Today we’d like to introduce you to Tina Huynh.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Tina. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.

Allen Family Drug was established in 1993 as part of the expansion of our retail pharmacy operation in North Texas, which has ultimately grown to include locations in Bonham, Lewisville and Bells, TX. The company plan and vision were to provide a locally owned and operated, full service retail pharmacy at competitive prices. Our health care focus was to provide the entire family with a holistic and caring approach to maximize personal wellness, with an emphasis on the prevention of disease by utilizing high quality nutritionals along with patient specific customized compounded products.

Has it been a smooth road?

It has not always been a smooth path even though we have been very fortunate to get great support from our customers and community. Overall, we are a small independent pharmacy compared to giant chain drug stores out there such as CVS, Walgreen, Walmart, etc. Even Target pharmacies were bought out by CVS a couple of years ago. As the market becomes more consolidated and monopolized, people have fewer pharmacy choices in order to get their prescriptions covered by insurance. The big chain drug stores also affiliate and often mandate patients to use their own mail order pharmacies which are both restrictive and also a conflict of interest.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Allen Family Drug story. Tell us more about the business.

Two key factors that enable us to stay strong until this day are the excellent customer service and the unique specialty compounding services that we offer here at Allen Family Drug, a cozy yet state-of-the-art pharmacy. Our company mission statement from the very beginning is one key to help us survive and thrive through these changes while numerous independent mom and pop drug stores across the nation sadly had to close down in recent years because they were not able to withstand competitions and lost their business to the chain pharmacies.

Allen Family Drug’s slogan “Where Pharmacy Is Still a Service” is one of the main reasons why our customers choose us and stay with us. We have been receiving positive and encouraging feedbacks from our customers about the excellent, efficient, and friendly service they receive here at Allen Family Drug. Besides filling traditional pharmaceutical manufactured prescriptions, other key factors that make us stand out and set us apart from the giant-chain pharmacies are the special services we offer to our patients such as our custom compounded medications and our Functional Medicine practice.

To briefly explain what custom compounded medications are, here is a quote from PCCA (Professional Compounding Centers of America, http://www.pccarx), a reputable compounding organization and chemical company that we are proud to be a member of: “Pharmacy compounding is the art and science of preparing personalized medications for patients. Compounded medications are made based on a practitioner’s prescription in which individual ingredients are mixed together in the exact strength and dosage form required by the patient. This method allows the compounding pharmacist to work with the patient and the prescriber to customize a medication to meet the patient’s specific needs.”

So who would benefit from compounded medications? To name a few: people who need a drug that has a dosage strength or form which is not available through pharmaceutical companies (e.g., a child who can’t swallow pills or dislikes the taste of a liquid drug, or a patient who is allergic to a dye or inactive ingredient in the manufactured medication, such as food coloring, sweetener, lactose, gluten, corn, etc.), or a doctor who needs to prescribe a drug that is proven to work somewhere else in the world for a specific condition but is not available in the U.S, or even one of our favorite furry friends who need a custom veterinary medication.

Another main focus of our business is our Functional Medicine practice. Our mission is to improve the patient’s health and overall quality of life by working with other health care practitioners and integrative health experts. As a pharmacist for over 25 years, I believe that traditional medicine alone cannot treat the root cause of many health issues our patients face. Rather than solving the actual cause of the illness, traditional medicine oftentimes temporarily alleviates the symptoms. It is not unusual to see customers who first come to us as young adults to fill their birth control prescriptions, and then later we see them for anti-depression meds, then for high blood pressure, diabetic drugs and cholesterol lowering agents, or even psychotic medications several years later.

At Allen Family Drug, we offer our clients a service called Wellness Evaluation to evaluate patients’ health condition, medication records, and review traditional and functional test results if necessary to help them better understand their underlying health issues, then discuss with them the tools and provide them the knowledge to improve their health. In order to obtain optimal health, one has to have a healthy life-style and diet, good sleep hygiene, regular exercise, a sound nutritional program, and hormonal balance. We cherish the triangular relationship between the pharmacy, the prescribers (such as doctors, nurse practitioners, PA etc…), and the patients. Everybody will have to get involved in order to help the patients heal and feel better.

We help our patients to find the root cause of their illness and prevent disease from a natural and holistic approach. One example under the Functional Medicine point of view: depression is not only caused by the chemical imbalances of the brain, but often may originate from poor GI tract health (aka leaky gut), a nutritional deficiency, or a hormonal imbalance (too much or too little), etc. Therefore, antidepressant drugs commonly do not work well over a long period of time if other parts of the body do not function well and until the underlying issues are addressed.

Allen Family Drug supplies our customers with only the highest quality pharmaceuticals and the purest compounded ingredients. We also carry high quality, hand-picked vitamins, nutritional supplements and herbal regimens that are proved to be safe and effective to enhance the overall quality of health, help improve and even reverse many medical conditions. We value the personal and close relationship between the patient, physician, and pharmacist to provide the best service and products for our clients at the most reasonable and competitive price.

Our goal is to complement traditional medicine with Functional Medicine and a personalized health plan, and make them affordable for the general population. This approach has been proven to be safe and effective in bringing patients to their optimal health. We welcome you getting to know us and our service by calling to schedule a very affordable but life changing, one-on-one Wellness Evaluation consultation with our trained pharmacist.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?

I am very fortunate to have my passion aligned with my career. My passion is to apply pharmacy knowledge combined with functional medicine experience to help people heal and feel better. I​ ​have​ ​over​ ​10​ ​years​ ​of​ ​experience​ ​in​ ​balancing​ ​women​ ​hormones with​ ​bio-identical​ ​hormone​ ​replacement​ ​and​ ​hold​ ​a​ ​diplomate​ ​certification​ ​from The​ ​American​ ​Board​ ​of​ ​Anti-Aging​ ​Health​ ​Practitioners​ ​ (ABAAHP, www.a4m.com​).

My​ ​objective​ ​has always been​ ​to​ ​build​ ​a​ ​strong​ ​team​ ​at​ ​Allen​ ​Family​ ​Drug​ ​whose members​ ​are​ ​highly competent in​ ​what they​ ​do​ ​and​ ​love​ ​what​ ​they​ ​do.​ ​ ​It​ ​takes​ ​a​ ​team​ ​effort​ ​to​ ​get​ ​to​ ​where​ ​we​ ​are today.​ ​ ​There is no​ ​way​ ​I​ ​could​ ​achieve​ ​this​ ​all​ ​ ​by​ ​myself​ ​without​ ​the​ ​excellent​ ​employees of​ ​Allen​ ​Family​ ​Drug​ ​who​ ​are​ ​so​ ​motivated,​ ​creative,​ ​knowledgeable,​ ​hard-working​ ​and​ ​most​ ​of​ ​all,​ ​so​ ​fun​ ​to​ ​work​ ​with. Here,​ ​we​ ​all​ ​share​ ​one​ ​common​ ​personality trait:​​ ​caring​ ​for​ ​people!​ ​It​ ​is​ ​very​ ​important to​ ​build​ ​a​ ​health​ ​care​ ​business​ ​based​ ​on​ ​ethics​ ​and​ ​altruism.​ ​ Our priority is customer service; we put​ ​our patients’​ ​health​ first.​ ​I​ ​am​ very ​thankful​ to ​and​ ​so proud​ ​of​ ​my​ ​staff​, and​​ ​I am​ ​sure​ ​our​ ​customers​ ​feel​ ​the​ ​same​​ way about them! ​

To​ ​me, ​​success​ ​is​ ​when​ ​I​ ​hear​ ​positive​ ​feedback​ ​from​ ​patients. ​Nothing makes​ ​me​ ​happier​ ​than​ ​knowing​ ​that​ ​our​ ​patients​ ​feel​ ​better​ ​using​ ​the​ ​medicines we​ ​prepare/make​ ​for​ ​them, or​ ​following​ ​our​ ​recommendations​ ​in​ ​their everyday​ ​lives. These​ ​patients​ ​are​ ​often​ ​people​ ​with​ ​chronic​ ​illnesses, bouncing​ ​from​ ​one​ ​specialist​ ​to​ ​another​ ​in​ ​an​ ​attempt​ ​to​ ​improve​ ​their​ ​health conditions.

I’ve​ ​just​ ​come​ ​across​ ​this​ ​comment​​ ​that​ ​a​ ​mother​ ​wrote​ ​on​ ​one​ ​of​ ​the​ ​websites reviewing​ ​our​ ​business:

“​I love this place for many reasons. They have a caring, friendly staff. Four years ago, my son was diagnosed with ADD and I put him on Adderall and I did not like the side effects he was having (personality changed, did not eat much, etc.). One day after leaving my doctor appt and went to have a script filled at the old Allen Family Drug store, I struck up a conversation with Tina, the head pharmacist, and my life changed for my son that day. She told me about these DHA fish oil pills to help with his concentration issue. I am here to say THEY TOTALLY WORKED FOR US!!!!!!! My son has been Adderall free for 4 years now and is an A/B student starting High School this August. I have to thank TINA and her staff for taking the time to help me get my son off the Adderall and putting him on something natural THANK YOU THANK YOU THANKYOU!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Well, this is exactly how I personally define SUCCESS!