Brandon C. Zegarelli: Pharm.D. graduated high school from Temple Christian in 2005. He then attended Tarrant County College for one year, Baylor for two years, and then transferred to the University of Texas at Austin where he studied for four years and received his Doctorate of Pharmacy in 2012. For his first year of practice, he worked at CVS. But desiring to work for an independent pharmacy, he interviewed with the KK's Pharamcy Group and was offered the position of Pharmacist-in-Charge at Lake Worth Pharmacy. He enjoys working for an independent pharmacy much more than a corporate chain because working for an independent pharmacy is an art. At a chain or a big-store pharmacy, the pharmacist just follows all the rules and regulations of the corporation, the prices are set, and there are strict, unrealistic computer metrics that have to be accomplished for the benefit of the stockholders at the cost of customer service. However, with independent pharmacy, the manager must learn how to select the best drug products, negotiate the best costs, and has the freedom to make decisions that best benefit the patient without the corporate, robotic pressure that has no presence at the store level. Furthermore, there is no rationing of staff help with independent pharmacy. At corporate pharmacies, they limit the technician hours based on rigid, corporate formulas. But at the independent level, the most talented technicians can be selected and used to the best of their abilities which is always to keep the pharmacy running at optimum capacity to always give the patient the best service. With no technician rationing, there is no service rationing which is often the experience most patients feel at the major corporate pharmacies. Dr. Zegarelli enjoys the challenge and finds satisfaction in fighting the corporate giants by earning the trust of loyal customers that he enjoys seeing everyday.

 

 

Mandy: Started assisting patients with their drug therapy and resolving pharmacy care issues in 2008. She worked for CVS Pharmacy for 6 years, starting out as a technician, working her way up to lead technician, and eventually district lead tech for all of the Fort Worth district. For the past 2 years she has been a part of the Lake Worth Pharmacy team. Challenging herself even more, she accepted the position of marketing for the matrix team for the surrounding independent pharmacies. She can't wait to see what the future holds for her in the independent pharmacy industry.