Education Sessions
Main PharmaChoice Canada Sessions
The 
Marketing Update
The “How To” For Achieving Optimal Front Store Profitability
Pharmacy Sessions
Hot Topic: Pharmacist’s role in addressing the menopause care gap in Canada
Session 1: Don’t make rash decisions: Distinguishing between common skin conditions.
Session 2: Getting to the heart of the matter: A unified approach to cardio-renal-metabolic risk
Beyond Dispensing: Building Your Community Pharmacy Practice
Front Store Sessions
The Private Label Value Proposition
Canadian Consumer Spending Trends
More Than Retail: Building Community, Protecting What Matters, & Driving Growth and Impact
Leading Through the Perfect Storm: How to Retain, Engage, and Support Teams
The Marketing Update
The 
Marketing Update . . . It Will Rock You! lives up to its name. Delivered by the PharmaChoice Canada Marketing Team, this session brings together the largest set of marketing updates ever shared — spanning front shop programs, digital tools, loyalty, websites, Gemini initiatives, and an unprecedented focus on Pharmacy Services marketing. From pharmacy visitation growth tools to consumer engagement platforms, Members will gain practical insights into how PCC marketing is evolving and exactly how to leverage these programs to drive impact in their pharmacy – right now.
The “How To” For Achieving Optimal Front Store Profitability
Join the Operations Team as we take a deep dive into front store profitability. We will look at merchandising layout within the store, through counter, endcap, or secondary displays and planograms, creating appealing presentation that captures the customer’s attention, using POS data and other store reports. Review pricing strategies with us, as we discuss suggested retail pricing, margins, and sale events. Follow along as we share best practices for stock rotation and managing dated product to reduce loss. We will look at buying habits, through flyer, seasonal, tradeshow and private label prebooks, and flyer program adoption and execution.
Hot Topic: Pharmacist’s role in addressing the menopause care gap in Canada
Menopause and the transition leading up to it represent a significant period in women’s health, often accompanied by symptoms that can dramatically impact overall well-being. Pharmacists are ideally positioned to recognize and address these symptoms, serving as essential bridges between patients and busy prescribers. By staying informed about the latest recommendations and guidelines for menopausal therapy—both hormonal and non-hormonal—pharmacists can educate patients and prescribers alike, dispelling common misconceptions and ensuring that menopause-related symptoms are not overlooked. Their proactive involvement empowers women to make informed decisions and improves the overall quality of care during this critical life stage.
Session 1: Don’t make rash decisions: Distinguishing between common skin conditions.
Session 2: Getting to the heart of the matter: A unified approach to cardio-renal-metabolic risk
Session 1: Don’t make rash decisions: Distinguishing between common skin conditions
Effective dermatological care requires balancing symptom relief with safety. This session focuses on the “Red, Raise, Weeping, and Itching”. We will review the assessment of skin conditions and the clinical presentation of the different skin conditions seen in pharmacy practice.
Learning objectives:
- Compare and contrast the clinical presentation of common dermatological conditions.
- Formulate a differential diagnosis when presented with a patient with a dermatological condition.
- Identify “red flag” symptoms in dermatological presentations that mandate physician referral.
Session 2: Getting to the heart of the matter: A unified approach to cardio-renal-metabolic risk
Patients rarely present with just one condition. The patient with obesity often has cardiovascular risk factors; the patient with diabetes often has chronic kidney disease. This session equips pharmacists to get to the heart of the matter and treat the interconnected Cardio-Kidney-Metabolic (CKM) patient.
This unified framework recognizes the deep physiological links between the heart, the kidneys, and metabolic systems. In this comprehensive 90-minute session, we will break down the “CKM” connection and explore how pharmacists can champion multi-organ protection. Each pharmacist will leave with current guideline recommendations and practical tips they can implement immediately to help a large number of patients they see every day in their pharmacy.
Learning objectives
- Define the Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic (CKM) connection and explain the pathophysiological interplay between cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, and renal dysfunction.
- Construct a holistic patient assessment that screens for “silent” Cardio-Kidney-metabolic (CKM) risks.
- Interpret emerging data on the renal, metabolic and cardiovascular protective effects of different therapies.
- Implement strategies to improve the care of patients seen with these conditions in pharmacy practice.
Beyond Dispensing: Building Your Community Pharmacy Practice
The pharmacy landscape is changing rapidly, and pharmacy owners are evaluating expanded scope as an opportunity to diversify services and grow their role in delivering care within their communities. This session explores how to integrate clinical services, align team roles to support sustainable service delivery, and position the pharmacy to build diversified revenue streams. Emphasis will be placed on practical, real-world approaches to transitioning from a dispensing-centric model to a service-forward pharmacy business—one that delivers value for patients, the team, and the organization.
The Private Label Value Proposition
Join Chris McCain, Category Manager, Private Label for an overview of the value propositions offered by your private labels — to you and your consumer. We will cover merchandising options available from PCC, our straightforward national pricing strategies and programs we offer to do some of the legwork for you. There will also be a sneak peak of upcoming product and a yearly reminder to buy Chris’s chips.
Canadian Consumer Spending Trends
Consumer spending continues to be a hot topic of discussion as Canadian consumers and merchants navigate uncertain economic times. Sean McCormick, Vice President, Business Development, Moneris Data Services, will share Moneris spending data from key consumer spending categories, including drug stores and pharmacies, apparel, grocery and more. Sean is a leading expert in consumer spending data. Since joining Moneris in 2015, he has helped private and public sector organizations leverage payment data to enhance economic forecasting and guide strategic development initiatives. Sean will also highlight how major shopping events, such as Black Friday, are impacting consumer spending and discuss how businesses can adapt to the quickly changing economic climate, leveraging data and insights to anticipate shifts and enhance consumer engagement. Session attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of how to navigate consumer spending shifts in their specific industries and optimize their approach in response to dynamic market conditions.
More Than Retail: Building Community, Protecting What Matters, & Driving Growth and Impact
The front store is where your pharmacy shows up most visibly in the community. It is where clients form impressions, relationships take shape, and trust is built long before a prescription is filled or a service is delivered. When the front store is led with intention, it becomes an active contributor to community relevance, client confidence, and the long term strength of the business.
This session explores how front store managers can think strategically about community presence, partnerships, and alignment with the care happening in the pharmacy. We will look at how clear routines, thoughtful training, and well-designed systems help teams work more confidently and consistently, while also protecting the effort already being poured into the business. Loss prevention shows up here not as suspicion or enforcement, but as making sure hard work does not quietly slip away through avoidable mistakes, confusion, or gaps in process.
This is not about doing more or saying yes to everything. It is about being thoughtful, selective, and intentional. Expect practical ideas, realistic examples, and a fresh way of thinking about how community relationships, smart partnerships, shared networking, and simple, well-designed systems help teams do good work, keep value from slipping away, and grow the business, without adding unnecessary complexity.
Leading Through the Perfect Storm: How to Retain, Engage, and Support Teams
If it feels harder to lead right now, it is. Staffing shortages, economic pressure, rising expectations, and a healthcare system under strain have created a perfect storm for pharmacy and front store teams. Many leaders are asking more of fewer people, while those same people are tired, stretched, and quietly reconsidering how long they can keep going.
This session takes a grounded look at what leadership and team culture need to look like in this moment. It explores why retention has become more about everyday experience than perks, how engagement is shaped by clarity and consistency, and why change management is no longer a one-time skill but a daily leadership muscle for owners and front store managers alike.
This is not a theory session, and it is not about having all the answers. It is about creating stability in unstable conditions. Expect honest conversation, practical insight, and a reframing of leadership that helps teams feel supported, valued, and willing to stay, even when the work is hard, and the environment is imperfect.