McKesson ideaShare 2026: Recapping Key Insights from Denver

McKesson ideaShare 2026 brought the independent pharmacy community together at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado, from June 18 to June 21, drawing pharmacy owners, pharmacists, and their teams for 4 days of education, networking, and strategic programming. Pharmacy Times was on the ground throughout the conference, covering Pharma Talk sessions, conducting video interviews with industry leaders, and reporting from the exhibit floor.¹

Several clear themes emerged across the sessions and conversations: the maturation of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation as practical pharmacy tools, a growing urgency around independent pharmacy advocacy, an expanded vision of what community pharmacies can offer patients, and a commitment to health equity in under-resourced communities.

AI and Automation Move From Aspiration to Operation

If one theme defined ideaShare 2026, it was the shift from asking whether AI and automation belong in independent pharmacies to figuring out how to implement them effectively. The Pharma Talk session "Beyond the Bottle: How AI and Automation Are Reshaping the Dispensing Experience" delivered some of the conference's most concrete, practice-ready insights.²

Greg Hamby, owner of King's Pharmacy in Beaumont, Texas, and Michael Deninger, chief technology officer of Towncrest Pharmacies, described automation journeys that began with necessity and evolved into competitive advantage. For Hamby, hitting a growth ceiling in prescription volume made manual workflows unsustainable. For Deninger, early skepticism gave way to measurable wins—including completing an insurance claims reconciliation task in roughly 2 hours that had previously required colleagues tens of hours to complete manually.²

Both panelists pushed back on the assumption that automation is only viable for large-volume operations. "It's almost unavoidable, but it's all scalable," Hamby said. "You don't have to have 3 dispensing robots to begin an automation process." Deninger added that in automated environments, pharmacists report spending up to 45% more time on patient-facing care such as medication therapy management and chronic disease management. The global pharmacy automation market, valued at approximately $6.6 billion in 2024, is projected to reach $10 billion by 2030—a trajectory the conference's programming reflected from multiple angles.²

That technology conversation extended to McKesson's own supply chain. In an interview with Pharmacy Times, Chris Van Norman, senior vice president of supply chain operations at McKesson, described a distribution network that delivers approximately one-third of the nation's drug supply, increasingly supported by advanced robotics, real-time analytics, and AI-driven connectivity between manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies. Van Norman also explained McKesson's Central Fill as a Service (CFaaS) offering, which allows independent pharmacies to offload high-volume dispensing to a McKesson-operated facility and redirect pharmacist time toward clinical services and direct patient care.³

Advocacy as a Core Business Strategy

A second major theme running through ideaShare was the increasing urgency of pharmacy advocacy, and the message from McKesson leadership was unambiguous: pharmacists need to speak up, and the tools to do so are now within reach. Nancy Lyons, BSPharm, MBA, CDCES, vice president and chief pharmacy officer at Health Mart, framed advocacy not as an abstract political exercise but as a natural extension of pharmacists' education skills. "It's really just educating," she told Pharmacy Times. "It's really about explaining to those legislators the impact that it has."⁴

Now in its second year, McKesson Amplify—the company's initiative to provide dedicated funding to eligible state pharmacy associations—has matured from a funding mechanism into what Lyons described as a movement, with associations using the resources to bring pharmacists before policy decision-makers, drive membership growth, and pursue state-level legislative priorities. At the federal level, she emphasized momentum around the Main Street Pharmacy Access Act, which would allow Medicare reimbursement for certain pharmacist services. "That bill has made it further than it ever has before," Lyons said, calling on pharmacists to keep pushing. The Health Mart Advocacy Center is available to help members connect directly with legislators and translate everyday pharmacy moments into compelling policy narratives.⁴

Independent Pharmacy Excellence in Practice

The Pharma Talk session "Excellence in Practice: Insights from Health Mart's Pharmacy of the Year Finalists" offered a peer-to-peer lens on what operational and clinical success looks like on the ground. Three finalist pharmacies—Latham's Pharmacy in Arab, Alabama; Butterfield's Pharmacy in Port St. Lucie, Florida; and Mace's Pharmacy in Philippi, West Virginia—shared strategies spanning MedSync optimization, service line expansion, staff culture, and technology adoption.⁵

Jason Smith of Latham's Pharmacy enrolled approximately 80% of his business in medication synchronization. Amir Rahemi of Butterfield's Pharmacy has built longevity and wellness services—including red light therapy, hyperbaric oxygen, and metabolic body composition analysis—into his offerings. Rich Mace and his team conducted an internal process audit that yielded meaningful efficiency gains and opened new books of business. Across all 3 stories, culture emerged as an underrated competitive advantage, with several Mace's Pharmacy team members having stayed for 15 to 20-plus years.⁵

Patient Access and the Pharmacy of the Future

McKesson's broader vision for independent pharmacy reaches into underserved communities. Niki Shah, MHSA, MBA, CCHW, vice president of Health Impact and Innovation at McKesson, detailed multiple interconnected initiatives at ideaShare: Project Oasis, which is building new pharmacy infrastructure in pharmacy deserts with a next location planned for Syracuse, New York; a new AI-enabled diabetic retinopathy screening pilot, developed in partnership with the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Foundation and the American Academy of Ophthalmology; and a fourth cohort of the Community Health Worker (CHW) scholarship program, which has funded 120 technician training scholarships since 2023 and is opening 30 more through July 2026.⁶

Crystal Lennartz, PharmD, MBA, president of Health Mart and Health Mart Atlas, grounded the event's broader ambitions in current recognition and near-term tools. Health Mart's number 1 customer satisfaction ranking in the JD Power 2025 US Pharmacy Study and the network's receipt of the APhA HAB Dunning Award reflect, she said, the daily efforts of individual pharmacies in their communities. New McKesson ideaShare announcements included an expanded Health Mart Perks vendor program now exceeding 40 vendors and featuring a new staffing support resource, enhanced Health Mart University education offerings, and new Health Mart Atlas tools for contract transparency and long-term care access. "This coming year is really going to be an inflection point for pharmacy," Lennartz said, "especially as it relates to expanded services."⁷

McKesson ideaShare 2026 made one thing clear: independent pharmacy is not standing still. From AI tools already delivering measurable time savings on pharmacy floors to advocacy efforts reaching state legislatures and Capitol Hill, the conversations in Denver reflected a profession actively shaping its own future. Whether through operational innovation, community health investment, or peer-to-peer learning, the pharmacists and leaders who gathered in Denver left with more than ideas—they left with a mandate to act.

REFERENCES

1. Halpern L. McKesson ideaShare 2026 brings AI, advocacy, and a packed expo floor to Denver. Pharmacy Times. Published June 18, 2026. Accessed June 21, 2026. https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/mckesson-ideashare-2026-brings-ai-advocacy-and-a-packed-expo-floor-to-denver

2. Halpern L. McKesson ideaShare 2026: Why automation and AI are reshaping the dispensing experience. Pharmacy Times. Published June 19, 2026. Accessed June 21, 2026. https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/mckesson-ideashare-2026-how-ai-and-automation-are-reshaping-the-dispensing-experience

3. Van Norman C, Ferruggia K. McKesson ideaShare 2026: How AI and automation are building the supply chain of the future. Pharmacy Times. Published June 20, 2026. Accessed June 21, 2026. https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/mckesson-ideashare-2026-how-ai-and-automation-are-building-the-supply-chain-of-the-future

4. Lyons N, Ferruggia K. McKesson ideaShare 2026: How McKesson amplify is fueling independent pharmacy advocacy. Pharmacy Times. Published June 19, 2026. Accessed June 21, 2026. https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/mckesson-ideashare-2026-how-mckesson-amplify-is-fueling-independent-pharmacy-advocacy

5. Halpern L. McKesson ideaShare 2026: What sets Health Mart’s Pharmacy of the Year finalists apart. Pharmacy Times. Published June 20, 2026. Accessed June 21, 2026. https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/mckesson-ideashare-2026-what-sets-health-mart-s-pharmacy-of-the-year-finalists-apart

6. Shah N, Ferruggia K. McKesson ideaShare 2026: Project Oasis expansion and new diabetic retinopathy screening program explained. Pharmacy Times. Published June 18, 2026. Accessed June 21, 2026. https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/mckesson-ideashare-2026-project-oasis-expansion-and-new-diabetic-retinopathy-screening-program-explained

7. Lennartz C, Ferruggia K. McKesson ideaShare 2026: Health Mart and Health Mart Atlas’ role in supporting independent pharmacies in 2026. Pharmacy Times. Published June 20, 2026. Accessed June 21, 2026. https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/mckesson-ideashare-2026-health-mart-and-health-mart-atlas-role-in-supporting-independent-pharmacies-in-2026