On this episode, we talk with Hector Bremner. Hector is CEO of Avricore Health which is a pharmacy service innovator focused on acquiring and developing early-stage technologies aimed at moving pharmacy forward. For example, its flagship offering HealthTab™ gives community pharmacies a turn-key solution for rapid testing.

The reason they’re doing this is because the scope of services being offered by pharmacies is increasing rapidly.

And that’s happening because our sick-care system, where we wait for folks to develop diseases and then treat them, is becoming unsustainable. It’s too expensive, we have workforce shortages including the potential for massive physician shortages in the coming years, and frankly, it’s just not a smart way to do things.

So, governments are taking steps to move towards a system that is designed to keep people from getting sick in the first place. And looking to do so in a more equitable way. 

We discuss all of this today, largely, through the lens of new healthcare policies coming down in Canada. We explore what’s driving it, and what it means for Canadian healthcare spending and for healthcare businesses.

Hector helps us see how these changes create an opportunity for community pharmacies to expand their role, provide a better experience and better outcomes to patients, and to do so in a way that is equitable, good for the pharmacy, good for the pharmacist, and good for the healthcare system as a whole. A win for everyone involved.

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Hector Bremner

Hector Bremner’s life and career have been marked by recognizing good ideas, getting things done and bringing people together.

After a successful career in business development and operations management with some of Canada’s largest brands, Hector founded Vancouver based TOUCH Marketing in 2007, whose innovative marketing, communications and project management strategies earned him a strong reputation for delivering results.

This drew the attention of leading businesses and non-profit organizations looking for winning strategies to communicate their messages and achieve their goals, and ultimately brought him into the uniquely challenging world of provincial politics.

He was invited to join the BC Government in 2013 where he served as a key advisor in the offices of BC’s Minister of International Trade, the Minister of Tourism and Small Business, as well as the Ministry of Natural Gas Development and Deputy Premier.

After leaving the BC Government, he joined Vancouver based communications firm Pace Group as Vice President of Public Affairs.  There, he put his unique experience and special capabilities toward navigating the process of public policy making and ensuring his clients’ messages are heard.   While there, he worked with a broad range of clients on high profile matters in the energy sector, non-profit, industry associations, local government and First Nations.

Hector’s ability to align clients’ interests with that of the public and key stakeholders through effective strategic communications approaches, as well as innovative government and public engagement, his clients found the support they needed to be successful.

In 2017, Hector Bremner was elected to Vancouver City Council in a by-election, having a dramatic impact on the city’s political culture and policy approaches related to the ongoing housing crisis.  The following year he challenged for Mayor of Vancouver on a pro-affordable housing platform.  While unsuccessful in achieving electoral success, he candidacy has been noted for its powerful message and positive impact on the policy environment.   

Bremner’s board and nonprofit related experience also includes:

• Fundraising for the Canadian Olympic Committee
• Board Director of the BC Senior Services Society
• Board Director of the Vancouver Biennale
• Cabinet Member, A Night of Miracle, BC Children’s Hospital Foundation

Today, Hector is CEO and Board Member of Avricore Health Inc. (TSXV: AVCR) which is a pharmacy service innovator focused on acquiring and developing early-stage technologies aimed at moving pharmacy forward. Through its flagship offering HealthTab™ (a wholly owned subsidiary), its mission is to make actionable health information more accessible to everyone by creating the world’s largest network of rapid testing devices in community pharmacies.

Learn more at www.avricorehealth.com

Hector Bremner’s life and career have been marked by recognizing good ideas, getting things done and bringing people together.  He spent his formative career working with some of Canada’s leading brands in sales and operations and eventually started his own marketing firm in 2007, specializing in serving non-profits and governmental agencies with strategic communications support. He was then invited to serve on the Minister of International Trade’s staff in British Columbia, and then served as an advisor to the Deputy Premier.  After leaving the BC Government, Hector worked for a variety of corporate, non-governmental, governmental and First-Nations as prominent West-Coast communication firm Pace Group as Vice-President, Public Affairs. Spent a brief time in municipal politics as a City Councilor in Vancouver, and today is CEO of Avricore Health Inc., a pharmacy service innovator focused on acquiring and developing early-stage technologies aimed at moving pharmacy forward.

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