A Global Pandemic: The opportunity it created for community pharmacists to fill gaps in chronic care

Through the pandemic many gaps in care have become more evident, join John Papastergiou, Community Pharmacist and Assistant Professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy discuss the opportunity community pharmacists have to fill the gaps to improve care.

About our Speaker: John Papasterigou

John Papastergiou graduated from the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy in 2002. After graduation, he was employed as a staff pharmacist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center. In 2005, John joined Shoppers Drug Mart and acquired his first store at Pape and Danforth. He now owns and operates four locations in downtown Toronto. In 2014, John received an appointment as an adjunct assistant professor at the School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo. In 2016, he was cross appointed at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto.

In addition to managing a large business, John employs his unique background in clinical research to explore an expanded role for the community pharmacist. John strongly believes that the accessibility of the community pharmacist places them in a unique position to actively screen and monitor patients for various chronic diseases. Most recently, he implemented one of the first frontline community pharmacist-directed pharma-co-genomics clinics in Canada. His work in this area won first prize at the 76th FIP World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

John can be heard regularly on the Libby Fights Back Show on AM740 Zoomer Radio and on his top-rated podcast The Pharmacists Are In.

In 2012, John was named the Shoppers Drug Mart Associate of the Year. In 2014, he received the OPA Mentorship Award and was named CPhA Canadian Pharmacist of the Year. In 2016, he was the recipient of the OPA Voice of the Profession Award and was awarded the Pharmacy Practice Commitment to Care Award for Overall Patient Care. In 2019, John was named by the International Forum on Advancement in Healthcare as one of the top 100 healthcare leaders globally. He was also presented with the OPA Award for Excellence in Research and Academia. In 2020 he was the recipient of the inaugural Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto Alumni Leadership Award.