Dan's Discount Drug Mart emphasizes information

The staggering cost and proliferation of medicines on the market today makes a pharmacist's skill invaluable, pharmacist Dan Drewry said.

The owner of Dan's Discount Drug Mart at 2625 N. Kansas Expressway is well aware of the role his business plays in the health care field.

Through a mix of formal education and daily practice, pharmacists measure and blend chemicals and compounds to doctors' specifications, and dispense useful information.

Drewry, a registered pharmacist, said that people "expect a lot out of us" when they visit his store to fill a prescription or ask for a recommendation. The store has 13 employees, including two other registered pharmacists.

His goal is to provide superior service and offer prices at or below his competitors. Comparison-shopping is important, he added, to find the best values. "When people call us for prices, even if we're the first place they call, we suggest that they go ahead and call two or three places, because naturally we're going to tell them we're the cheapest."

Finding the least expensive alternative in medicine is often done through phone consultations with the patient's doctor, Drewry said. "Sometimes a medication comes in two or three different strengths and a stronger strength will be basically the same price." If the doctor permits the higher dosage, "the patient can take a half of a tablet and achieve the same results." This, he said, stretches the patient's health care dollar a bit farther.

In addition to prescription drugs, Drewry's store offers health and beauty aids, pain relievers, cold medicines, first-aid supplies, toiletries and natural remedies such as herbs, vitamins and minerals. The store has two drive-up windows.

The store makes deliveries, but typically this service is reserved for those who are ill, confined to their homes, or unable to find transportation to the store.

Dan's Discount Drug Mart is "going on its sixth year," Drewry said. "It's taken time to get the word out," he said, but he's pleased with the store's expansion. "We've always had tremendous growth, but in the last couple of years, it's really been good." Drewry attributes this success to his "employees, our service and our prices."

"People like to be recognized" when they come into the store, Drewry said. They also "like for the same pharmacist to wait on them every time." He sees the relationships he and his employees establish with their customers as instrumental to the store's current and future success.

Today, the store's most frequent customers come primarily from northwest Springfield, Drewry said. In addition, he sends 10 to 15 packages a day to locations around Springfield. Any advertising the store receives is "100 percent word of mouth," he said, except for exposure the store receives through making local school contributions.

The store handles all the standard requirements provided for health insurance reimbursements. "We deal with literally hundreds, if not thousands, of third parties," Drewry said. While this paperwork is a time-consumer, he's aware that the situation probably won't change much in the future.

Drewry foresees the trend in medicine as moving toward more government control, which likely won't bode well for consumers. "Any time the government's involved," he said, "the service goes down."

Drewry said he appreciates the history and tradition of pharmacology. It "has been a highly respected profession for several years." He added that he finds satisfaction in interacting with people, saving them money if possible, and enlightening them on healthy alternatives in their lifestyles.

"It's "rewarding if you make a little bit of a difference," he said.