Pharmacy innovation meets family values in Shawano

Heather Graves

Staff

July 15, 2024

SHAWANO – For nearly 60 years, Dreier Pharmacy has prided itself on providing essential pharmaceutical services, while also fostering a warm, familial atmosphere for all who walk through its doors.

A staple in the Shawano community, Owner Tim Dreier said the family-owned and operated pharmacy’s focus on personalized care is ingrained in every aspect of the operation.

Tim said his late father, Donald Dreier, opened Dreier Pharmacy (117 South Main St.) in 1967 – setting the groundwork for what it is today.

“Since 1967, we have tripled in size,” he said. “I started working here in 1990. We’ve improved upon what my father built and kept growing over the years.”

Tim said Dreier Pharmacy is truly a family operation – working alongside his sister, Jessica Dreier-Huntington (who is also a pharmacist); his mother, Jana Dreier; and “all three of my daughters help out” – one of whom is currently attending pharmacy school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, following in the footsteps of her grandfather, dad and aunt – all of whom obtained pharmacy degrees from Madison.

“The whole family is here because we genuinely care about the community and its members,” he said. “It’s great knowing my daughter wants to come back and carry on the tradition. My father worked hard to build this, and it’s a great opportunity to keep it going for another generation or more.”

Evolving with the times

Growth in both Dreier Pharmacy’s clientele and the pharmacy industry, Tim said, sparked a need for innovation in care and services.

“(When my father opened the pharmacy), you couldn’t give vaccinations,” he said. “There are quite a few other clinical services we now offer as well.”

Automation – both in paperwork and filling prescriptions – Tim said, has also evolved over the years.

“We also have Parata – an automated system that fills about 60% of our prescriptions, counts (pills, etc.) and puts labels on the bottles,” he said. “That cuts down on a lot of the pharmacist’s time so they can spend more time with the patients.”

Continued success in patient care, Tim said, will require Dreier Pharmacy to further embrace innovation – including newer trends and more clinical care services.

“As the health system changes, we want to adapt with it,” he said.

Telemedicine – which Tim said is still in its infancy stages – is one such trend Dreier Pharmacy plans to venture into over the next two years or so.

“One program is called iCare,” he said. “People can come in and talk to a doctor via the computer, order meds, do tests.”

Tim said with 90% of prescriptions under the umbrella of about three pharmacy benefit managers – “pharmacies can’t survive on just prescriptions anymore” – prompting them to branch out in services. 

“A lot of them now are paying us below cost to dispense these drugs, and you can’t survive that way,” he said.

Offering these services at Dreier Pharmacy, Tim said, affords the Greater Shawano community convenient access to the most innovative and updated pharmacy trends – especially for those who don’t have insurance.

“Around here, we have a fair amount of larger dairy farms and tree farms relying on migrant workers, and they don’t have any insurance,” he said. “This would be a good area for us to advertise to them and offer economical health care for them (through programs like iCare).”

A part of the community

Growing up in Shawano, Tim said he has known many of the pharmacy’s patients for years, if not decades.

“You’ll always work with somebody at the pharmacy that greets you by name,” he said. “People know us, so we have a good relationship with them – they trust us.”

The locally owned operation, Tim said, brings with it many conveniences that chain pharmacies likely don’t offer – including home delivery.

“We’re more flexible,” he said. “If it’s an emergency, they can call us at home at night. We bring things to them at their house. Some people are unable to come in and get vaccinations, and we will go to their house if needed to administer those.”

Tim said his father’s motto was always “let our family care for your family.”

“That’s still the case today,” he said.

Pharmacy of the Year

Dreier Pharmacy, Tim said, is part of the Health Mart System – a network of more than 5,000 independent pharmacy franchises across all 50 states.

Tim said each pharmacy is locally owned and operated, allowing them to tailor their offerings to the specific communities they serve.

Each year, Health Mart – which is part of McKesson Corporation – names a Pharmacy of the Year, which is selected by pharmacy peers at McKesson’s annual ideaShare conference.

Being nominated, Tim said, was shocking enough – being named the winner was another thing altogether.

“We were sent a form saying we were nominated, and there was a questionnaire we had to fill out,” he said. “I gave the duty to my daughter Avery, and obviously, she must have done a good job.”

When Tim was notified Dreier Pharmacy was named a finalist – “I thought they were joking.”

“But I was quite honored and proud,” he said. “I thought of my dad who is no longer with us, knowing he probably had a big smile on his face.”

McKesson sent a film crew to Dreier Pharmacy to capture video and testimony on the impact it has had on the people of Shawano. 

The next step, Tim said, was a two- to four-minute presentation at the ideaShare conference on why Dreier Pharmacy should be named Pharmacy of the Year.

“I was nervous, and I thought my heart was going to pound out of my chest or that I would freeze on stage,” he said. “But everything went well – because at the (conference’s) final night party, they announced we won. We were elated – it was awesome.”

Since returning home from the conference, Tim said he’s felt somewhat like a celebrity.

“Pretty much everywhere we go, people are congratulating us,” he said. “That award goes out to them, too, because we’re a community pharmacy, so they’re part of our success. We will share this award with our community. It’s a shared award because without them, we wouldn’t be here.”

Earlier this year, Dreier Pharmacy was also named “Best Pharmacy & Gift Shop” in the Wolf River Region.

Regardless of the recognitions, Tim said Dreier Pharmacy will continue to support the healthcare needs of the Shawano community.

“Growing up here, the community is important to me,” he said. “The people are friendly – I like to have people around me I know.”