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EAI and Machine Learning in LTC Pharmacy (ft. Shelly Spiro) | FrameworkFocus™

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How AI Offers Solutions to LTC Pharmacy Challenges

In an all-new episode of Framework Focus, the podcast dedicated to Long-Term Care Pharmacy, we welcome Shelly Spiro for an exciting conversation with host Mark Fulton, PharmD. Shelly Spiro is the Executive Director of the Pharmacy Health Information Technology Collaborative. She joins the podcast to explore enterprise application integration (EAI) and machine learning in the ever-evolving world of LTC Pharmacy.

Shelly shared her unique entry into the world of pharmacy and her career journey that has brought her to where she is today.

“I didn’t even know what a pharmacist was growing up at all,” Spiro noted. “I taught chemistry to a colleague (that was) working at Walgreens… and he told me I should go into pharmacy.”

Shelly and Mark start the conversation by exploring the unique challenges facing LTC pharmacies and how artificial intelligence (AI) offers solutions.

“As clinicians and especially as pharmacists, we have a responsibility to ensure the technology we are using is safe and effective for our patients,” Spiro said.

Spiro mentioned several things to watch out for when it comes to AI in pharmacies but also noted that there are many ways to help the pharmacist using this technology.

“There are really good things to make pharmacists more productive,” Spiro added. “But there are safeguards we have to put in place for safety, fairness, and population bias.”

Later in this discussion, the pair discuss how pharmacies can ensure data security and privacy with AI integration. They explain barriers to adoption and ways to streamline implementation. Finally, they delve into AI's role in facilitating collaboration in healthcare and ethical considerations in AI-driven decision-making.

“Someone on your pharmacy team needs to be working closely with your system vendor,” Spiro said. “Workflow is the key. You have to understand and evaluate your workflow before you can apply artificial intelligence.”

In addition to the player above, you can also listen to the full episode using one of the links below:

Framework Focus is the first-ever podcast focused exclusively on Long Term Care Pharmacy. We release a new episode on the second Wednesday of every month that addresses the hottest topics in LTC pharmacy through timely interviews with industry trailblazers, thought leaders, and LTC pharmacists. Follow and subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen so you do not miss an upcoming episode.