Central Intelligence
It’s likely that artificial intelligence is the most transformational technological development many people will see in their lifetime.
To my mind, only the creation of the world wide web or the development of the mobile phone is equal. (Y2K created more dooms-day prep hysteria, but that’s neither here nor there) What’s even scarier is that we’ve probably only scratched the surface of what artificial intelligence can do.
The healthcare industry—retailers and suppliers—is now grappling with and sorting out all the ways artificial intelligence could revolutionize their back-of-house business, supply chain and their interface with healthcare customers or those on the front end.
For our cover story this month, industry watchers, consultants and analysts predict and explore all the potential ways the technology could be used to make life easier, free up time for pharmacists and create efficiencies for staff.
In our reporting, we found that retailers are implementing AI-powered solutions in everything from chatbots that help provide customer service to data analytics tools that assist in category management.
“In retail pharmacies specifi cally, analysts expect that AI and machine learning will increasingly be used to automate tasks such as processing prescriptions and refill requests, and to analyze patient data to identify potential drug interactions and dosage errors,” our reporter writes. “Other AI applications could be used to help retailers provide support for medication adherence by generating automated follow-up messages, for example.”
But it’s not all sunshine. AI implementation also raises issues that retailers must consider. Data quality is one, but privacy and security concerns are paramount. Retailers also must think about ethical considerations related to bias and transparency. Finally, talent shortages, legacy system integration and cost concerns are issues that should be addressed.
The risks may be worth it, though experts say brands need to tread carefully. “Retailers need to understand their business needs, rather than chase AI for AI’s sake, and then find the right tool to help them,” one source told us. That help could be pivotal to future success.
