Healthcare includes every component from the diagnosis to treatment of injury

illnesses and diseases. Pharmacy, as a subset of health care, is the science of

preparing and dispensing drugs. It includes a wide spectrum of services: clinical
services, industrial, regulation, insurance; lead by numerous specialists: medicinal
chemists, technicians who aim to provide the safest, most efficient and affordable
medications to the availability of their patients. The typical pharmacist intervenes in
this as the dispensator of the medication, therefore act as the last barrier of safety
between the medication and the patient. He does not only verify that the medication
prescribed is of quality and in accordance with the patients current regimen but also
educate the patient of any risks and specifications linked to the drug. All of these in
order to optimize use of medication therapy and promote compliance. He acts in
permanent contact with other healthcare professionals like physicians and nurses to
enhance effectiveness of therapy.

As part of the wide spectrum of services spanned by pharmacy care

management is by far one of the most important one. Who talks about care also talks
about cost. The most effective care always comes with a cost. And today with more and
more innovations, breakthroughs in the health care world, people lives longer and rely
more and more on healthcare. As a direct consequence of this rise in the demand of
care, is an important rise in the cost. It is then important that healthcare should be
managed in a way that allows everybody to have fair access to it, where comes care
management. The goal of care management is to achieve an optimal level of wellness

and improve coordination of care while providing cost effective, non-duplicative

services. My interest in care management spiked primarily from my own observation. I
have always been aware and sensitive to the fact that an important part of the
population does not have access to proper healthcare and usually because they cannot
afford it. It startled me that despite amazing quality of the services offered so many
people were left for dead because they did not have the money. Coming from a third
world country, where the quality of healthcare is at best mediocre, I see this as a waste
of human lives. I believe that all human lives are equal, so people should be provided
with best care possible regardless of their background. So when I was offered to
explore further this domain through an internship in an insurance company, I was more
than happy to accept. And least is to say that this co-op experience was very
interesting experience, which makes consider this field as my first option in the future. I
am really interested in working in care management in order to try to understand and
reform this system that does not advantage those that are the most in need.

Such advocacy requires excellent writing and oral skills. In fact every branch of
pharmacy requires such skills. Pharmacist are constantly required to communicate
effectively whether it is with health professionals or patients with each audiences
requiring an adequate language. Indeed when it comes to communication with patients,
the pharmacist must be able to explain drugs information in a less professional and
more educative language in order for the patient to get the most out of it. But when it
come to communications with professionals, the tone and expressions are much more
professional and informal. The aim being to display your knowledge and educate your
peers on much more advanced matters like in articles, research publications, policies,

etc.what is specific in care management and advocacy is the more persuasive tone.
Indeed the goal is usually not to only explain and support your statement but also make
your peers and the general population joins your cause, adhere to your statement.
When looking up the topic of moral hazard in healthcare. I fell upon couples
of articles that made great use of this convincing strategy. In an article titled CVS and
the Rise of Corporate Profitable Morality by Hank Cardello, published on February 27,
2014, the author extend on his argument that the choice of the CVS to opt out of the
cigarettes business is not influenced by moral and ethics but is a commercial strategy in
order to buy themselves a more attractive image as healthcare provider. Such move
that Cardello (2014) calls a moment of profitable morality is nothing more than a longterm investment. The trend being that business success and social success go hand
in hand, it is more profitable for companies to invest in new trends and make
themselves more appealing to socially aware consumers. For such article to be
published on Forbes a leader in American business magazine, constantly associated
with wealth and extravaganza already sets up the tone. The matter is more analyzed
under a business microscope than healthcare oriented, already introducing the debate
of moral hazard.

The article is visually plain it is displayed in black font on a white background

with no illustrations whatsoever and a couple of hyperlinks. The choice of the author to
not make use of such tools, which helps in appealing more readers and enhance their
comprehension of the text, proves that he judges the matter simple enough and
accessible to the majority of the population. Such will of the author to simplify the

matter, making it more accessible and understandable to the general general

population, is translated through his constant use of analogy throughout the text. As in
the following Cardello (2014) states: Like a chess player who sacrifices a valuable
piece to set up a winning move, CVS sacrificed cigarettes to position itself as an
attractive provider in a revamped system for delivering care. He succeeds in comparing
such a complex financial move to themes that are so common in our everyday life; in
this case a game of chess. The same result is achieved when he calls the positive
financial repercussions of profitable morality halo effect. The author clearly intends to
reach a maximum amount of people with his article and also persuades them of his
thesis. This is not only shown through his use of a language that is accessible to a
large audience, but also through his choice of examples.

The examples used in this article are really effective at appealing to wide
spectrum of population. As they each illustrate the author original thesis but in different
social context and even time period which allow for a greater range of the audience to
relate, sympathize with his statement. Indeed, the author mentions the shift of the
company DANONE, 20 years ago, to healthier products, which subsequently led to a
radical increase in their profits. Such example allows for an older population who
experienced this shift to better relate to the issue. Cardello also mentions the case of
Apple and Steve Jobs, who yanked, in 2010, 6,000 sexually suggestive apps from
iTunes, despite the pornographic market being particularly lucrative. This resulted in a
steady increase of their stock price by the following year. A more recent example that
allows the younger crowds to also relates to the topic. He includes even the case of
Costco and Starbucks with the instauration of their no-gun policies, which still allowed

them to increase their profits. Two companies which are parts of every Americans
everyday life. By choosing examples, which can be easily related to by a large portion of
the audience, he progresses in his optic of persuasion as it is more common that people
tend to adhere to ideas they can relate to.

This persuasive tone can be felt even more all throughout the argument. The
author does not hesitate to use big numbers in his text, $2 billion in top-line
revenue a $126 billion pharmacy and health care provider the now $20 billion
company He chose to do so to emphasize on what is at stakes and therefore make
greater impact on his audience.

Persuasion in the healthcare system is more than crucial especially in terms of

advocacy. It is more than important to not only know how to convey your message but
also make other your audience relates and adhere to it. The article CVS and the Rise of
Corporate Profitable Morality is a great example of this persuasive writing style. As an
aspiring pharmacy seeking to work in care management and advocate, excellent
communication skills are serious assets that are as important that the quality of the
idea.

Reference:

Cardello, H. (2014). CVS and the Rise of Corporate Profitable Morality. Retrieved
fromhttp://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2014/02/27/cvs-and-the-rise-ofprofitable-corporate-morality/

I would like to include this work in my portfolio as I think that it gives an idea on what I expect to achieve
in this course and directly relate to my future goals.