European community pharmacists consider new, innovative and automated technologies a useful tool to support and complement their expert professional advice to patients and to deliver more efficient, sustainable and high-quality pharmacy services.

Community pharmacists have the infrastructure and expertise to deploy Big Data and AI in practice: they already use digital services on a daily basis (e.g. dispensing ePrescription, checking for medication interactions via Electronic Health Records, promoting adherence via mobile apps) to provide better care and monitor patients’ conditions.

The PGEU Position paper published today outlines the main opportunities and challenges of the digital transformation in healthcare.

PGEU Secretary General, Ilaria Passarani, stated:

“To maximise the benefits of Big Data & AI in healthcare it is necessary to involve community pharmacists as experienced users of digital health tools in the formulation of digital policies at local, national and European level as well as in the development of guidelines and methods on the sharing of Big data”.

“It is also important to facilitate the production of Big Data in healthcare, ensuring interoperability and linking electronic health records with e-Prescribing systems. Community pharmacists should be allowed to update electronic health records, if needed, to identify and address potential medication and patient safety-related issues. AI should be used also to enhance collaboration among health professionals serving the same patients and to promote the integration of primary care systems”.