Will Artificial Intelligence Usher an End to Pharmacy Practice (As We Know It?)

August 12, 2024
Category: Newsletter

Will Artificial Intelligence Usher an End to Pharmacy Practice (As We Know It)?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a rapidly evolving technology, and its potential applications in health care and pharmacy practice are widely acclaimed. AI can be used to automate many workflows, personalize medication dosing, optimize drug selection, and decrease healthcare costs. While AI has many potential benefits in pharmacy practice, freeing up pharmacists to do work of greater value, there are potential pitfalls and threats. Like any technology, AI is likely to have some unintended and unanticipated consequences. But pharmacists will need to embrace AI as an essential tool rather than view it as a threat to their livelihood.

 
Some of the biggest benefits of using AI in pharmacy practice are improved safety and efficiency. AI has the potential to automate mundane, repetitive tasks such as processing prescriptions, ordering drugs, and re-stocking inventory. This could free up pharmacists to focus on more valuable activities such as providing patient education, monitoring the response to drug therapy, and adjusting treatments. AI can make personalized recommendations for drug therapies based on a patient’s individual characteristics using deep learning algorithms to accurately interpret complex data sets. Additionally, AI can help improve patient safety by alerting pharmacists or other healthcare professionals about potential drug-related problems (e.g., poor adherence, lack of response, high risk for adverse effects, and contraindications).
 

ChatGPT

In late November 2022, ChatGPT-3 was released, and it has taken AI to a new level. This tool has the ability to mimic human communications with unprecedented sophistication. Unlike previous AI tools, ChatGPT uses deep learning algorithms to analyze vast amounts of textual data to understand the nuances of human language and generate responses that closely resemble those of a human. The model has been trained on a massive corpus of text from the internet, books, and other sources, allowing it to generate high-quality responses to a wide range of questions and conversations. The sophistication and accuracy of ChatGPT have raised the bar for AI in terms of its ability to simulate human-like communication, paving the way for new and exciting applications in fields such as customer service, healthcare, and education. Check out this YouTube video featuring an AI-generated pharmacist counseling a patient on how to use metformin and aspirin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXjTK05U2Ag

 
 
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Artificial intelligence (AI) can also be used to facilitate drug discovery by creating disease state models that are then validated against either public (such as ChEMBL and PubChem) or proprietary (e.g., GOSTAR) chemical libraries. These models are used to identify the best drug candidates, reducing the time between initial screening and preclinical testing. For example, Exscientia and Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma jointly developed DSP-1181, a drug targeting obsessive-compulsive disorder, and reduced the time for initial screening to the end of preclinical testing from 4 to 6 years (industry average) down to 12 months.
 

Potential Risks and Harms

The use of AI in pharmacy practice does come with some potential risks that need to be considered before implementation. For example, if the algorithm used for drug selection is not properly programmed, trained, and validated, it would lead to inappropriate drug selections that might harm patients. And if the system is not properly maintained or monitored, it could cause recurring errors, putting many patients at risk. There is also a risk of bias in decision-making algorithms, which can result in unequal treatment for marginalized and under-represented patient populations. Lastly, privacy issues associated with storing patient information in an automated system will need to be addressed prior to implementation and monitored in an outgoing manner.

 

Using AI, Ethically, to Enhance Human Potential

While there are potential risks associated with AI, there are also numerous benefits that make embracing this technology attractive for pharmacists looking to improve patient care and outcomes while reducing costs and freeing up time to engage in more high-value tasks. Only time will tell if AI will usher in the end of pharmacy practice as we know it, but with proper implementation and regulation, there’s no doubt that this technology presents a wide range of opportunities to pharmacists. Those who are willing to learn how to best use these new tools will have a distinct competitive advantage over those who don’t. Pharmacists should look to embrace AI and be proactive in learning how to use them to become more efficient and effective. AI will provide new opportunities for pharmacists to advance the frontiers of their practice and redefine what pharmacists do in the 21st century.

 
Pharmacy Fika Podcast: AI and Pharmacy Education!
The Fika Crew talks about AI and how it will reshape healthcare delivery and pharmacy education. These new tools will enable us to work more efficiently and tackle bigger problems, but may lead to downsizing and diminished human creativity.

Sources and Readings About Artificial Intelligence

  1. Sangave NA, Cheung C. Artificial Intelligence Applications in Education and Pharmacy Practice. Pharmacy Timeshttps://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/artificial-intelligence-applications-in-education-and-pharmacy-practice
  2. Flynn A. Using artificial intelligence in health-system pharmacy practice: Finding new patterns that matter. Am J Health-Syst Pharm 2019; 76 (9): 622-27.
  3. Nelson SD, Walsh CG, Olsen CA, et al. Demystifying artificial intelligence in pharmacy. Am J Health-Syst Pharm 2020; 77 (19): 1556–1570.
  4. Amarasingham R, Plantinga L, Diener-West M, Gaskin DJ, Powe NR. Clinical information technologies and inpatient outcomes: a multiple hospital study. Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(2):108-114.
  5. Curtain C, Peterson GM. Review of computerized clinical decision support in community pharmacy. J Clin Pharm Ther. 2014;39(4):343-348.
  6. Aungst T, The Digital Apothecary. ChatGPT and Pharmacy: How does AI impact Pharmacists, YouTube, December 11, 2022.
 
 

Food for Thought

We must address, individually and collectively, moral and ethical issues raised by cutting-edge research in artificial intelligence and biotechnology, which will enable significant life extension, designer babies, and memory extraction.

—Klaus Schwab

 

Some people call this artificial intelligence, but the reality is this technology will enhance us. So instead of artificial intelligence, I think we’ll augment our intelligence.

—Ginni Rometty

 

I’m more frightened than interested by artificial intelligence – in fact, perhaps fright and interest are not far away from one another. Things can become real in your mind, you can be tricked, and you believe things you wouldn’t ordinarily. A world run by automatons doesn’t seem completely unrealistic anymore. It’s a bit chilling.

—Gemma Whelan