On June 3, 2019, the Ontario Pharmacists Association (OPA) in Toronto declared John Girgis of Mississauga as the Pharmacist of the Year and David Windross of Toronto earned the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award.

The two honors were displayed at Pharmacy Experience Pharmacie (PxP) 2019 – a joint meeting facilitated by OPA and the Canadian Pharmacists Association in Toronto from June 3-5, 2019.
The Pharmacist of the Year Award is given to an individual who demonstrates outstanding achievement in all areas of pharmacy practice.

About John Girgis
John Girgis’ passion is for patient care. He is always looking for ways to excel in providing direct patient care services. Always on pace with automation and technology where he was the first pharmacy owner to install a robotic system in Apple-Hills Medical Pharmacy. This helped in creating an environment that assisted him and his staff in delivering more efficient clinical services to his clients.

He has opened seven independent pharmacy practices that integrate innovation and automation which allow him and his staff to excel in providing direct patient care.

Girgis was welcomed to join a McMaster University study almost 15 years back, which included fusing insulin treatment for Type II diabetics. His role was to mentor and educate the new insulin starts.

This responsibility penned his attention towards the need for instructing, educating and mindfulness about different diseases. For almost ten years, he has been providing diabetic disease management services as a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE).

Girgis’ focus on diabetes awareness has maximized the quality of care for his patients with diabetes. Even before becoming a CDE, Girgis was proudly providing upgraded services, one of which is smoking cessation. He, along with his associates and pharmacists, can mentor and screen individuals who wish to quit smoking. They certified to prescribe Champix (varenicline) and Zyban (bupropion).

All of the pharmacies owned and run by Girgis are focused on disease prevention where vaccinations and influenza immunizations are provided as well as travel vaccines.

The Bottom Line
John Girgis, the Pharmacist of the Year- 2019, is glad to offer improved patient care professional services and fetching the benefits in terms of gross profits, which has gone high in the range of 5 to 10 percent.

Nowadays, more and more pharmacists are becoming patient-centered and moving ahead of being just product-focused. Girgis focuses on client’s well-being and educates them to get onto the track to wellness.