Using artificial intelligence in health-system pharmacy practice: Finding new patterns that matter

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The technologies collectively referred to as artificial intelligence (AI) currently provoke hype and speculation about their increasingly powerful capabilities, while raising concerns that machines will soon be doing most of our jobs. Yet it is not true that AI will soon replace human expertise.^1,2 Instead, for the foreseeable future, if we are to realize value-based payment,³ achieve the quadruple aim,⁴ and establish learning health systems,⁵ then pharmacists’ expertise will have to be complemented by AI in ways that lead to more informed medication-use decisions and better outcomes.⁶

The challenge for chief pharmacy officers and other pharmacy leaders is to discover how to apply the technologies of AI in ways that reveal new patterns in health data that actually matter in practice. Can AI assist us to improve patient experiences and health outcomes, upgrade population health, reduce costs, and better inform pharmacists and other providers? These are the things that truly matter. Using AI to assist pharmacists will not be as easy as the hype about AI and its power suggest.⁷