Adam Metcalf, owner of Hill Country Apothecary, grew up in the pharmacy business. He opened Hill Country Apothecary in River Place after he opened his first pharmacy in Lakeway just over a year ago.
By CASSIE MCKEE, Four Points News
As the son of a pharmacist growing up in Port Arthur, Adam Metcalf grew up in the pharmacy business, working alongside his dad in high school and college. After earning his pharmacy degree from the University of Houston, Metcalf followed in his father’s footsteps and opened his own independent pharmacy, Hill Country Apothecary, which recently opened on River Place Boulevard.
Metcalf said he models his business after his father’s example.
“What drove his business was his empathy and his customer service,” Metcalf said. “That’s one thing we really pride ourselves on. I believe in the pharmacy practice, we’ve become out of touch with what we’re there for. The big box store has corrupted that- being able to talk to patients as they should.”
Hill Country Apothecary is a full-service pharmacy that specializes in a variety of customized medicine in areas such as pediatrics, veterinary, hormone replacement and many others. The pharmacy also offers compound medication in addition to traditional manufactured medications. Compound medications are created in the pharmacy to fit the unique needs of each patient. For example, if a toddler cannot swallow a capsule, the pharmacist could make the medicine into a topical cream. Or if a patient has a migraine, the pharmacist could combine multiple medications into one transdermal medication.
“It’s an approach against one size fits all,” Metcalf said. “Everybody is different. It’s a creative way of pharmacy. It’s what pharmacy was founded on and it’s made a comeback with regards to knowing what’s in the medicine and what patients are putting in their bodies.”
After opening his first pharmacy in Lakeway a little over a year ago, Metcalf said he chose Four Points for a second location because he saw it as an underserved community.
“I chose to locate in Four Points because of the lack of compounding pharmacies and independent pharmacies in the Four Points area,” he said. “It’s an underserved area medically. We know a lot of people use compounding medication and are looking for an integrative approach to their healthcare and so we fit that bill.”
After graduating from the University of Houston School of Pharmacy, Metcalf worked for a couple of Austin area pharmacies for two years before opening his own. Hill Country Apothecary offers complimentary delivery service within a seven-mile radius and individualized attention. Customers will find a more personalized experience than at the average big box pharmacy. The pharmacy offers a comforting, aesthetically-pleasing environment and a pharmacist who will take the time to visit with each customer.
“You can always talk to someone. Most of time, a pharmacist will come from behind counter and have a conversation with you,” Metcalf said.
Hill Country Apothecary also has both a full-time clinical nutritionist and a dietician on staff. Pharmacist Joseph Drummond also lives locally in Steiner Ranch.
Metcalf said he likes being able to help patients achieve their individual health goals.
“We’re going to be your partner in health,” he said. “We’ll help you get to where you want to be. We consider the patient to be just as important as the physician or the pharmacist.”
What he enjoys most is being able to help people every day.
“I get to impact people’s lives on a daily basis positively whether it’s a child or an adult or somebody’s pet,” he said.
Hill Country Apothecary is located at 6611 Riverplace Blvd. For more information, call (512) 487-5759 or visit www.rxhca.com.