Looking forward to 2024, the pharmaceutical panorama is poised to bear transformative, technology-driven adjustments.
Automation is anticipated to be one of many prime pharmaceutical expertise developments subsequent yr. Automating mundane duties means pharmacists can have extra time to care for his or her sufferers and may focus their consideration on actions which are extra complicated and require their experience. Automation additionally improves accuracy as a result of it eliminates handbook errors and may course of massive quantities of knowledge rapidly.
Robotics can be anticipated to be a significant pattern in 2024. Pharmaceutical robots can be utilized to enhance accuracy and effectivity, as they’re able to rapidly fill prescriptions and detect errors. This expertise may also help cut back wait occasions for sufferers, whereas offering correct medicine administration for pharmacists.
Using digital well being data (EHRs) is anticipated to turn into widespread in 2024. As a result of EHRs retailer all affected person data in a digital format, it’s simpler for pharmacists to entry and share information with different well being care suppliers. It additionally eliminates paperwork and reduces the necessity for handbook entry, which may result in fewer errors. By implementing EHRs, pharmacies might be higher ready to offer high quality care to their sufferers.
Level-of-care testing (POCT) may even be a significant pattern in 2024. POCT permits pharmacists to rapidly and precisely diagnose illnesses, similar to diabetes or HIV, permitting them to offer sooner therapy choices . POCT can be turning into more and more cost-effective, permitting pharmacists to offer extra companies to their sufferers.
Then there’s wearable expertise, which is anticipated to turn into extra distinguished in 2024. Wearable units can monitor a affected person’s important indicators and medicine consumption, alerting them to any potential issues or opposed reactions to drugs. This information can be utilized by pharmacists to offer higher care and monitor the effectiveness of therapies. Wearable units are additionally handy for sufferers as a result of they are often worn all through their every day lives.
Larry King, Pharm.D., director of product security and efficiency at Surescripts, which has greater than 60,000 pharmacies linked to its community with greater than 2.34 billion digital prescriptions stuffed utilizing this expertise in 2022 alone.
“Creating efficiencies by eliminating time-consuming telephone calls and faxes for clinicians and connecting pharmacists with physicians to strengthen affected person care groups is turning into more and more vital,” he stated. “Surescripts expertise helps simplify the sharing of scientific data and instruments similar to Surescripts Scientific Direct Messaging will assist shut gaps in care by enabling clinicians to reliably ship and obtain data, similar to vaccination data, in a number of care collaboration situations inside their current workflows.
Jason Gasper, chief business officer at OrderInsite, which supplies pharmacists with expertise and data to raised handle and monitor prescription drug inventories, famous that the pharmaceutical business continues to evolve and that is anticipated to proceed till 2024, with extra pharmacists utilizing expertise, AI and machines. discover ways to assist automate processes, inform decision-making and drive efficiencies.
“One of many greatest challenges pharmacies will proceed to face is the affect of GLP-1 medicine on GCR (Generic Compliance Ratio),” he stated. “GCR is influenced by quite a lot of components, together with prescriber preferences and market developments. With the inflow of GLP-1 drugs obtainable and continued drug shortages, pharmacists ought to reexamine GCR to find out buying methods and consider the profitability of their pharmacy’s choices throughout the broader context of their relationships with pharmaceutical wholesalers .
Susanne Casper, CEO of Linnea SA, a world producer of lively pharmaceutical components (APIs), famous that new applied sciences are serving to to make botanical extracts more practical and accessible for quite a lot of purposes.
“Nanoencapsulation is a promising expertise to enhance the supply of lively components from botanical extracts,” she stated. “It includes encapsulating the lively components in a nanoscale service, which may defend them from degradation and enhance their absorption within the physique.”
As we enter 2024, pharmacies can have further selections in the case of drug returns as new rivals enter the market. This might assist pharmacies by way of negotiating energy over contracts; nonetheless, this comes with elevated complexity to successfully handle these contracts.
