care Continuum, we can significantly contribute to the improved health of our patients, while reducing billions of dollars in costs in inappropriate medication use, adverse events and hospitalizations. This will also contribute to healthier patients who can be out in the work force contributing to our economy and the building of our country.

President Obama also said: “We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world.” As Pharmacists we are poised to do reach this goal, all we have to do is re-focus. WHAT IS YOUR SPUTNIK MOMENT? How can you change your practice, find your niche and catapult YOUR Business and provide the patient care you dreamed of?

I know it can be done, Thinking outside the box and creating your own destiny. I have done it with my business and my practice, you can too.

I would like to end off with this quote I heard at a Keynote address this past Wednesday Night by Peter H. Diamandis, MD, the Chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation
“ The only way to predict your future is to create it yourself”