Walking through the doors of Oak Lawn Pharmacy is like a breath of fresh air. Its new renovations show what a modern pharmacy should look like: a sleek, inviting healthcare destination, ready to provide exceptional patient care at a moment’s notice.
This isn’t a mistake. There’s more to proper patient care than meets the eye. It’s a long and arduous journey, but few know how rewarding it can be better than Oak Lawn’s Pharmacist in Charge, Sean Gatz. His path, from pharmacy technician to pharmacy owner, has given him the wisdom and experience to run his pharmacy, his way.
Read on to learn more about Sean, his approach to patient care, and how he’s making patient care more inclusive, one day at a time.
Sean Gatz has always wanted to work in healthcare. From getting his Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry at SMU (Pony Up Mustangs!) to working odd jobs at an optometrist's office and shadowing a dentist and doctor at a general practice, he knew he wanted to make a living from helping others.
Through trial and error, he found that elusive love: pharmacy. He began working at what was then called Pride Pharmacy, which later became Oak Lawn Pharmacy.
He fell in love with how the pharmacy cared for its patients, offering a tailored and personalized brand of patient care that only pharmacies can provide — an element that still motivates him to this day.
“The extra level of care and courtesy we can provide in a more intimate setting you find at independent pharmacies made all the difference in patient interactions,” Sean says. “Some pharmacists just want to stand there and verify prescriptions. By interacting with my patients, I can learn additional information about their conditions and often provide recommendations the next time I speak with their provider.”
The adage of “the people make the job” goes both ways in pharmacy: your coworkers and staff set the tone for your day, but it’s your patients who fill in the rest of the blanks.
“I am motivated by my patients.” Sean continues, “They still manage to teach me something new every day while I am teaching them about their medications, how to take them, and what to expect.”
Your patients are the backbone of your pharmacy, the catalyst to its long-term success — something that Sean knows all too well. Returning to Oak Lawn after eight years away, he received a delightfully unexpected call.
“I teared up a little the first time I picked up the phone after returning to this pharmacy after eight years and heard the voice of one of my favorite patients way back when.”
It’s that familiar, lifelong camaraderie between pharmacist and patient that makes the work so rewarding. That camaraderie also showed Sean that he can achieve his lifelong vision of running a pharmacy that is welcoming to all people and communities.
The front page of Oak Lawn’s website reads “We are more than just a pharmacy; we are a haven of wellness, offering a unique blend of patient care and convenience.” And they mean it. Through offering exceptional patient services from compounding and delivery to pill packing, they show that their patient’s health is their top priority.
That goes for all demographics and communities. Oak Lawn, like its prior namesake, takes pride in offering specialized services for the LGBTQ+ community. As a member of the community himself, Sean is aware of the barriers and stigmas associated with providing and receiving care. Nonetheless, Oak Lawn is rapidly becoming a pillar of acceptance and tolerance in the Dallas community.
“Working in a pharmacy that is open and including to everyone is extremely important. Healthcare has no room for stigma or bias.”
He continues, “Working within this community helps to avoid the stigma and negativity that sadly affects so many of the people who identify as LGBTQ+, are living with HIV and or identify as transgender.”
It takes a village to make a difference in your community, from your staff to your patients. Having easy-to-use and intuitive pharmacy software by your side doesn’t hurt either. Sean reflects on how PioneerRx lets him run his pharmacy, his way:
“I love PioneerRx and all the functions that it has to offer, both within the software itself, or through integrations with other companies to enhance patient care.”
He continues, “I would choose PioneerRx over any other software I have come across. I especially like how colorful all of the screens are, allowing an easy faster approach to see the status of a prescription from the medication profile, whereas other software might require you to dig deeper and click through several screens for the same answer.”
With the right pharmacy software, your pharmacy can do anything, just ask Sean and the rest of Oak Lawn Pharmacy.
Pharmacy ownership is not for the faint of heart. It’s hard and grueling with nary a dull moment. The hours are long, the work is stressful, and the day-to-day grind can be overwhelming.
However, pharmacists choose this profession for a reason: in sports parlance, it’s for the love of the game. Sean Gatz and Oak Lawn Pharmacy love what they do and they express that love through their myriad of pharmacy services and tailored customer service.
The journey of a pharmacist is full of hills and valleys and Sean is eager to see what lies ahead.
“In the future, I see Oak Lawn becoming a staple of the healthcare needed within our community, he says. “As we pharmacists continue to advocate to provide additional services to patients, I see Oak Lawn growing and adopting the ability to perform such services typically seen at a provider’s office.”
“It would be a dream come true to be able to order the tests patients need and initiate important medications like pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure Prophylaxis (PEP). I also feel making these services more accessible can help remove the stigma that may be associated with these medications.”
The future is bright for pharmacy, and with the likes of Sean Gatz at the helm, patient care will know no limits, boundaries, or stigmas. Oak Lawn’s doors are open — just walk in and they’ll take care of the rest.
