Understanding Agentic AI in Pharmacy
What It Means and How It Works
Introduction
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming an integral part of many industries, and pharmacy is no exception. From managing prescriptions to improving patient care, AI has the potential to revolutionize the way pharmacies operate. One specific type of AI that is gaining traction is agentic AI — a powerful tool that can act autonomously to perform tasks and make decisions. But what exactly does this mean for pharmacists, and how could it impact the future of the profession?
In this blog, we'll break down the concept of agentic AI and explore its relevance to pharmacy, providing simple explanations and real-life examples to show how it could benefit both pharmacists and patients.
1. What is Agentic AI?
Agentic AI refers to AI systems designed to carry out tasks or make decisions independently, without requiring continuous human intervention. Think of it as a type of AI that functions like an "agent"—an entity that can autonomously take actions to achieve a specific goal or solve a problem.
For example, an agentic AI in a pharmacy might be responsible for tasks such as data entry, where it automatically inputs patient information and prescription details into the pharmacy system, reducing the chances of human error. It could also handle answering frequently asked questions about the pharmacy's hours, locations, or services, providing patients with quick and accurate responses without the need for staff involvement. Additionally, agentic AI could assist in completing medication reconciliation by reviewing a patient's current medications, cross-referencing them with their prescription history, and flagging any discrepancies or potential issues — all without the pharmacist having to manually check every detail.
2. Why Agentic AI is So Powerful
What makes agentic AI so powerful is its ability to automate entire workflows, meaning it can handle complex tasks and coordinate across multiple systems without requiring humans to manually trigger each action. Traditional automation usually involves a set of predefined tasks that happen in a linear sequence, often needing human input to move to the next step. Agentic AI, on the other hand, is designed to understand and execute tasks in a more dynamic and interconnected way.
For instance, in a pharmacy, agentic AI can seamlessly manage multiple interdependent workflows — such as coordinating with PBMs, prescribers, and patients — automatically taking the next logical step based on the information it receives. Whether it's processing a claim after prior authorization approval or following up with patients after detecting a potential issue, agentic AI anticipates what needs to happen next, ensuring that workflows are completed efficiently and without delay. This self-sufficiency saves time, reduces errors, and allows pharmacists to focus on more critical, patient-centered tasks.
3. Why Should Pharmacies Care About Agentic AI?
Pharmacists play a crucial role in patient care, and agentic AI offers several ways to make their jobs more efficient. By automating routine tasks, agentic AI can help pharmacists focus more on the aspects of care that require their professional expertise, such as patient counseling and clinical decision-making.
Here are a few key reasons why pharmacists should pay attention to agentic AI:
Efficiency: With agentic AI handling routine tasks, pharmacists can spend more time engaging with patients and providing personalized care.
Error Reduction: AI systems can handle tasks like prescription verification and drug interaction checks with a high degree of accuracy, reducing the chances of human error.
Cost Savings: Automation can lead to significant cost savings by streamlining pharmacy operations and improving workflow.
Personalized Care: By analyzing data from patient records, AI can help tailor medication regimens to suit individual patient needs, improving clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction.
4. Real-Life Examples of Agentic AI in Pharmacy
Now that we understand the basics of agentic AI, let’s look at how it might work in a real pharmacy setting:
Automated Data Entry: Imagine an agentic AI that autonomously handles data entry in the pharmacy’s system. It could input patient information, prescription details, and medical histories automatically, minimizing human error and ensuring the data is accurately recorded for future use.
Automated Prior Authorization Follow-ups: Agentic AI can streamline the often tedious process of prior authorization by automatically reaching out to Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) to check on the status of claims processing. Once the AI gathers information about any issues with the claim, it can autonomously follow up with the prescriber and the patient to discuss alternatives, out-of-pocket costs, potential appeals, or manufacturer coupons — without the pharmacist needing to intervene or guide the AI on the next steps.
Automated Inventory Management: Agentic AI could help automate inventory management by tracking medication stock levels, predicting future demand, and ordering supplies as needed — all without human oversight. This ensures that the pharmacy never runs out of stock for essential medications.
Automated Proactive Patient Follow-ups for Treatment Efficacy: Agentic AI can be used to proactively follow up with patients to assess the efficacy of their medications and identify any side effects based on the information it knows about their treatment plan. By asking follow-up questions and analyzing the patient’s responses, the AI can gather actionable insights about the patient's experience. These insights can then be used to suggest adjustments to the treatment plan, ensuring better care and outcomes, all without requiring pharmacist intervention at every step.
5. Ethical Considerations & Challenges
While the benefits of agentic AI are significant, it’s important to consider some of the ethical and practical challenges that come with it:
Automation vs. Human Oversight: How much autonomy should agentic AI have, and at what point should human pharmacists intervene? There needs to be a balance between AI's efficiency and the pharmacist's expertise.
Data Privacy & Security: As AI systems rely on vast amounts of patient data, ensuring the privacy and security of that data is crucial. Pharmacists and AI developers must adhere to strict regulations to protect patient information.
6. The Future of Agentic AI in Pharmacy
It’s clear that agentic AI will play an increasingly key role in pharmacy in the future. Pharmacists may find themselves working more closely with AI systems, leveraging their ability to handle routine tasks while focusing on complex clinical decisions and patient care.
In the coming years, we can expect more pharmacies to adopt agentic AI systems, leading to greater efficiency, better patient outcomes, and a shift in the pharmacist's role towards more clinical, patient-centered activities.
Conclusion
Agentic AI is an exciting advancement in the field of pharmacy. By automating tasks and making decisions autonomously, it has the potential to transform pharmacy operations, reduce errors, and improve patient care. While there are still challenges to overcome, including ethical considerations and the need for human oversight, the future looks promising.
Pharmacists should stay informed about these emerging technologies and explore how they can leverage AI to enhance their practices and provide better care for their patients.
Are you ready to explore how agentic AI can benefit your pharmacy practice? Pharmesol specializes in developing agentic AI assistants for pharmacy teams to automate repetitive tasks. Stay ahead of the curve and learn more about the tools and technologies that can help you provide better care and improve your workflow.
Schedule a meeting with Pharmesol today: https://cal.com/pharmesol-team/intro