If you have a question, please do not hestiate to contact us here or call 1-800-782-3444.
Q: How much time do patient visits take?
Patient visits should take no more than 10-15 minutes, with the only exceptions being the first, seventh, and last visits, when patients are weighed, measured, and tested. We highly encourage the entire pharmacy team to be involved. Technicians, dieticians, nutritionists, nurses, and even your customer service team can assist with tasks such as weighing patients, assigning nutrition lessons, and providing functional foods.
Q: How do you limit weekly meeting time?
Some patients need time to express their medical concerns or ask questions not adequately answered by their doctor. Others struggle to focus on their weekly lessons and are anxious to discuss topics beyond the TAKE CHARGE knowledge stream. There are various ways to manage meeting times. Our training addresses this thoroughly.
Q: How can my staff be involved with the Take Charge program?
Our Lifestyle IQ Computer allows ancillary staff (even customer service, technicians, dietitians, nutritionists, nurses etc) to be used to maximize the use of your time. I have an RN on staff that takes care of the task of seeing the patient, getting them their lesson and foods for the next week.
Q: How do I find new customers?
More than 2/3 of the US population is overweight; over 1/3 obese; the market is more than $60 billion per year. Your community is no different. More than 70 million people in the US are on some kind of "diet". Take Charge has a health care professional as an integral part of the program. When given the choice, patients are more successful and satisfied in group meetings, Internet counseling, and paying exorbitant prices or with one on one counseling with their local pharmacy staff? YOU are the answer for these patients and the Take Charge system makes it easy for you.
Q: How can I gain the knowledge necessary to provide a valuable service like this?
Take Charge truly is a turnkey system. We provide materials, training and ongoing support as the Take Charge office staff is always just a phone call or email away. You have knowledge of your patient's overall health and medications. Your staffs main role as they are learning is one of coach and an accountability source. Take Charge is designed to get the patient results through the organized teaching of the Lifestyle IQ Patient Education Manuals and Software. The more your staff learns from working with patients the more the program "becomes your own."
Q: I have a very small pharmacy and little space for inventory, how much product do I have to stock?
Since you know how many patients you have on the program at any given time you can determine in advance how much you need on hand. There is really no need in having more than a couple of weeks (4-6 cases) of product on hand at any given time so there is not much inventory space required.
Q: I do not have a special counseling room. Are pharmacists able to do the program in situations like this?
Yes, the counseling can be done in your normal prescription counseling area. I do feel that the actual weighing and body fat measurements should be done in private. Some pharmacists utilize an area in their stockroom, office or other small area to accomplish this. Each pharmacy is different but we will work with you to find appropriate areas for these functions. We have never had a pharmacy not be able to do Take Charge because of a lack of private space.
Q: Is the lifestyle diet based on the food pyramid & calorie counting?
Yes, it is based upon sound nutritional principles like those found with the food pyramid (a balance of foods not erratic swings such as low carb, high protein etc.) and as all recent studies have pointed out weight loss ultimately depends upon reducing calories not necessarily just the type of food one eats.
Q: Are patients required to use the Take Charge functional foods?
The patient actually only utilizes our meal replacement shakes for 2 meals per day so that allows them to eat their 3rd meal with "regular" food. The more they learn the less they rely on the foods. The shakes are just "crutches" that allow a patient to achieve positive results BEFORE they have the knowledge to do so. The ultimate goal is to teach a patient how to duplicate the quality of nutrition that is in the shakes with "ordinary" food. Our shakes only have 240 calories which buys them a lot of room to make mistakes as they learn by trial and error without setting them back in their goals.