On March 3-4 at Schaumburg's Renaissance Convention Center, the Chicagoland Health & Beauty Expo will take place, featuring speakers such as actress Suzanne Somers and over 150 booths spotlighting various companies and products. Windy City Times spoke with Bahar Mallah of Diplomat Pharmacy ( which is sponsoring Somers' talk ) about the company's own services, which includes items for two- and four-legged creatures.
Windy City Times: Tell me about Diplomat.
Bahar Mallah: We've actually been in business for 34 years now, and it began as a family-owned pharmacy in Flint, Mich. ( It's still a family-owned pharmacy. ) Then, by providing personalized service to one patient at a time, the word spread and now we have locations in Grand Rapids, Mich.; Cleveland; and Chicago.
WCT: You offer many different services, including something for those with HIV/AIDS.
BM: Yes. Our corporate credo is that we serve each patient's individual needs. People with HIV/AIDS have a lot of other things on their minds than how much medication they should take; however, medication is imperative.
You have to be 98 percent compliant with your medications to get the best clinical outcomes. Back in the day, it was about 20-plus pills [ a day ] ; now it's about 2-10. However, you're still presented with 10 bottles a month, maybe from different doctors, and you may not understand them. So, if it's organization of medication, monetary issues or understanding how to live with HIV most effectively, we address that. We have a patient care coordinator who answers questions and, for compliance, we have our Medicine-On-Time system—which we do for free for anyone who's enrolled in our program. [ In the system, pill cups are assembled in reusable, color-coded 'calendar cards.' ] The beauty is that it's all perforated, so [ taking the medication ] is discreet; you can take it with you and don't have to worry about getting back home at a certain time.
Medications are also shipped across the U.S.; locally, we can have private couriers meet you at a restaurant, at home or wherever, so that items are discreetly delivered to you.
WCT: Something else you all deal with is transgender hormone therapy. Tell me about that.
BM: What we do is that, instead of throwing a pharmaceutical drug at you that is mass-produced for the general population, your physician would test you for what you [ specifically ] need and, in our sterile laboratory, actually compound a medication for you. Let's say you want to do a transformation; we could compound exactly how much estrogen, progesterone [ and/or ] estradiol, for example, in whatever form is comfortable for you ( such as a cream ) . It just makes sense to treat people well.
WCT: You are even involved in veterinary care.
BM: It all comes down to compounding. Let's say you have a dog who won't take its medication. We can, based on a veterinarian's prescription, make the medication into a doggie treat or into a liquid-suspension form. ( It's actually quite common. ) Because of our lab, we have the flexibility to create something for whatever problem you have. We even helped a research aquarium to feed its sick dolphin; we injected the medication with fish.
Compounding is all about creativity, and that goes across all beings, whether it's human or animal.
We have an outstanding oncology program as well, and people ask, 'How can you be so good at so many things?' The answer is that the way the company is run is very niched, and we have a team that understands every disease state and every patient type.
WCT: What areas would you like to expand into?
BM: We really want to tackle the HIV market in Chicago. There are a lot of great pharmacies [ locally ] , but we'd like to step up the game. I feel like there are a lot of people in underrepresented areas who feel like they don't have [ another ] option.
WCT: What will you do at the expo?
BM: We are hosting Suzanne Somers; she'll talk about growing up with an alcoholic father, surviving cancer and [ getting involved ] with biohormone replacement therapy. We'll also have a booth ( #227 ) .
Tickets to the expo are $15, but half the proceeds are going to Y-Me of Illinois.
ChicagolandHealthAndBeautyExpo.com and DiplomatPharmacy.com
