"As soon as I was born, I was in the pharmacy, and as soon as I could walk, I was cleaning shelves."
That’s how Chad Kodiak describes the beginning of his pharmacy journey. His father established their family pharmacy in 1969, which sold everything from greeting cards to Fannie Mae candy. As he grew and found his professional niche, the road to becoming a pharmacist became increasingly clear.
As CEO and owner of the Illinois-based KODOCARE, his work in the LTC space, particularly with patients with intellectual disabilities, lets him continue doing what he does best: create a healthier and brighter health journey for his patients.
Read on to learn more about Chad’s journey, KODOCARE’s impact on the LTC industry, and his hopes for the industry’s future.
Since 1969, KODOCARE has provided comprehensive LTC services, including medication synchronization, compliance packaging, and prescription delivery to group homes, specifically for patients with intellectual disabilities.
One of the more overlooked challenges of LTC pharmacy work is you might not have the usual face-to-face patient interactions compared to a traditional retail pharmacy. Nevertheless, Chad provides the right amount of urgency to his staff so they can provide the best possible care to KODOCARE’s patient base.
“What's a challenge for us being in long-term care we don’t see our patients. They don't actually stand in front of us.” Chad continues, “We have to be able to picture that these patients need our care, just like someone who's standing right in front of you. We'll figure out workflow issues later, but let's take care of the patient first.”
One of the perks of having a career in pharmacy isn’t necessarily the pay or other traditional perks of the job. Any healthcare professional will tell you about how strong patient relationships become over time.
As a pharmacist, you get a front row seat to see patients grow up, start families, and everything in between. Chad relishes this aspect of pharmacy work, serving as a reminder of just how vital our jobs are.
"One of my favorite things is to hear when one of our patients with disabilities is in a relationship, gets married, or starts a family,” Chad says. “It feels great knowing that we had a part in that."
Pharmacy work can be tedious and stressful. However, because he knows the journey is the reward, Chad and the rest of the KODOCARE staff go the extra mile for their patients. In short, they know patient outcomes consist of more than just a clean bill of health (though that certainly helps).
“When you have the proper amount of treatment and support for these patients that need it, you help your patients have great, abundant lives full of joy. That’s what keeps me going.”
Chad isn’t going to sugarcoat it. The industry’s future isn’t as crystal clear as he would hope. You may already guess who (or what) the cause for that could be.
“The challenges that we are facing with the pharmacy middlemen and the PBMs have made our job increasingly difficult.”
He continues, "But without appropriate reimbursement and fair reimbursement for the skills and the services that we offer, we can't continue to [provide said skills and services].”
The conflict between pharmacists and PBMs is well documented. Though progress towards PBM reform is slow, it’s still progress nonetheless (check out our blog, “The State of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) [2024 Report]” for more). Knowing this, Chad implores fellow healthcare professionals to advocate for themselves and contact their local representatives.
“If we can get to enough people and make enough noise, maybe we can affect change. But it has to be now and we've got to move quick.”
Chad Kodiak’s dedication to his patients and the LTC industry shines through in every aspect of his work at KODOCARE. Despite the challenges posed by evolving regulations and the ongoing struggles with PBMs, his commitment to patient care knows no bounds. Having been in the industry his whole life, he knows the only way is forward.
“Pharmacy has been good to me. And my dad told me once that as long as there are humans, there will be a need for the education of a pharmacist. It's finding that opportunity and facing this challenge and finding a way to get through it.”
Click here to watch Chad’s appearance on the AmplifyLTC Podcast.
