GuidePoint is pharmacy’s new name

• GuidePoint

Owner Jason Turner stands in front of the newly renamed GuidePoint Pharmacy, once called the Medicine Shoppe, on Thursday. (Kari Lucin/Daily Globe)

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WORTHINGTON — Though the Medicine Shoppe pharmacy in Worthington has changed its name to GuidePoint and dropped the association with the Medicine Shoppe franchise, it will continue to offer the same services it did before, including compounding medicine and delivering it.

“It was actually quite an adventure finding a new name,” said Jason Turner, owner of the newly-rechristened GuidePoint.

Before he could make a final decision on the pharmacy’s name, he had to run each possibility by a trademark attorney, who checked each of them to find out whether they had already been taken by another healthcare-related business.

After checking several other names, Turner opted to call the business GuidePoint.

“It does have meaning behind it,” Turner explained. “We spend a lot of our time during the day answering questions. People ask for advice on various medical issues.”

GuidePoint also has a very narrow focus, enabling its pharmacists to specialize in the area they are experts in, Turner said.

The decision to sever ties with the Medicine Shoppe franchise came after the contract ran out and the opportunity to cut the expense of belonging to the larger organization arose.

“Everything we were doing before, we can do on our own,” Turner said. “Same people. Same service.”

GuidePoint opened in downtown Worthington in 1977, and Turner took ownership in February 2003. The name officially changed from Medicine Shoppe to Guide-Point in January. Currently 11 people work there fulltime, with an additional six part-time employees.

The most recent addition to GuidePoint’s services has been vaccinations. The pharmacy has already administered several hundred flu vaccines and also offers shots for shingles — recommended, according to Turner, for everyone age 60 or older. Pneumonia shots and other vaccines for travelers are available.

“It’s never too late to get a flu shot,” Turner advised. “It makes sense to get them all the way through February.”

GuidePoint will also continue to offer its compounding services. Pharmacists there can compound glutenfree medicine or convert medication from one form into another. They can even form medicine into candy for children or pet treats for animals.

GuidePoint also offers a delivery service for Worthington and neighboring towns within 15 miles, including Adrian, Rushmore, Brewster, Round Lake, Heron Lake, Fulda, Wilmont and Reading.

“One of the advantages of being independent is, if there’s a service we want to offer, we can do it,” Turner said. “All decisions are made right here in Worthington.”

GuidePoint, located at 923 Sixth Ave., Worthington, is open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.

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