Alliance Boots chief endorses partnership model for pharmacies

Alliance Boots' health and beauty chief executive Alex Gourlay has highlighted the benefits of the wider use of partnerships in the pharmacy sector.

In a speech during the Chemist and Druggist keynote conference at the Pharmacy Show, the Boots representative has suggested that companies should be more prepared to collaborate in order to meet the needs of patients.

He said these partnerships could include collaborations with local organisations and other businesses, citing Boots' own long-term partnership with MacMillan Cancer Support.

Moreover, organisations can also collaborate to launch multichannel services, including websites that offer new ways of accessing services and medical information.

"Don't ignore [this], as there are ways to make it work for your business," he stated, noting Alliance Boots and WebMD's successful online health database.

This comes after the company announced a new five-year partnership with charity organisation the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Charitable Trust, which aims to raise money for medical research.