Tremendous advances have also been made in the approval and ongoing development of biologics and biosimilar drugs that are formulated to target the underlying pathophysiologies of an array of diseases, such as various autoimmune diseases (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis). The availability of these drugs has improved clinical outcomes and health-related quality of life for patients.
According to an article from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy entitled “Rise of Digital Pharmacy: How Emerging Technologies Are Changing the Practice," various digital advancements, such as electronic health records, e-prescribing, automated dispensing, telepharmacy, and artificial intelligence (AI) tools, are transforming the field of pharmacy practice by enhancing medication management, preventing and/or decreasing the incidence of errors, and enabling pharmacists to focus more on personalized patient care while also addressing challenges such as pharmacist burnout.
AI is being explored for completing routine tasks such as prescription refills and identifying noncompliance, which allows pharmacists to focus more on patient care. Other vital advances include telepharmacy, which was used during the pandemic to expand patient access to care. The use of e-prescribing simplifies the prescription process, and the use of electronic health records provides clinicians with access to valuable clinical information, allowing pharmacists and prescribers a means of more effective communication. Additionally, the FDA approved prescription digital therapeutics for several medical conditions, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, insomnia, and substance abuse disorder, via apps that engage patients in their own healthcare and wearable sensors such as continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices for measuring blood glucose.
In March 2024, the FDA approved the first OTC CGM device, and two other OTC CGM products were approved in June 2024. The availability of prescription digital therapeutics and wearable sensors assists patients in managing and preventing diseases, aids prescribers and pharmacists in monitoring patient responses, and provides these healthcare providers with valuable information to make clinical decisions about treatment and modifications to therapy, dosage, or frequency if warranted. Additionally, robotics is increasingly being utilized, and automated dispensing mechanisms give pharmacists more time to perform clinical duties such as medication therapy management, assessing patient response to therapies, and focusing more on patient care and counseling.
In a recent article on the American Pharmacists Association website entitled “Researchers Wield AI to Address Some of the Pharmacy’s Most Serious Problems,” the authors reviewed how AI is being employed to resolve significant issues in pharmacy practice. They noted that AI aids in streamlining routine tasks, improving medication safety, and enhancing patient care, making pharmacy practice more efficient and effective.
Advancements in the pharmacy field have the potential to decrease the workload of pharmacists while providing these healthcare providers with more time for patient care, which can potentially improve overall clinical outcomes.
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