September 2024 Pharmacy AI Newsletter

We are thrilled to introduce the September 2024 issue of AI.pothecary, where we delve into some of the latest advancements and discussions surrounding the integration of AI in pharmacy practice. This month, we spotlight an insightful interview with MedEssist, a company leading the way in AI-powered solutions for independent pharmacies. Their customizable platform demonstrates the power of tailored AI tools in streamlining workflows, enhancing patient care, and meeting the unique challenges faced by independent pharmacies. This interview sheds light on how AI is enabling pharmacists to prioritize clinical care while maintaining operational efficiency.

We also feature highlights from cutting-edge AI implementations across the healthcare and pharmacy sectors. From MedAdvisor’s AI-driven medication advisor to Synerio’s AI-powered patient engagement platform, these innovations are revolutionizing how pharmacies interact with patients and manage their services. As AI continues to shape the future of healthcare, the practical applications discussed in this issue emphasize how these technologies are enhancing patient engagement and improving pharmacy workflows, allowing pharmacists to focus on what matters most: delivering personalized, top-tier care.

MedEssist Interview

MedEssist is a software company that empowers pharmacies with a comprehensive digital platform to streamline patient management and optimize service delivery. Their innovative platform simplifies tasks such as patient registration, prescription refills, and appointment booking, allowing pharmacies to enhance efficiency and provide a seamless patient experience. We had the opportunity to meet with two pharmacists, Bita Janzadeh and Nicole Lim Tung, at MedEssist and discuss their roles and how they are using AI at their company:

How does MedEssist’s platform address the unique needs of independent pharmacies compared to larger chains??

What sets MedEssist apart is our highly customizable platform, unlike the cookie-cutter style solutions typically used by larger chains. You can truly tailor every aspect to your pharmacy’s needs. Each independent pharmacy and its patient base is unique, which is why MedEssist allows you to adapt our platform to your specific services and workflows. With a team composed of professionals with firsthand healthcare experience, many of whom have worked in a pharmacy, we understand the unique challenges independent pharmacies face.?

Our platform is designed to support every facet of your operations—clinical services, business management, marketing, scheduling, and education. Whether it's promoting specialized services, generating custom forms, or streamlining workflows, MedEssist’s flexibility empowers pharmacies to better serve their local communities and provide personalized, top-tier patient care.? ??

What role does AI play in MedEssist’s overall strategy for improving pharmacy operations and patient care??

AI can enhance the role of pharmacists by streamlining routine yet essential tasks in a pharmacy.? Our AI tools include a chatbot for providing reliable answers to clinical questions, and writing assistance for generating personalized patient handouts and newsletters. These features enable pharmacists to provide tailored information to their patients in an efficient way. From retrieval of up to date clinical information to assisting with pharmacy marketing campaigns, our AI tools can be used to help simplify multiple aspects of pharmacy workflow.?

In a busy pharmacy setting, where multitasking is common and pharmacist's attention is often pulled in many directions, AI serves as a valuable tool to streamline operations.? By automating some of the more administrative processes in pharmacy with AI, pharmacists can prioritize what matters most—delivering patient care and building patient relationships.?

How has the integration of AI tools, like chatbots and patient handouts, improved workflow efficiency and patient engagement at MedEssist??

AI has immediate benefits to pharmacists such as allowing them to personalize care to meet each patient's needs. It also helps our pharmacies achieve faster resolutions when handling patient-facing communication or task automation. For example, if a patient is concerned about a specific side effect, AI can generate a detailed handout addressing their concerns. Likewise, when a patient is tapering or adjusting their medication, AI can create customized communication materials that offer clear and relevant guidance.?

We always keep in mind that each pharmacy is unique, hence every patient they serve is also unique. AI in MedEssist serves as a powerful assistant that empowers pharmacists to efficiently customize the patient care they offer. By automating and personalizing these aspects of patient care, AI not only saves pharmacists time but also enhances the quality of patient interactions, leading to a more engaged and informed patient experience.? ?

Can you explain how MedEssist collaborates with Pendium Health to ensure that AI solutions remain clinically accurate and beneficial for pharmacists??

Pendium Health, founded by physicians, is developing cutting-edge AI tools to enhance clinical decision-making. Through our collaboration, MedEssist integrates Pendium’s flagship product, HippoAI, which leverages advanced large language models (LLMs) to provide accurate, real-time clinical guidance.??

A key differentiator to our AI is that every response is accompanied by references, enabling pharmacists to easily verify the information and explore further details from the original sources. We are continuously refining our AI tools, incorporating user feedback to enhance both accuracy and relevance.? ?

What future innovations or expansions does MedEssist plan to implement to further support independent pharmacies in the ever-evolving healthcare landscape??

The world of pharmacy is always changing, and we’re excited to adapt and grow to meet the needs of independent pharmacies. One of our recent projects is our Access to Care program, where pharmacists work in collaboration with nurse practitioners and doctors to assess and prescribe for common health conditions. This program is currently in its pilot phase, but it’s already playing a role in improving healthcare access and bridging gaps in care, particularly for those who don’t have a family doctor.?

As we look to the future, we’re focusing on practical innovations that matter to pharmacists—like making everyday workflows smoother, improving how pharmacies communicate with patients, and offering more personalized care options. It’s all about giving pharmacists the support they need to focus on what matters most: their patients.?

AI Pharmacy Case Use:?

• MedAdvisor, BEN Partner to Introduce AI-Driven Medication Advisor (August 17, 2024, Drug Topic) MedAdvisor and the Brand Engagement Network (BEN) have partnered to introduce an AI-driven medication advisor designed to streamline pharmacy services and enhance patient engagement. This innovative tool aims to improve customer interactions and reduce the workload on pharmacy staff. This AI-driven advisor can help pharmacists provide more efficient and personalized care, ultimately improving patient outcomes and operational efficiency.?
• Synerio debuts AI-powered solution for pharmacy patient engagement (August 14, 2024, Drug Store News) Synerio has introduced Synerio Engage, an AI-powered patient engagement platform for pharmacies that aims to enhance patient medication management and reduce the operational burden on pharmacy staff. Key features include a virtual pharmacy technician, support for over 50 languages, and seamless communication across multiple channels. This platform could improve workflow efficiency and patient satisfaction, enabling pharmacists to focus on clinical tasks and personalized care.?
• Heuron expands medical AI to Thailand and more AI briefs (August 16, 2024, Mobihealthnews) Heuron has partnered with Medhealth Informatics to distribute its medical AI solutions in Thailand, including stroke triage and brain atrophy analysis tools. MediBuddy has introduced an AI system to detect fraudulent medical claims, potentially saving providers up to 20% in reimbursement costs. Vuno received approval for its AI software to detect heart failure, and AsiaMedic adopted an AI chatbot for appointment scheduling. These advancements in AI could enhance patient care, streamline operations, and reduce costs, which are crucial for improving overall healthcare delivery and efficiency.??
• Generative AI in Pharma: Pioneering Advances in Drug Development and Clinical Trial Optimization (August 14, 2024, Master of Code) The article discusses the transformative potential of generative AI chatbots in healthcare and pharma, highlighting their ability to enhance patient engagement, streamline administrative tasks, and improve clinical outcomes. Key use cases include automating patient interactions, providing personalized health information, and supporting medication management. Generative AI chatbots can significantly reduce the workload of pharmacists by handling routine inquiries and tasks, allowing them to focus more on patient care and clinical responsibilities.?

AI Healthcare Business News:?

• Global Artificial Intelligence (AI) In Healthcare Market Size Is Anticipated to Reach Around $613 Billion By 2034 (August 14, 2024, Financial News Media) The market for global use of AI in healthcare is projected to grow substantially with expectations nearing $613 billion by 2034, driven by increased integration of AI technology resulting in improved diagnostics, personalized medicine, and healthcare infrastructure. AI advancements could impact pharmacists by enhancing medication management, personalizing treatment, and enabling early disease detection, leading to more accurate and efficient healthcare globally.?
• 5 ways Amazon is using AI to help transform health care (August 07, 2024, Amazon) Amazon is investing heavily in generative AI to enhance healthcare services, focusing on improving patient-provider interactions, accelerating drug discovery, and optimizing pharmacy operations to create an optimal patient-friendly healthcare experience. Amazon’s AI advancements in prescription processing and error reduction will impact pharmacy by streamlining workflows, enhancing dispensing accuracy, and improving patient access to medications while utilizing pharmacists’ expertise.?

Research Papers:?

• Artificial intelligence and headache (August 5, 2024, Sage Journals)??This review explores the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in the field of headache medicine, highlighting their potential in areas like diagnosis, disease trajectory prediction, and treatment response. Understanding the role of AI and ML in headache management is crucial for pharmacists, as it enables them to better interpret and optimize treatment plans based on predictive models, ultimately improving patient outcomes.?
• Artificial intelligence integration in the drug lifecycle and in regulatory science: policy implications, challenges and opportunities (August 2, 2024, PMC PubMed Central)? Artificial intelligence (AI) has transformative potential throughout the drug lifecycle, enhancing drug discovery, clinical trial design, and regulatory processes, while presenting significant regulatory challenges related to data accuracy, model reliability, and patient safety. Pharmacists must understand AI's role in improving drug development and monitoring to ensure medication safety and efficacy, making them essential in integrating these technologies into pharmaceutical care and patient safety practices.?
• Generative artificial intelligence (Gen-AI) in pharmacy education: Utilization and implications for academic integrity: A scoping review (July 18, 2024, Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy)?Gen-AI tools, such as ChatGPT, offer promising benefits for pharmacy education but also raise concerns about academic integrity, which can be addressed through strategies like redesigning assessments, providing targeted training, and establishing clear guidelines. It is essential for pharmacists to understand Gen-AI to enhance their clinical practice, improve workflow efficiency, and critically evaluate AI-generated information to ensure responsible and effective patient care.?
• A practice-based approach to teaching antimicrobial therapy using artificial intelligence and gamified learning ? (August 6, 2024, PMC PubMed Central)?A practice-based approach using artificial intelligence and gamified learning significantly improves medical students' knowledge of antimicrobial therapy and their confidence in prescribing antibiotics. Understanding AI and gamified learning in antimicrobial stewardship equips pharmacists with innovative tools for optimizing antibiotic use and combating antimicrobial resistance, enhancing patient care.?
• Adaptive Behavioral AI: Reinforcement Learning to Enhance Pharmacy Services (August 14, 2024, ARXIV) Adaptive Behavioral AI platforms can enhance pharmacy services by delivering personalized interventions, like adherence nudges and patient-specific prescription recommendations, through mobile health applications. Initial experiments, such as with the SwipeRx app in Indonesia, showed positive results, indicating AI’s potential to transform pharmacies, especially in low- and middle-income countries.?
• Artificial intelligence integration in the drug lifecycle and in regulatory science: policy implications, challenges and opportunities (August 2, 2024, Frontiers) AI holds immense potential to revolutionize drug development by accelerating processes and improving outcomes, but regulatory agencies must navigate challenges of transparency, explainability, and collaboration to ensure safe and effective AI integration. The use of AI to revolutionize drug development may lead to new and improved medications, impacting pharmacists through changes in drug availability, therapeutic options, and patient care approaches.?
• Implementing a chatbot on Facebook to reach and collect data from thousands of health care providers: PharmindBot as a case (June 15, 2023 – JAPhA) The PharmindBot study demonstrates a Facebook chatbot's capability to engage thousands of health care professionals, providing educational content and gathering essential research data efficiently and cost-effectively. Pharmacists should consider the potential of such digital tools to enhance outreach, education, and research efforts, ultimately improving patient care and expanding professional knowledge bases without significant financial investments.?

• ChatGPT vs. LexiComp for Patient Education: A Comparative Study. (May 8, 2024, JaPhA) This study compared patient education materials (PEMs) generated by ChatGPT and LexiComp, finding that while ChatGPT matched LexiComp in understandability, it fell short in readability and showed variable accuracy in medication-related content. Pharmacists should exercise caution when using ChatGPT for PEMs, ensuring accuracy and readability through oversight and modification for effective patient care.?
• Generative artificial intelligence (Gen-AI) in pharmacy education: Utilization and implications for academic integrity: A scoping review July 18, 2024, Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy) This scoping review assesses the use of generative artificial intelligence (Gen-AI) in pharmacy education, highlighting both potential benefits for enhancing learning and significant risks to academic integrity, advocating for strategic measures to mitigate these risks. Pharmacists involved in education should consider the dual-edged nature of Gen-AI, which, while potentially transformative for teaching methodologies, requires careful management to uphold academic integrity, emphasizing the need for strategic assessment designs and ethical guidelines.?
• AI-Based Interview Software for Pharmacy Student Career Prep (August 9, 2024, AJPE) This study explored the impact of an AI-based interview software, Big Interview, on pharmacy students’ self-confidence and interview preparedness, finding that 79.9% of students felt more prepared for future interviews, and over half reported increased self-confidence. Pharmacists should recognize the growing role of AI in interview preparation, as it offers a convenient, effective way to enhance students' interview skills and self-confidence, aligning with modern technological advancements in hiring practices.?
• Comprehensive analysis of responses from ChatGPT to consumer inquiries regarding over-the-counter medications (February 29, 2024, PubMed) This comprehensive study analyzed ChatGPT's responses to consumer questions about over-the-counter (OTC) medications, finding that only 20.8% of responses met the criteria for coherence, scientific correctness, and appropriateness of action, with reproducibility issues also noted. Pharmacists should be aware of the limitations and inaccuracies in AI-generated advice on OTC medications, which can affect consumer safety and treatment efficacy, underscoring the need for professional oversight and reliable information sources in pharmacy practice.?
• Validation of a novel Artificial Pharmacology Intelligence (API) system for the management of patients with polypharmacy ? (April 10, 2024, RSAP Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy) This study validated an Artificial Pharmacology Intelligence (API) system, designed to optimize medication management in polypharmacy patients, demonstrating superior agreement (93.5%) with a judging committee compared to clinical pharmacists (73.9%), and showing high potential to improve medication safety and efficacy. Pharmacists should consider the potential of AI systems like the API to enhance accuracy and efficiency in managing complex medication regimens in polypharmacy, potentially reducing medication-related problems and improving patient outcomes.??
• Introducing artificial intelligence to hospital pharmacy departments (August 1, 2024, Farmacia Hospitalaria) This article discusses the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in hospital pharmacy departments, emphasizing its potential to enhance patient care through precision medicine, optimized pharmacotherapeutic management, and improved drug safety. Pharmacists should consider how AI can revolutionize hospital pharmacy by enabling more personalized patient care, reducing errors, and streamlining operations, ultimately enhancing the efficiency and safety of healthcare delivery.?
• Advancing Pharmacy Practice: The Role of Pharmacointelligence (August 26, 2024, Dove Press) This article introduces "pharmacointelligence," a concept that merges AI, data integration, clinical decision support systems, and pharmacy informatics to enhance medication management and decision-making in pharmacy practice, highlighting its transformative potential in addressing complex pharmaceutical data and evolving healthcare needs. Pharmacists should embrace pharmacointelligence as it offers a strategic approach to optimize medication management, enhance decision-making, and improve patient outcomes, aligning with the shift towards more personalized and efficient healthcare services.?
• Enhancing Postmarketing Surveillance of Medical Products With Large Language Models (August 16, 2024, JAMA) The article details the implementation of large language models (LLMs) to enhance post marketing surveillance of medical products by improving information synthesis from diverse data sources, including EHRs, claims, and social media, facilitating more accurate and timely safety signal detection. Pharmacists should take note of the evolving role of LLMs in enhancing drug safety surveillance, which could significantly improve the precision and efficiency of identifying adverse drug reactions, ultimately ensuring better patient safety and outcomes.

Interesting Reads:?

• AI Aims to Unlock Healthcare’s Hidden Data (August 14, 2024, PYMNTS) GE HealthCare’s partnership with Amazon Web Services aims to develop AI tools for medical data analysis, enhancing clinical workflows and addressing healthcare labor shortages. AI-powered tools can improve documentation, coding, prior authorizations, and medication reconciliation, allowing providers to focus more on patient care. AI could optimize pharmacy operations, streamline administrative tasks, and improve medication management, ultimately enhancing patient care and operational efficiency.?
• AI to redefine future of healthcare, forcing medical and pharmaceutical institutions to go new ways - HRV Global LifeSciences CEO (August 1, 2024, Zawya) AI is significantly impacting healthcare and pharmacy by enhancing diagnostics, personalized medicine, patient management, drug discovery, and pharmacy operations. It improves precision, efficiency, and personalization in healthcare delivery and medication management. By integrating into pharmacy operations, it could optimize inventory management, improve medication adherence, and ultimately enhance patient care and operational efficiency.?
• Pharmacy Roles Could Evolve Under AI (March 2024, Pharmacy Practice News) Dr. Scott D. Nelson discusses AI's potential to enhance pharmacy roles by automating administrative tasks, allowing pharmacists to concentrate on patient care, similar to the effects seen with CPOE systems. Pharmacists should view AI as a tool that enhances decision-making by managing large data sets while ensuring its recommendations are current and clinically relevant, ultimately retaining control over treatment decisions.?
• Artificial intelligence in the pharmaceutical industry: analyzing innovation, investment and hiring trends (August 20, 2024, Pharmaceutical Technology) The article provides an overview of how artificial intelligence is shaping the pharmaceutical industry, focusing on innovations, the evolution of patents, and emerging trends that influence research and development processes. Pharmacists should consider the implications of AI-driven innovations on drug development and patient care, enhancing their role in interpreting and utilizing advanced technologies for improved healthcare outcomes.?
• AI Tools Can Help Pharmacies Advance Value-Based Care Practices (August 27, 2024, Pharmacy Times) The article explores how AI tools can assist pharmacies in advancing value-based care practices by enhancing efficiencies, improving patient outcomes, and optimizing care processes through data analysis and predictive modeling. Pharmacists should consider integrating AI tools to enhance value-based care, leveraging their ability to analyze large datasets for better clinical decision-making and personalized patient care strategies.?
• AI Named Among Top 5 Risks to Healthcare in 2024 (March 12, 2024, Pharmacy Practice News) The article identifies artificial intelligence (AI) as one of the top five risks to healthcare in 2024, highlighting concerns about its potential to amplify existing healthcare disparities and ethical issues around data privacy and decision-making biases. Pharmacists should be aware of the risks associated with AI in healthcare, particularly regarding ethical concerns and the potential for reinforcing disparities, to ensure responsible and equitable use of AI technologies in their practices.?
• Hippocratic AI partners with academia to create curriculum for AI use in healthcare (September 10, 2024, Mobihealthnews) Hippocratic AI is partnering with Adtalem Chamberlain University and Walden University to create a curriculum for nurses on using AI in healthcare. The program will train nurses to assess and evaluate AI tools in healthcare settings. The curriculum will be adaptable and updated regularly to keep pace with advancements in AI technology.

Thank you for reading, and feel free to share any other news we may have missed or items that stood out to you this past month!

The AI.pothecary Team