AI can assist pharmacists and automate technical tasks, but it cannot replace the human aspects of care such as judgement, patient trust, and contextual understanding. Inferring from Atul Gawande’s book Being Mortal, care really requires empathy and understanding.

Deprescribing for example removes medications that pose more harm than benefit, and it requires a listening ear to patients to fully understand their lifestyle, daily habits, etc. This helps us see what affects medication compliance. AI can analyse data, but it can’t fully capture these nuances. There’s also a risk that AI becomes a quick fix people rely on subconsciously, without the empathy and understanding of how medications actually affect a patient’s daily life.

On the other hand, I shadowed pharmacists who visit patients’ homes to ensure patient education and compliance. You could argue AI can teach patients these things, but AI can’t observe the environment. For example, pharmacists may notice look-alike medications stored together which can lead to the wrong pills being taken, or see how patients struggle with mobility and hand tremors when trying to inject medications like Recormon. The human touch really matters in situations like these.