For Mike Wysong communication is the foundation of success in community pharmacy 鈥� both for individual companies and the industry as a whole. As chief executive officer of CARE Pharmacies, Wysong has seen the company thrive because of its ability to deliver a precise, unifying message to its members while also prioritizing their input in return.
The National Association of Chain 91短视频 Stores continues to benefit from a leadership bench that blends scale, innovation and independent pharmacy perspective, with executives such as Rick Gates, Kevin Host, Mike Wysong and Dave Warner each contributing distinct expertise while advancing a unified agenda around PBM reform, provider status and the future of pharmacy care.
Jeffrey Woldt
鈥淥ne of the strengths of CARE is that we鈥檙e able to meet with our individual pharmacy owners to map out their vision for effective patient care, and then equip them with tailored resources like procurement, technology and advocacy to meet their unique needs,鈥� said Wysong. 鈥淭he reciprocal dialogue, built on trust and candor, yields proven strategies that scale value across our network.鈥�
It also explains why CARE continues to expand, consistently earning a spot on the National Retail Federation鈥檚 Hot 100 list, even as store counts shrink industrywide.
鈥淲e鈥檝e reached a pivotal milestone at CARE 鈥� more than 200 pharmacy locations across 28 states, including Washington, D.C., with a focus on underserved communities, delivering proactive, personalized and preventative health care solutions,鈥� noted Wysong, a current NACDS board member who served as the association chairman in 2023-2024. 鈥淚n times of uncertainty, there is usually opportunity. That opportunity lies in the gaps where payers, manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers remain siloed. Pharmacy can deliver pragmatic, innovative and technologically refined solutions to close those gaps.鈥�
Wysong said that if pharmacy operators can find a way to come together and tell a unified story about the value they provide, and then amplify it through associations like NACDS, a more constructive, transparent and sustainable model that benefits patients, providers and payers will emerge.
鈥淓ffectively communicating our irreplaceable value means we don鈥檛 just continue to survive, but we redefine how health care is delivered in the communities that we serve,鈥� he noted.
Wysong pointed out that this isn鈥檛 theory, it鈥檚 a proven strategy: 鈥淏ack in 2010, CARE鈥檚 footprint was modest, with 45 members and under $200 million in sales. The network has now grown to 200 pharmacies with sales approaching $2 billion dollars. That trajectory comes from listening first, then leading, turning owner insights into shared tools that protect margins, streamline operations and ensure patient needs remain at the forefront. It鈥檚 forward-thinking leadership focused on alignment, reciprocity and driving results.
鈥淭he next chapter of pharmacy will include a much more integrated model, with health tech accelerating the change. It is imperative that as leaders we pay reverence to the past but prepare and refine our model for the future. This means assuming the role as the essential connector in tomorrow鈥檚 health care.鈥�
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