Session overview

Digital technologies are transforming every sector of pharmacy, from community and hospital practice to manufacturing, distribution and patient care. Electronic prescribing, automation, robotics, digital therapeutics, artificial intelligence, predictive analytics and connected health systems are creating new opportunities to improve patient outcomes, operational efficiency and medication safety. However, technology alone cannot achieve meaningful healthcare transformation without professional oversight, ethical governance and human-centred decision-making.

This plenary session will explore current digital innovations and technologies being implemented across the pharmaceutical sector and their impact on healthcare delivery.

The session will conclude with a thought-provoking presentation on how artificial intelligence, digital health, and emerging technologies may fundamentally reshape healthcare and pharmacy practice, prompting pharmacists to reflect on their evolving roles, embrace new opportunities, and reimagine their future contributions to patient care in a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Understand the current and emerging digital technologies transforming pharmacy practice across community, hospital, manufacturing and other healthcare settings.
• Evaluate the opportunities and risks associated with artificial intelligence, automation, and digital health technologies across pharmaceutical care and healthcare delivery.
• Examine the evolving role of pharmacists in a technology-enabled healthcare environment and identify the skills required for future practice.
• Explore strategies to ensure that innovation is implemented responsibly through ethical governance, human-centred decision-making and patient-focused care.

Key Takeaways for Delegates

• Digital transformation is reshaping every stage of the healthcare and pharmaceutical value chain, from medicine development and manufacturing to prescribing, dispensing and patient monitoring.
• Artificial intelligence and emerging technologies have the potential to improve efficiency, safety, access and patient outcomes, but they require appropriate oversight and governance.
• Pharmacists who embrace digital innovation, lifelong learning and new models of care will be best placed to remain relevant and create value in future healthcare systems.
• The greatest opportunities will arise from collaboration among healthcare professionals, technology developers, industry, regulators and patients.