McKesson

For more than 30 years, McKesson ideaShare has focused on giving independent pharmacists and owners the knowledge, tools and resources they need to improve their pharmacy’s performance. This year’s conference comes with a warning label: 

“Warning: Attendance may cause extreme success. Common side effects include: greater knowledge, improved performance and higher revenue.”

Many features of the myHealthMart online portal that have been helping Health Mart pharmacists and owners better manage their pharmacy business over the past year have been incorporated into a new mobile app that will be launched at the 2017 McKesson ideaShare meeting. The mobile app will be available for the Apple iOS platform at the conference; an Android app will launch later this fall.

Pharmacy advocacy makes a difference.

And while independent pharmacy owners also got perspective on key legislation that could have a profound and lasting impact both on their businesses and the profession of pharmacy, that message was perhaps the most important takeaway from the McKesson ideaShare Public Policy Forum last month in Chicago — advocacy matters.

Since it began in 2008, McKesson’s RxOwnership has helped more than 3,500 pharmacy owners buy, sell or start their own pharmacy business in an attempt to, as RxOwnership national VP Chris Cella told Drug Store News, “keep independents independent.” Cella participated in an “Ask the Experts” panel with three longtime RxOwnership collaborators at McKesson ideaShare 2016 to help potential pharmacy owners and sellers understand RxOwnership’s services and the work required to break into being a small business owner.

McKesson ideaShare 2016 wrapped up Tuesday and Wednesday, June 28 to 29, with more CE sessions, Sunrise Sessions, peer networking events, the RxOwnership luncheon and the Public Policy Forum. The event ended with a historic bang for owner/operators and their families at the Final Night Party at Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History.

For complete coverage of McKesson ideaShare 2016, click here.

The focus on education at McKesson ideaShare 2016 certainly did not stop when the Exhibit Floor opened, as there were Health Mart University Live and other continuing education sessions, including “Leveraging medication synchronization to optimize patient care,” “Driving change management,” “How to create a digital footprint, “How to turn the store into a wellness destination,” “Developing effective marketing programs” and more.