Hector Bremner, Avricore Health Inc. CEO: “We aim to give patients greater agency in their own care while making every clinical touch point a little more convenient”

The Silicon Review

Avricore Health Inc. was founded on the idea that healthcare was changing and that the community pharmacy would play a big role in delivering new services, and that they would need new tools to be successful. Avricore is built to offer those tools, and HealthTab™, the company’s flagship offering does exactly that, by making high-quality point-of-care testing available with a turnkey solution that includes the best in real-time data sharing and analytics. HealthTab™ is a turnkey point-of-care testing platform that combines best-in-class point-of-care technologies from, partners like Abbott, with a secure, cloud-based platform for tackling pressing global health issues. With just a few drops of blood from a finger prick, the system generates lab-accurate results on the spot and data is reported in real time. The test menu includes up to 23 key biomarkers for screening and managing chronic diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease (e.g., HbA1c, Lipid Profile, eGFR). HealthTab™ has also recently added capabilities for bacterial and viral tests, such as influenza, RSV, strep and COVID-19.

The HealthTab™ network model is unlike anything in pharmacy today. It gives knowledgeable and trusted pharmacists a greater role in primary care delivery, while empowering patients to take more control of their health. It also reduces costs and waiting times, plus it provides many potential revenue streams for the pharmacy, which it needs to succeed in the new service-focus era, opposed to solely relying on filling prescriptions.

HealthTab™ generates revenues for itself via licensing & consumables, direct access testing, disease prevention & management programs, sponsored health programs, decentralized clinical trials, real world data (RWD) sets, and third-party app integration through API.

In conversation with Hector Bremner, CEO of Avricore Health Inc.

Q. Big Data is expected to continue to play a vital role in decision making and increasing productivity? How do you interpret this?

We are entering an exciting era, particularly in healthcare, as we can refine forecasting around demand and asset allocation, risk profile within populations and dramatically improve outcomes in much more cost-effective ways. That said, there’s going to be a bumpy road along the route to getting legislation around right-to-access and ownership of this data, as I see some companies overly reliant on “corralling” or “owning” this type of data. My experience in working for government and having been elected gives me the understanding of where law and business will intersect, and patient data is going to be “owned” by the patient at the end of the day. So, we need to be clear-eyed about what that means and how our businesses need to be built. We need to ensure we are focused on empowering patients and trust that success will be found in that approach.

Q. The goal of an analytical procedure is to convert collected data into a format which is more understandable. This conversion process becomes more difficult when procuring large amounts of data. Can we simplify the deciphering process?

This is a huge issue in the POCT space because so many factors come into play when generating valid and easily understood results. Different instruments feeding into systems using different languages can break IT infrastructure. And, another major complication is that the reference ranges of instruments vary quite a bit, meaning a patient result needs to be understood not just in terms of the patient’s details (gender, race, age, etc. can affect the outcome), but factor in how and what instrument generated that result, because the clinical difference can be significant. That’s why we built all the necessary interpretations and interfaces into HealthTab™, along with full patient profiles they create and own, as we can streamline the process dramatically and ensure better clinical interpretation.

Because we put the patient at the center of the experience, the UX is made to be as easily understood as possible, which benefits healthcare providers too, as there is less risk of misunderstandings. Plus, faster, better decisions can be made.

Q. What do you think is the most memorable moment in your career?

I have to say being elected as a City Councillor in Vancouver. It was a surreal experience to be there and being sworn in, knowing that you are carrying a serious responsibility. Not just business goals and objectives, but literally people’s hopes and dreams for the future. It was a tremendous honour to be able to be a lawmaker and to participate in our community that way. I highly recommend everyone consider getting involved in your passions and the issues that matter to you. There’s a lot of smart people building great companies and making the world better, so we need to bring those skills to public life or charitable work, because there must be more than money that drives us. My grandfather, who served in Canada’s Army for 30 years told me that “we cannot be passive bystanders, just reaping the benefits of our society but bring something to the table.” Now, more than ever, our democracies need our best and brightest – and that could be you.

Q. Do you have any new services ready to be launched?

We are continuously launching new features for our clients. We expect to see roll outs of additional instruments in pharmacy in near term, including the iStat and ID Now from Abbott which we have secured distribution agreements for. We also expect to push into new international markets, demonstrating the true power of HealthTab™ - its global scalability.

Q. What does the future hold for your company and its customers? Are exciting things on the way?

We have been putting in tremendous effort over the last two years to set ourselves on a strong growth path and we are now realizing it. The future is incredibly bright for HealthTab™ as a public need. We already see policy changes globally favouring pharmacy and POCT providers. Sizable and new markets for the types of testing offered via HealthTab™ in pharmacy is on track, as these trusted health providers are being seen as the new “front door” to the healthcare experience. Because, getting screened for disease and having early interventions is the best way to save lives, and healthcare dollars.

Meet the leader behind the success of Avricore Health Inc.

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 and municipal politics, both as senior advisor to officials, as well as being elected himself. 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.