White’s Travel Center to Share Their Great Idea of a Pharmacy at The NATSO Show

In the fall of 2015, White’s Petro Stopping Center in Raphine, Virginia, added a number of new amenities, including a pharmacy. Owner Bobby Berkstresser first began thinking about adding the pharmacy when they added a doctors’ clinic in 2012. The truckstop is a rural area and is about 15 minutes away from the closest pharmacy. With the clinic now seeing as many as 70 to 80 patients a day and, of course, giving many of those patients prescriptions, he felt it was time to pursue his idea. Their first step was to do a demographic study, which study found that a pharmacy at their location could be profitable with local traffic alone.
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White’s Travel Center to Share Their Great Idea of a Pharmacy at The NATSO Show

In the fall of 2015, White’s Petro Stopping Center in Raphine, Virginia, added a number of new amenities, including a pharmacy. Owner Bobby Berkstresser first began thinking about adding the pharmacy when they added a doctors’ clinic in 2012. The truckstop is in a rural area and is about 15 minutes away from the closest pharmacy. With the clinic now seeing as many as 70 to 80 patients a day and, of course, giving many of those patients prescriptions, he felt it was time to pursue his idea. Their first step was to do a demographic study, which found that a pharmacy at their location could be profitable with local traffic alone.

Their pharmacy is a franchise through Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy. Medicine Shoppe provides them with support for everything from choosing their computer system to filling out the monthly state reports. It is a 30-day process before you can really begin filling prescriptions. In addition to being open 30 days, the pharmacy has to have a DEA number and state license, then sign contracts with each healthcare company.

The pharmacy is 5,000 square feet, which includes the actual pharmacy where pharmacists fill prescriptions, an immunization room, a consultant room, offices and a compounding room. It also includes a retail area in front of the pharmacy, which so far is doing well. 

One surprise of opening the pharmacy was how many drivers buy prescriptions with cash rather than through insurance. To meet this need, the pharmacy offers a prescription card called Medicine RX. This is a service for their customers and it also entices them to come back to fill their prescriptions. The pharmacy is also an employee retention tool. They have 400 employees who now have an alternative for filling their prescriptions.

/// Have questions on this GREAT IDEA? We’ve tapped Bobby Berkstresser to share more and answer questions on his idea during the Opening Workshop: Great Ideas! for Independent Operators on Mon., Feb. 22, 2016 at 1:45 p.m. at The NATSO Show. Register today!

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