The Drugs We Use – What, When, Why and for Whom 2026

About this Event

A focused education day to provide family physicians, internists, pharmacists, and nurse practitioners with practical teaching on topics in clinical pharmacology and toxicology. This event is supported by GeriMedRisk.

Registration

Staff Physicians: $100
Residents/Fellows/Students: $50
Other Health Professionals: $80

Credits

College of Family Physicians of Canada Mainpro+®
This one-credit-per-hour Group Learning program meets the certification criteria of the College of Family Physicians of Canada and has been certified by Continuing Professional Development, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto for up to 3.5 Mainpro+® credits.

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
This event is an Accredited Group Learning Activity (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and approved by Continuing Professional Development, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. You may claim up to a maximum of 3.5 hours (credits are automatically calculated).

Refund Policy

Tickets are non-refundable but can be transferred to another attendee.

The University of Toronto reserves the right to cancel events. Registrants will be notified at the earliest possible date in the event of a cancellation. Registration fees for events cancelled by the University will be refunded; however, the University will not be liable for any loss, damages or other expenses that such cancellations may cause.

If you have any questions, please reach out to us at [email protected].

Agenda

🕑: 08:45 AM - 09:00 AM
Registration
🕑: 09:00 AM - 09:10 AM
Introductory remarks
🕑: 09:10 AM - 09:40 AM
1. Why Ketamine Should Be in Your Toolkit
Host: Dr. David Juurlink

Info: David Juurlink is a general internist and Head of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. He is also a medical toxicologist at the Ontario Poison Centre and a Senior Scientist at ICES, where he maintains an active research program in the field of drug safety. He previously practiced for five years as a community pharmacist.

🕑: 09:40 AM - 10:10 AM
2. Deciphering Drug Allergies in Acute Care
Host: Dr. Erika Lee

Info: Erika Lee is an allergist and immunologist and a Clinician-Investigator at University Health Network, Toronto, Canada. She also works in the Drug Allergy Clinic at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Her research interests include drug allergy, severe cutaneous adverse reactions, transplant acquired allergy, and immunodeficiency.

🕑: 10:10 AM - 10:20 AM
Coffee break
🕑: 10:20 AM - 10:50 AM
3. Drug-Drug Interactions to Know and Avoid
Host: Dr. Peter Wu

Info: Dr. Peter Wu is an Internist and Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology consultant at the University Health Network where he also serves as the Medical Director of Quality & Safety. He is an Associate Professor and the Division Director for Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto. His scholarly work focuses on optimal models of education and improving the quality of patient care, with a specific interest in safe Medic*tion practices and of adverse drug reactions and interactions.

🕑: 10:50 AM - 11:20 AM
4. Drugs We Use Too Much and Drugs We Don’t Use Enough
Host: Dr. Annie Wu

Info: Annie Wu completed her core Internal Medicine training at the University of Toronto and is continuing there as a combined General Internal Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology fellow. Her academic and research interests include medical education and drug safety, with a particular focus on metabolic health and cardiovascular pharmacotherapy. She is thrilled to be continuing her fellowship training in Toronto, where she hopes to further develop these interests.

🕑: 11:20 AM - 11:50 AM
5. Top 10 Drugs I Deprescribe
Host: Dr. Carolyn Tan

Info: Carolyn Tan is a geriatrician and clinical pharmacologist/toxicologist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and GeriMedRisk. She completed her residency training at the University of Toronto along with a Master's in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety at IHPME. Her interests include reducing Medic*tion-related morbidity and mortality in older adults.

🕑: 11:50 AM - 12:35 PM
Lunch break (lunch will be provided)
🕑: 12:35 PM - 01:05 PM
6. A Beginner’s Guide to Pharmacogenomics
Host: Dr. Alex Kumachev

Info: Alex Kumachev is a General Internist and Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology consultant at the University Health Network, based at Toronto General Hospital. He is a member of the hospital Ph*rm*cy and Therapeutics Committee and the physician lead for the Hospital's Medical Day Unit. His clinical and research interests include Medic*tion safety, rational drug prescribing and deprescribing.

🕑: 01:05 PM - 01:35 PM
7. What to Know About GLP-1s in 2026
Host: Dr. Youstina Soliman

Info: Youstina Soliman is a PGY-5 Adult Endocrinology resident at the University of Toronto with clinical and academic interests in diabetes, quality improvement and improving access to diabetes therapies. She will provide an overview of the safety of GLP-1 receptor agonists from an endocrinology perspective.

🕑: 01:35 PM - 01:40 PM
Closing remarks