Community Pharmacy Owners Can Find Opportunities, Solutions, and Profits at the NCPA 2016 Annual Convention This October

PRESS RELEASE

The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) today announced special programming at its 2016 Annual Convention, to be held Oct. 15-19 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, that will present new opportunities, solutions, and profits for community pharmacies.

"Attending the NCPA Annual Convention is an investment in your business and your pharmacy career that will offer dividends throughout the year," said NCPA President Bradley J. Arthur, RPh, co-owner of Black Rock Pharmacy and Brighton-Eggert Pharmacy in Buffalo, N.Y. "The NCPA Convention is the place to develop lasting relationships with your peers and learn about the topics you didn't study in pharmacy school. I am especially excited about our new idea-sharing 'Shoot the Breeze' sessions after many of our educational programs, where pharmacists can meet and pick up best practices from their peers who have successfully implemented new niches or business methods. I encourage community pharmacy owners, students, and all independent pharmacy leaders to join us this fall in the Crescent City at the premier convention for community pharmacy."

The Preliminary Convention Guide highlights the key features at this year's NCPA Convention, including:

• More than 16 hours of live continuing education (CE) credit learning opportunities and a special technology track, as well as student-specific programming;
• Two General Sessions, which include industry updates from NCPA leaders and a keynote address by motivational speaker and business consultant Greg Bell, the author of Water the Bamboo: Unleashing the Potential of Teams and Individuals;
• Numerous events and roundtable discussions at which to socialize and share ideas, such as the popular Colleagues in Consultation sessions and a special Sharing Forum on Oct. 15 that will give attendees a chance to learn and share ideas that make money, save money, and brand one's business in a new way;
• A trade show featuring more than 200 vendors showcasing the latest products, services, and technology for independent pharmacy.

This year's educational programming is split into three dimensions to help attendees manage all aspects of their pharmacy business: (1) the front-end dimension, featuring sessions on topics such as creating a compression niche and merchandising with vitamins and pet care; (2) the expanding opportunities dimension, featuring sessions on developing primary care partnerships and transitions of care programs, among others; and (3) the back office dimension, covering topics such as branding, accounting fundamentals, and hiring.

In conjunction with the meeting, NCPA is also offering in-depth pre-convention programming sessions. New in the October lineup is an Oct. 15 afternoon session, Specialty Pharmacy: Keeping Your Patients, Growing Your Business, that will instruct pharmacists on setting and achieving goals for getting involved in the specialty market.

Returning to the pre-convention schedule this year is the Ownership Workshop, sponsored by McKesson, which will run Oct. 13-15. This intensive, three-day seminar gives aspiring pharmacy owners the tools and resources they need to become successful business owners. More than 50 percent of past Ownership Workshop participants now own their own pharmacy.

Also returning this fall is High Performance Strategies for LTC Pharmacies, sponsored by Pharmacists Mutual Companies, which will be held Oct. 13-14. Pharmacy owners looking to get into long-term care pharmacy or expand their current practice will find this program especially beneficial.

To improve a pharmacy's front-end offerings to increase store traffic and profits, NCPA is once again offering the popular Front-End Profit Building Seminar, sponsored by Good Neighbor Pharmacy, on Oct. 14. In addition, Selling Your Pharmacy: Planning for Success, sponsored by Live Oak Bank, to help community pharmacy owners plan ahead for retirement, will be held on Oct. 15. Unique to the convention is a special networking session for attendees of the Ownership Workshop and the Selling Your Pharmacy programs so prospective pharmacy owners can meet current owners looking to transition their businesses.

Past attendees have said the NCPA Convention is "well worth the investment of time and money" and "the best one I have attended."