NEWS

Category: Events

PharmacyBC/The Medicine Shoppe attends the White rock Home Show

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PharmacyBC/The Medicine Shoppe is happy to announce that we have successfully participated in another great Lower Mainland community event – the White Rock Fall Home Show from September 16 – 18 2016, held at the Peace Arch Curling Centre and hosted by Expert Shows. The Home Show featured over 100 businesses, a variety of demonstrations by expert professionals, and seminars to provide you with expert advice across a wide range of subjects.

We had a large booth to ourselves, where we had a great time introducing attendees to our programs designed to help you live better, like our Pharmacy with Care program. We were also pleased to have such a wonderful audience for our seminars, which included “Navigating the Pharmacy Experience with Your Loved One”, which provided guidance for navigating through your pharmacy/pharmaceutical experience when working with loved ones with complex needs. All round, a great time – we would look forward to participating again!

PharmacyBC/The Medicine Shoppe is committed to improving and supporting our communities and their health. That is why we have rolled out several innovative service programs, such as: ‘Pharmacy with Care’, where we provide a suite of medication services provided by professional nurses; HealthTab, which enables you to complete a number of routine health tests – such as blood glucose tests – right in our pharmacies and allows you to access your results on a mobile device; and our INSTI rapid HIV tests. For more information about these programs and our other services, please visit our website at: https://www.pharmacybc.com

Category: Media, Updates

INSTI HIV test available at Pharmacy BC locations

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Earlier this summer, the royal family’s very own Prince Harry shared images of himself having the INSTI HIV test performed on him, that was broadcast on social media live on The Royal Family‘s Facebook page.

Following in the footsteps of his late mother, he has taken a stand in the fight against AIDS and HIV, saying that he publicly received the test in order to reduce the stigma that surrounds getting tested, and to promote the idea that everyone should get tested in order to stop the spread of the virus. 

It’s within this context that we are so pleased to say that we have received the evaluation for our ‘Pilot Pharmacy Point of Care HIV Testing’, and we are thrilled with the results! Across all four participating pharmacies it was found that the provision of point of care HIV testing is feasible in the long term, while providing real value to patients. Enabling our pharmacies to perform the rapid INSTI test in-pharmacy has proven to be an effective means to promote ever-greater HIV testing within our communities, lending momentum to the fight against AIDS/HIV. 

If our pilot program and its success tells us anything, it’s that greater access and availability of HIV tests will result in more testing – which means more people being enabled to take control of their health, and to stop the spread. So it’s with great pleasure that we applaud bioLytical’s breakthrough with the European Union – their INSTI HIV Self Test has been approved for over the counter sale across Europe, and will be available in stores later this year. The test can be administered by the patient themselves, and provides accurate results in less than a minute using a simple finger prick. This is a major blow to AIDS/HIV, and will inspire ever-greater rates of testing across Europe. 

PharmacyBC/The Medicine Shoppe is committed to improving and supporting our communities and their health. That is why we have rolled out several innovative service programs, such as: ‘Pharmacy with Care’, where we provide a suite of medication services provided by professional nurses; HealthTab, which enables you to complete a number of routine health tests – such as blood glucose tests – right in our pharmacies and allows you to access your results on a mobile device; and our INSTI rapid HIV tests. For more information about these programs and our other services, please visit our website at: https://www.pharmacybc.com

bioLytical’s mission is to improve the quality of people’s lives by providing innovative solutions for infectious disease diagnosis, the first step in the linkage of patients to appropriate care and treatment. bioLytical’s vision is to be a global leader in the research, development and commercialization of rapid, point-of-care in vitro medical diagnostic devices. Biolytical pursue’s novel ways of engaging with diverse healthcare systems to maximize access to  innovative technology platform and products. To learn more about bioLytical, their products and services, please see their website at: http://www.biolytical.com/

Category: Community, Events

Pharmacy BC’s Bob Rai as the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduation Representative

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We were so proud that our own Bob Rai was invited to join the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduating Class of 2016 ceremonies! Bob had the honor of being in the Chancellor’s Procession and shake hands on the stage when the graduates received their diplomas at the gorgeous Chan Centre of Performing Arts as the Faculty of Pharmaceuticals Sciences Alumni Representative. Bob was also given the opportunity to give a speech at the Dean’s Luncheon that followed. PharmacyBC is proud to welcome this new class of graduates into the field, and we wish them the best of luck with their future careers!

The University of British Columbia is a global centre for research and teaching, consistently ranked among the 40 best universities in the world. Since 1915, UBC’s West Coast spirit has embraced innovation and challenged the status quo. Its entrepreneurial perspective encourages students, staff and faculty to challenge convention, lead discovery and explore new ways of learning. At UBC, bold thinking is given a place to develop into ideas that can change the world. To learn more about UBC, please visit their website at: www.ubc.ca

PharmacyBC/The Medicine Shoppe is committed to improving and supporting our communities and their health. That is why we have rolled out several innovative service programs, such as: ‘Pharmacy with Care’, where we provide a suite of medication services provided by professional nurses; HealthTab, which enables you to complete a number of routine health tests – such as blood glucose tests – right in our pharmacies and allows you to access your results on a mobile device; and our INSTI rapid HIV tests. For more information about these programs and our other services, please visit our website at: https://www.pharmacybc.com

Click for the UBC Pharm Sci Alumni June Newsletter that features Bob Rai at this event.

Category: Updates

Pharmacy BC to participate in GameChangers video project by Funding Innovation

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We are proud to announce our participation in the GameChangers video project, brought to us by Funding Innovation and in support of the Tapestry Foundation. This unique and artful video series aims to showcase those in our communities who are working together towards fulfilling humanitarian and charitable mandates – in other words, the people that are trying to change the game! We would love to thank Funding Innovation for inviting us to participate!

Funding Innovation's Core Story from Funding Innovation on Vimeo.

PharmacyBC/The Medicine Shoppe is committed to improving and supporting our communities and their health. That is why we have rolled out several innovative service programs, such as: ‘Pharmacy with Care’, where we provide a suite of medication services provided by professional nurses; HealthTab, which enables you to complete a number of routine health tests – such as blood glucose tests – right in our pharmacies and allows you to access your results on a mobile device; and our INSTI rapid HIV tests, offered for free to the community. For more information about these programs and our other services, please visit our website at: https://www.pharmacybc.com

Funding Innovation works to support and amplify charitable and non-profit initiatives by tirelessly working to bring together business, consumers and individuals with charities and humanitarian brands. Their mission is to assist in giving charitable and humanitarian initiatives a sustainable advantage in order to support their world-changing ideas. The GameChangers video series aims to show-case those who are working hard to make sustainable difference in this world. To learn more about Funding Innovation and their exciting GameChanger program, please visit their website at: http://fundinginnovation.ca/gamechanger/

Category: Events

Pharmacy BC at Innovation to Application

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This past February marked the first Innovation to Application conference that brought together a network of community pharmacies and healthcare innovators in order to spark positive change and collaboration. The idea came from two UBC colleagues, Nicole Tsao and Mark Kunzli, who were aided by PharmacyBC’s Bob Rai to realize their mutual goal.

Bob Rai was there with PharmacyBC to give a presentation (below) on their INSTI HIV Antibody test. This impressive test can be done in less than a minute, providing patients with accurate test results right way. They’ve been working closely with other pharmacies to implement the test during their pilot session, with very positive results.

Bob and his team were also there to promote other innovative approaches PharmacyBC is taking towards their patients, including the Healthtab Provider technology and the Pharmacy With Care program, where pharmacists actually go out to patients’ homes to administer care. It’s practices such as these that make PharmacyBC one of the leading healthcare providers in the province.

Bob rail spoke about howPharmacyBC feels events like Innovation to Application is important, and how PharmacyBC is doing things differently.

Category: Community, Events

Aging Together Abbotsford 2016

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We had a great time this year at the first annual Aging Together Abbotsford 2016! It was wonderful to hear remarks from Mayor Braun, Isobel Mckenzie and Fraser Health. We were happy and encouraged to see that so many people in the Abbotsford community are pulling together for the betterment of senior’s health and well-being – we are looking forward to next year!

PharmacyBC/The Medicine Shoppe is committed to improving and supporting our communities and their health. That is why we have rolled out several innovative service programs, such as: ‘Pharmacy with Care’, where we provide a suite of medication services provided by professional nurses; HealthTab, which enables you to complete a number of routine health tests – such as blood glucose tests – right in our pharmacies and allows you to access your results on a mobile device; and our INSTI rapid HIV tests, offered for free to the community. For more information about these programs and our other services, please visit our website at: https://www.pharmacybc.com

Abbotsford Community Services strives to be an agency that fosters community well-being and social justice through positive action and leadership. Their primary goals are: to plan for and provide direct social and Abbotsford community services; to heighten awareness of social concerns in the community and to foster community involvement; and to create opportunities for community members to participate in serving, developing, and strengthening our communities through partnerships with the government, private organizations and individuals. To find about more about their services and programs, please see their website at: http://www.abbotsfordcommunityservices.com