A REVIEW ARTICLE ON ROLE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN PHARMACY PRACTICE

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing pharmacy practice by enhancing efficiency, accuracy, and personalized patient care. This review evaluates the integration of AI tools such as IBM Watson, Medisafe, ScriptPro, and BenevolentAI into various pharmaceutical functions, including drug discovery, medication management, clinical decision support, pharmacovigilance, and inventory systems. AI applications in pharmacy contribute to optimizing operations by automating prescription verification, predicting medication adherence, minimizing dispensing errors, and enabling real-time inventory control. In drug development, AI accelerates the identification of potential candidates and repurposes existing drugs, as demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, AI supports personalized medicine by analyzing genetic data and tailoring treatments to individual patient profiles. Clinical decision support systems assist pharmacists by identifying drug interactions, contraindications, and suggesting evidence-based therapies. Despite these advances, the deployment of AI faces challenges such as data privacy, system integration, algorithm reliability, and ethical concerns, including accountability and potential workforce displacement. This review emphasizes that AI should complement—not replace—pharmacists, enhancing their capacity to provide informed, patient-centric services. Additionally, the use of large-scale pharmacy databases (WHO, FDA, IQVIA) for training AI models further strengthens its clinical utility. The results demonstrate that AI holds transformative potential in pharmacy, ensuring improved healthcare delivery, reducing adverse drug reactions, and promoting personalized treatment approaches. To fully harness AI, pharmacists must embrace digital tools, undergo adequate training, and adapt to evolving regulatory frameworks. As AI technology advances, its thoughtful and ethical integration will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of pharmaceutical care.