Medicine Centre Pharmacies: Independently Healthy

Can your independent Pharmacy improve by joining the Medicine Centre banner? We think so.

What the Medicine Centre Program Delivers:

A Community of Peers; Over 50 Professional Independent Pharmacists sharing knowledge, growing professional practices.
Consolidated Buying Power – with Unipharm, over 110 Pharmacies buying together;
Administration and System Efficiencies; letting you focus on your customers;
Effective Marketing & Advertising; creating greater awareness of your Pharmacy, helping to acquire and retain new customers;
Over 300 Private Label products to help your customers save, while improving your bottom line.

Join us in our goal to build healthy communities in BC, Alberta and The Yukon. In a market dominated by large chains, independent pharmacies must work together to survive. In light of this, the Medicine Centre program was launched in 1994, combining the power of brand recognition, competitive pricing and most importantly, patient-centred care.

Medicine Centre promotes a new style of pharmacy practice, based on an old and successful approach – one we call ‘Pillar of the Community’. In our view, locally owned pharmacies with dedicated professionals committed to their communities is the most effective and sustainable practice model. Medicine Centre pharmacists are known in their communities for being there to help. This is a growing niche in the pharmacy market, as our population ages and consumers long for a personal relationship with their pharmacist. Join us in our goal of building healthy communities, one healthy family at a time.

Helping With the Business of Pharmacy
Our services include marketing, advertising, store planning and support such as layout design services, merchandising plans, inventory management, point of sale optimization analysis and training programs for you and your staff. Make the most of your business opportunities, with the support of a dedicated team.

High Quality Private Label
Our Private Label is the centre of a strong merchandising plan that works with you, for you and most of all, for your customers. Highlights of our private label include:

Wide-ranging: with nearly 300 items including, OTC’s Household, Herbals, Vitamins and Health & Beauty products.
High Quality: regarded as equivalent to or better than the leading national brands.
Reasonably Priced: offer at least a 20% savings over national brands.
Attractively packaged with eye-catching labels.
All products are unconditionally guaranteed. Support for the private label is a key aspect of our merchandising plan, and the Medicine Centre program.

Added Value For Your Customers
Our Private Label presents a positive image and adds to your reputation as a professional pharmacy offering unequaled service and value pricing.

Added Value For You
Our Private Label brand gives independent stores the opportunity to be competitive in a very aggressive market. With the combined buying power of all members, our private label gives you higher margins and greater profit potential. With a focus on quality products, reasonable prices, and distinctive packaging, the private label is extremely profitable and conveys a positive image for member stores.

Quality Products your customers can rely on.
The Medicine Centre merchandising plan includes a highly successfully private label, a commitment to Home Healthcare, and support for Alternative Medicine.

Quality Products...Competitive Prices...a Trusted Name
Merchandising decisions are often dictated by limitations in space, demographics and, in some cases, expertise. Our program is flexible and allows you to choose the product categories you will offer, according to your specific needs.

Customer Loyalty - Services & Perks
Our new Customer Loyalty program adds to the ‘Value Centre’ image, enabling pharmacies to recognize and reward their dedicated customers with a variety of Perks. The recently launched Loyalty program, Perks, also gives members access to important marketing information that helps with critical inventory decisions. Consumers win by earning Perks certificates, which can be redeemed for items such as Starbucks and Tim Horton's coffee.

Home Healthcare
Medicine Centre recognizes that Home Healthcare is one of the fastest growing specialty areas in professional pharmacy. In response to growing demand, we support a range of products including:

Bathroom Aids,
Ambulatory Aids,
Supports,
Ostomy Supplies.

Alternative Medicine

Public demand for Alternative Medications has grown exponentially in recent years. Medicine Centre gives its members the opportunity to carry many alternative products, including:

Herbals,
Homeopathic Remedies,
Natural Source Vitamins.

In keeping with our commitment to professional care, pharmacies choosing to stock these items ensure their staff have the knowledge and dedication to provide patients with the same quality service they receive when buying a prescription.

Emphasizing Professional Pharmacy

While all pharmacies can fill prescriptions, most don’t add the extras that really make a difference, like the time pharmacists take to counsel and reassure their patients. Medicine Centre’s Professional Services program gives you the opportunity to add some of the extras your customers want from a pharmacy. We offer a variety of products, programs and support to meet the professional practice needs of any type of independent pharmacy.

Support Services

Medicine Centre’s Professional Services also offers our members many services to help with business and professional development.

Patient Education

We help find the patient education materials you’re looking for or point you in the right direction to begin your search. We also have a wide variety of patient information pamphlets and brochures, and regularly add new titles.

Third Party Billing Disputes

In disputes with third party payers (such as Pharmacare or private insurance companies), we provide some assistance with issues such as payment and billing inquiries, review of contracts and agreements, policy changes, communications and advocacy.

Newsletter & Bulletins

Professional Services keeps you updated with newsletters and bulletins as issues become topical. We provide the pharmacy practice tools that make your job easier.

The Dedicated Support you need to Succeed.

Medicine Centre strategies rely on input from committees that are dedicated to the success of the program: your voice will join in the growth of our program, supporting healthy communities across Western Canada. The committees focus on:

Retail Marketing: responsible for advertising, flyers, print & radio advertising, public relations and community events sponsorships.
Private Label: researches new products, recommends marketing strategies, advises on the look of the product and the merchandising strategy.
Professional Programs: provides health focused services and support that help differentiate you from your competitors.

The Medicine Centre banner is positioned for accelerated growth. We work with independent pharmacists to develop a program that benefits both their customers and their businesses, without compromising the importance of professional pharmaceutical practices.

Medicine Centre Pharmacies: Independently Healthy!

If you are a pharmacist who takes the time to listen before speaking, and takes even more time to understand customers and their families; then you could well join our ranks. We believe healthy informed people make healthy informed communities. That’s what being an independent pharmacist means to us: it means putting people before business, community before commerce, and healthy neighbours before healthy profits.

Come on Over to the Medicine Centre, meet our people, and discover what being a great neighbour is all about!

Pharmacists who are interested in learning more about the advantages of being a Medicine Centre pharmacy may contact:

Deborah Kerr
Director of Retail Operations
at 604-276-5228
or e-mail at

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