Data Will Power the Future of Pharmacy
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Data Will Power the Future of Pharmacy

Pharma Tech Outlook | Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Pharmacies and pharmacists will be equipped and empowered with these tools and technologies to assist local communities in expanding their capabilities and responsibilities.

FREMONT, CA: The opioid crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, two of the greatest catastrophes of the twenty-first century, have involved pharmacies and pharmacists in a never-before-seen way. Pharmacy businesses frequently operate in local areas and are open 24/7 because necessity promotes ingenuity

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Pharmacists can play a larger role in medication reconciliation, adherence programmes, and even prescribing medication because they have deeper interactions with patients than most other physicians. Real-time data and artificial intelligence (AI) can allow pharmacists to perform at the top of their licences and provide improved patient outcomes, which will help accelerate this transformation.

Customer demand for better healthcare access and convenience is non-negotiable as people gain greater control over their health and become consumers in the healthcare sector. In order to meet customers where they are at the appropriate moment, pharmacies must have the tools and technologies necessary. Understanding data and how it might help them keep up with rapidly changing expectations and trends will also be essential to patient/pharmacist interaction.

Pharmacies Play a Pivotal Role in Their Local Communities

It makes sense that these establishments would become the go-to choice for a broad range of health needs, given that most Americans reside just five miles from their neighbourhood pharmacy. Patients frequently lack immediate access to healthcare services, particularly those living in rural areas. Additionally, compared to other healthcare services like physician wellness checks, consumers visit pharmacies significantly more frequently, making monitoring and managing chronic illnesses simpler.

Numerous pharmacies now offer on-site urgent care and immunisation alternatives, and they will keep growing their service offerings to include options for preventative care. These readily available services enable clients to enjoy the convenience they want, especially when their general practitioners may require commuting long distances and can have scheduling issues. Pharmacists have a special chance to foster trust and give back to their communities.

Walgreens is a terrific example of a company embracing the future of pharmaceuticals in action. They want to greatly enhance the employee experience for its pharmacists while redesigning its customer experience (CX). Walgreens wanted a means to empower its pharmacists and assist them in better serving patients while freeing up time spent on administrative activities because the pharmacy accounts for 70 per cent of the company's revenue.

By creating an intelligent data platform that can predict demand and redistribute pharmaceuticals across its whole network of pharmacies, the company was able to accomplish this. With real-time insights and tailored recommendations, Walgreens is continuously improving and, in some cases, saving the lives of its customers as a result of becoming a data-driven organisation.

The Role of the Pharmacist Is Evolving

Technology developments will also contribute to raising awareness of the modern role of the pharmacist in the modern world. Many pharmacists already go above and beyond what was traditionally considered their usual function. In actuality, more than half of today's pharmacists are qualified to write prescriptions and support the management of chronic illnesses. 53 per cent of pharmacists with US licences are physicians of pharmacy who undergo the same amount of classroom and clinical training as doctors of medicine, according to recent Deloitte data.

Additionally, there are currently more pharmacists in the country than primary care physicians (PCPs). In 2020, there will be 315,470 pharmacists, up from about 228,000 PCPs in 2019, according to the Mercatus Centre at George Mason University.

Pharmacists interact with patients more frequently than doctors do. For example, Medicare recipients see a community pharmacist roughly twice as frequently as they witness a primary care physician, and these differences are worse in rural areas. As a result, many patients feel more at ease and have more experience working with their pharmacist than with their doctor.

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