IRVING, Texas – Community pharmacy teams from across the country will unite virtually Sept.14-17 for the 38th annual McKesson ideaShare, an experience designed to help independent pharmacies join forces, learn new skills and grow their businesses.

This year’s opening general session will feature Brian Tyler, chief executive officer of McKesson Corp., and Eyad Farah, president of Health Mart and Health Mart Atlas. The two leaders will honor the role community pharmacies played in pandemic response – administering more than 1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses and collecting more than a half-million COVID-19 tests. They will also discuss retail pharmacy trends, as well as outline three key takeaways for customers focused
on operating efficiently, maintaining margins and growing strategically.

Eyad Farah

“Whether your goal is to elevate your clinical performance, advocate for our profession, or gain quality professional education, McKesson ideaShare has been the must-attend event for 37 years for community pharmacy teams who want to improve patient care while also boosting their bottom line,” said Farah.

Public policy prioritized
McKesson ideaShare will  host a public policy session with guests from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) on Sept. 15. The 45-minute session will focus on critical healthcare issues, including provider status and DIR (direct and indirect remuneration) fee reform. The session will also spotlight the work community pharmacists perform to end HIV.

Panelists include:

• Lt. Cmdr. Neelam “Nelly” Gazarian, PharmD, MS, AAHIV, U.S. Public Health Service, HHS
• Doug Hoey, MBA, RPh, chief executive officer, NCPA
• Nimesh Jhaveri, MBA, RPh, president, Community Pharmacy and Health, McKesson
• Nancy Lyons, BS Pharm, MBA, CDE, chief pharmacist, Health Mart
• Pete Slone, senior vice president, public Affairs, McKesson

Pharmacist-led educational sessions

McKesson ideaShare will host 25 virtual educational opportunities, the majority of which will be led by pharmacists. Opportunities include continuing education courses, roundtable discussions and Pharma Talks _ a short and entertaining speaker series.

Topics include:
• How to Pivot from Pandemic-Related Clinical Service Success to New Healthcare Initiatives
• The Rising Tide – Advancing Pharmacy Technicians
• High Voltage Pharmacy: Seize Opportunities and “Plug In” to Your Community
• Rise to the Challenge: How Pharmacy Teams Can Help to End the HIV Epidemic

“Each year – and most importantly this year – our pharmacy teams need to step back and develop the profession, together,” said Josh Borer, PharmD, pharmacist and owner of Rex Pharmacy. “Following the public health challenges of the past year, it’s imperative we prioritize our education and networking so we can powerfully shape the future of community pharmacy for the better.”
Registration for McKesson ideaShare is $99 for the first attendee per pharmacy location and $49 for each additional attendee requiring continuing education credit.

Conference rebate
The first 2,250 retail stores – and alternate site pharmacies – that register and attend the two general sessions are eligible to receive the McKesson ideaShare rebate. The rebate is 2% of total OneStop Generics purchases for the duration of the rebate, not exceeding $4,000 in total. General session attendance can be on live event days (Sept.14 & 15) or on demand by Sept. 30