SAN FRANCISCO — Health Mart has launched its fourth Town Hall CE series with events in Birmingham, Ala., and Oak Park, Ill.

The educational tour is designed to help independent pharmacies better understand the shifting market dynamics in the pharmacy, health care arena and front end so they can improve the operation and performance of their business. Health Mart said Monday that it plans to host nearly 90 events nationwide through early 2017.

Focusing on the clinical, operational and financial drivers that impact community pharmacies, the new “Resolve To Evolve: Maintaining Profitability and Advancing Care in a Changing Pharmacy World” events aim to help pharmacies sharpen efficiency, boost profitability and improve patient health outcomes that capture payer dollars, according to Health Mart

“Health Mart is committed to delivering the insights and resources that help our pharmacists stay up to date on the market dynamics impacting independent pharmacy,” Crystal Lennartz, chief pharmacist for Health Mart, said in a statement. “The last few Town Hall series focused on understanding quality measures and implementing med sync to improve patient care and streamline their operations. Now it’s about committing to action with a focus on improving their clinical, operational, and financial performance for the health of their business and their patients.”

Spotlighting 18 successful Health Mart owners, the Resolve to Evolve workshops demonstrate how a planned, measurable approach can evolve an independent pharmacy’s business model to uphold profitability, Health Mart said. The interactive peer-to-peer sessions enable attendees — including pharmacy owners, pharmacists and technicians — to exchange ideas about medication synchronization, change management and other topics. Based on their goals, they will develop strategies to implement in their pharmacy and learn how to spur change with their staff.

“The past few years, my profession has changed dramatically, and it’s forced me to change the way I do business,” Dennis Song, owner of Flower Mound Pharmacy in Flower Mound, Texas, said in a Health Mart video. “The Town Hall CE series offered by Health Mart is a great way to learn how we can adapt to these changes.”

Health Mart noted that it has heavily invested in the development of other vehicles to help pharmacies better adapt and compete in the fast-changing marketplace. For example, the Health Mart Pathway to Better Pharmacy Performance and Profit, rolled out at McKesson ideaShare 2016, provides a road map to help independent pharmacies shift the way they approach their clinical and financial performance and pharmacy operations. Launched in tandem with the Health Mart Pathway at ideaShare was myHealthMart, an online portal that helps pharmacies to proactively manage their business by providing access to personalized, up-to-date data, programs and insights for their pharmacy.

Over the past four years, Health Mart said, more than 300 Town Hall meetings have been held to help community pharmacy operators level the competitive playing field. The McKesson Corp. pharmacy network has more than 4,700 locations in 50 states.

“We understand that the changes asked by this evolving industry can often be difficult, and we want to help by providing independents with opportunities to share ideas with peers, and with information and resources that will help them implement change in their pharmacies and with their staff,” stated Health Mart president Steve Courtman. “Ultimately, the foundation of Health Mart’s strategy is to help our members perform their best clinically and implement innovative practices that ensure the viability and prosperity of their business for years to come.”