Recently a great article about medication therapy management (MTM) services was published in Cleveland’s Plain Dealer. The article was an in-depth look into some of the newer services being offered by pharmacists, and highlighted how pharmacists are helping the Ohio community.

Many of the pharmacists quoted in this article have close personal ties to APhA. Dan Krinsky and Curtis Black are both working closely with members of APhA’s staff to expand patient access to MTM services throughout Ohio. And Dan is the editor of the Handbook of Nonprescription Drugs, published by APhA.

Articles like this leave room for an open dialogue about medication check-ups with your patients. The public does read these articles, which APhA and state associations like the Ohio Pharmacists Association (in this case) work hard to get placed. It’s up to pharmacists to capitalize on these opportunities and use them to open up that dialogue with your patients. One suggestion would be to post these types of articles in areas where people can read them while they wait, then ask them if they have any questions about your services.

Now, what about pitching to your newspaper the new pharmacy services available in your area? This approach works best if you are promoting a service, not a business—so approaching as a local MTM collaborative would work well. Find a few other local pharmacists who might be interested in talking about MTM services and pitch a newspaper together.

The key to any successful article is engagement on the part of the sources, the reporter, and the reader. A source must be engaging to a reporter for the reporter to make a story engaging to her editor and the public. This commitment must continue even after an article is completed, as a pharmacist still has the opportunity to engage the public about the article after it has been published and read.

Remember, if you love what you do, a good “elevator speech” can make all the difference. Consider three points the maximum and be prepared to make them frequently. When pharmacists get involved as coaches, costs go down and quality goes up.