Love it or Hate it - The Pharmacist on Netflix

Having spent the last 27 years in the pharmaceutical industry, Darren Volkes, Sales and Marketing Executive recently reviewed the original Netflix program called, The Pharmacist.

Synopsis
The series is the true story of pharmacist Daniel Schneider from Louisiana. It revolves around the pharmacist’s son Danny’s death and its relation to the opioid epidemic.

This four-part series is set in 1999 and shown through the eyes of the pharmacist, Danny’s father who learns his 22-year-old son was murdered with a fatal gunshot to the head.

Danny’s parents had noticed a change in his behavior prior to his death. But they did not know the extent of his secret drug use and opioid addiction. IN fact, Danny was found dead in his truck after what they perceived was an attempt to buy drugs in the 9th ward of New Orleans.

The young man’s father had been working as a pharmacist at a local pharmacy since 1975. His son’s death devastated him and was furthered worsened when the police refused to delve any further into the story. Daniel’s father own investigation resulted in an eye-opening unearthing of the US opioid calamity right in their very town and across America.

 

Persistence Can Translate into Success

 

Darren Volkes has extensive experience in branding, client relations, public relations, and crisis management, among other skills. As executive vice president and corporate secretary of Guaranteed Returns, Darren Volkes has overseen the company’s growth from $1 million to $50 million in revenue. Mr. Volkes believes that persistence is a necessary quality in any sales-related industry, and it can be leveraged in a few ways.

Motivation is key to persistence, and reminding oneself of past successes can be extremely motivating. It is all too easy to remember the feeling associated with successful outcomes while forgetting how much effort was required to attain that success. Keep records of what you did and how long it took. This will put successful outcomes into perspective and provide you with guidelines for how to be successful in your next endeavor.

Industry statistics can also remind you of the importance of persistence. For example, the National Sales Executive Association suggests that 80 percent of sales require reaching out to the customer a minimum of five times. This suggests that the need for persistence is not a sign of something you did wrong; rather, it is part of the process. Think back on past sales and identify how persistence has paid off for you. What can you do to touch base with your clients throughout the decision-making process?

Practice makes persistence. The more you make reaching out to clients on a consistent basis a part of your sales process, the easier and more natural it becomes to do so. Practice will also prevent you from taking failure personally. After all, sales is a numbers game. If you are persistent, success is only a matter of time.

Basic Similarities and Differences Between Water and Alpine Skiing

Darren Volkes co-founded Guaranteed Returns (GRx) in Holbrook, New York in 1998, and continues to lead the pharmaceutical pioneer in his role as executive vice president. Outside of work, Darren Volkes enjoys staying active through both water skiing and alpine skiing.

Despite the use of similar equipment, most people would be unlikely to draw a direct line between water skiing and snow skiing, in part due to the dissimilar environments in which the activities are performed. That said, there are a few similarities between the two sports when considered from a technical standpoint.

Both sports require balance and core stability. Turning is also very similar in both versions of skiing, accomplished by balancing one foot while shifting weight across the wake to the other. Simple tips that apply to both sports involve skiing with open shoulders, balancing over the center of the skis rather than the front or back, and looking directly head, rather than down.

However, there are far more differences than similarities between the two, some more obvious than others. To begin, the momentum behind waterskiing is created by a boat, whereas alpine skiers are tasked with creating and maintaining their forward progress. Similarly, individuals in the water have no control over their preferred speed. Furthermore, while turning is mechanically similar, lateral movement is not a one for one comparison, with alpine skiers often being too eager with their lateral acceleration coming out of a turn while water skiing.

NCPA Urges Congress to Lower Prescription Drug Prices

As the co-founder and executive vice president of Guaranteed Returns (GRx), Darren Volkes has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Alongside GRx, Darren Volkes is a member of the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), which advocates on behalf of pharmacists and the people they serve.

The NCPA has joined over 240 other industry organizations to call for Congressional leaders to take action in lowering prescription drug prices across the country. In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), among others, the coalition highlights direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees that have increased 45,000 percent in the past decade.

These mandatory fees have unnecessarily increased Medicare patients’ out-of-pocket expenses while also affecting the viability of pharmacies across the country. In addition, 2,000 pharmacies have closed in the past two years, which may have been partially driven by increased prescription drug costs, among other factors.

The group highlights the importance of easy access to medication for patients to avoid unneeded trips to the emergency department.