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TORONTO — Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. (SDM) has appointed Dr. Dorian Lo as executive vice president of pharmacy and health care, and in that position he will lead the company’s pharmacy department and health solutions team.
Lo’s career spans health care and pharmacy in both Canada and the United States. He graduated from the University of Western Ontario with an M.D. in 1990. Following his internship at the university he worked as a physician in a Canadian hospital. Subsequently, he returned to academia and completed an M.B.A. in health care management at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
After graduation Lo worked for McKinsey & Co. in the position of engagement manager in the health care and life sciences practice. In that role he interacted with large global pharmaceutical companies and health care organizations across North America.
In 1999 Lo was recruited by Medco Health Solutions, a leading pharmacy benefits management company in the United States. During his time there, he held positions of increasing responsibility, eventually leading to his appointment as chief medical officer for health plans. In that role he managed nationwide clinical services for Medco’s health plan clients representing over $30 billion in drug spending. He oversaw a large team of professionals, including almost 40 pharmacists, all focused on improving care and controlling costs for patients and clients.
Lo’s appointment at SDM comes at a time when the role of the pharmacist within the Canadian health care system is undergoing significant change. As pharmacists are empowered with new patient care responsibilities, more of their income will be derived from that part of the practice and a lesser share from the traditional dispensing role. In the course of that development, pharmacists will be required to upgrade existing skills and acquire new ones.
Further ahead, the Canada Health Accord expires in 2014. With the cost of providing public health care to Canadians escalating, the roles and the basis of remuneration of all the players in the system will be under discussion in the next three years.
Lo’s deep experience in the management of health systems in Canada and the United States will be a benefit to SDM and the Canadian pharmacy profession in a period of key negotiations.
