Today we’d like to introduce you to April Hang. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Dr. April Hang, PharmD hails from Petersburg, Virginia, and is of Filipino heritage. Her dad was in the Army, so her family traveled a lot. She spent a long time in Germany, where she learned to speak a little of the language, and she studied at Virginia Commonwealth University – Medical College of Virginia School of Pharmacy.
I worked for major corporations and did not like the red tape and metric requirements that were more important than patient care. I decided to research and open my first pharmacy in 2012 while I was pregnant with my third child.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As an entrepreneur, you have to learn how to wear many hats and be able to adapt to changes. There were challenges in getting an SBA loan from the bank and learning to manage the capital and budgeting overhead. It’s much harder to run a brick-and-mortar business.
You have to learn about business plans, negotiating lease agreements, lots of paperwork for licensing, and following the state requirements for pharmacies. Most entrepreneurs do not have a smooth road and if it was easy, everyone would do it. Stress management is important and for me, that was managed best by exercise, which I need to restart post-acl repair surgery.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
“Compounding is an out-of-the-box option for patients who have exhausted all their options and want to try something else. We do carry some traditional medications as well,” she explained. “It takes time to make everything. You have to make sure all the ingredients are included. You’re not just pouring pills out and counting them. You have to melt something down and make lollipops, gummies, lozenges, or capsules. We have to do our math calculations carefully to make it the exact strength the physician wrote it for.”
One of the things Dr. Hang has gotten involved with is the effort in Georgia to make low THC oil (less than 5%) available to patients suffering from chronic pain, cancer, PTSD, HIV, autism, dementia, Alzheimer’s, and other conditions. “I feel like [CBD/THC] oil can help several patients,” she said. “It’s yet another alternative for people.”
She said that doctors can help a patient get a medical card for it. “Everything has been passed in Georgia, and there is a THC oil registry here now, but there’s no access. I think there are over 14,000 patients registered. They have the card, but there is no place where they can go buy it yet,” Dr. Hang said. “We’re just waiting for the infrastructure so people can start applying for manufacture and distribution license.”
I was very proud of getting pharmacists and pharmacies in HB324, the Hope Act. But now the DEA is saying pharmacies in Georgia are not allowed to sell THC to medical patients because they are still scheduled as a class 1 narcotic.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
If you decide to do business with someone, ensure you have a contract. In the contract, include a plan for how things will be handled in disagreement and or completely ending the business relationship. It will save time and money.
When things do not work out, have a plan B, C, D, etc. Consider all variables and scenarios.
Contact Info:
- Website: Peachtreerx.com or totalpharmacyplus.com
