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Pharmacy may not be the first place one looks for potential AI innovations, but the reality is that the technology has the capability to significantly impact the space. Innovations like AI pharmacy verification and mail order automation have the potential to ensure medication accuracy, streamline operations, and, ultimately, enhance patient outcomes.
Prescription verification is a critical pharmacy function, but one traditionally reliant on manual review by busy pharmacists. Human error, like misreading prescriptions, overlooking drug interactions, or miscalculating dosages, is an ever-present danger, especially at a time when healthcare costs continue to squeeze both patients and providers.
According to the World Health Organization, medical errors cause at least one death daily and injure over a million people annually in the US alone. That’s where AI may be able to help offload some pressure on pharmacists. AI-powered systems work to address risks by automating the verification process.
Platforms integrate with pharmacy management systems to analyze prescriptions in real time, cross-referencing them with patient histories, drug interaction databases, and dosage guidelines. If discrepancies or potential safety issues are detected, the system flags them for manual review by a pharmacist. The platforms both reduce the risk of dispensing errors while also allowing pharmacists to focus on more complex clinical tasks and patient consultations.
A 2023 focus group study with pharmacists regarding medication dispensing errors highlights the importance of designing AI platforms with pharmacist input, however. Those polled favored hybrid models where AI assists in verification but human oversight remains, especially for high-risk medications. Interpretability and user-friendly interfaces are crucial for building trust and ensuring effective collaboration between pharmacy staff and the technology they’re utilizing.
As mail-order and central-fill pharmacies continue to gain prominence, AI and automation may also provide significant assistance. The large facilities are designed specifically to handle high-volume prescription fulfillment, addressing both staffing shortages and the growing demand for remote medication delivery.
Mail-order pharmacies leverage a combination of robotics, interconnected software, and AI to automate nearly every aspect of the dispensing process.
AI algorithms forecast medication needs, optimize stock levels, and prevent shortages or overstocking by analyzing historical data and real-time trends. Automated systems track orders, manage logistics, and ensure timely delivery. Digital mailrooms automate the processing of prescriptions, insurance claims, and billing.
The benefits of AI-driven mail-order automation include the ability to process thousands of prescriptions daily and accommodate surges in demand without additional staffing. Additionally, patients benefit from faster turnaround times.
The challenges and risks of AI integration also need to be highlighted. Who benefits from reduced staff? What kind of security risks are posed by AI that we may not truly understand, especially when considering sensitive patient data? And when do volume pressures begin to supersede actual pharmacist intervention? Technology is truly moving at a pace that makes many questions of ethics difficult. By the time studies can be done, AI has advanced and may not accurately reflect what it was.
These tough questions are the purview of pharmacy leaders like Cole Wilson. The vice president of pharmacy services at Atrium Health is focused on driving pharmacy innovation along with enhancing the health system’s infusion model.
Wilson has overseen the build-out of Atrium’s specialty pharmacy, a business line that has grown tremendously since its establishment.
The pharmacy leader is a proponent of servant-based leadership and letting his employees shine but not micromanaging. That isn’t to say he isn’t involved in their development, however. Wilson takes great pride in helping his team advance their careers and get where they want to be. The VP says his job is to remove barriers for his team and allow them to do their best work.
Wilson has thrived at Atrium Health, where the VP says he’s been enabled to push the boundaries of healthcare and reimagine what is possible for physicians, pharmacists, patients, and staff.
FIRST Rx is independent experts that reduce pharmacy benefit costs with expertise supporting health system’s in navigating the intersection of pharmacy benefits and pharmacy operations.
The pharmacy supply chain and PBM market have never been more convoluted or scrutinized – especially for health systems. Our firm was founded on the premise that payers can leverage scale and expertise to develop pharmacy programs that produce superior health and financial outcomes. FIRST Rx integrates expertise in PBM pricing, contracting and operations, clinical programs, rebates, network management, pharmacy operations, and 340B to create best-in-class solutions for our clients at the lowest net cost.
Optum Rx ® is an innovative pharmacy care services company helping clients and more than 62 million members achieve better health outcomes and lower overall costs through innovative prescription drug benefit services, including clinical programs, formulary management and specialty pharmacy care. We are an Optum® company — a leading information and technology-enabled health services business dedicated to making the health system work better for everyone. Because when pharmacy services connects with the rest of patient care, it can improve health outcomes for everyone. And when people are treated holistically, the world starts becoming a lot healthier.
