Systematic Review:The opportunities and challenges for digital health in pharmacy practice

Abstract

Background: Digital health technologies, including tele pharmacy, artificial intelligence (AI), mHealth, and electronic health records (EHRs), have all started to alter pharmacy practice by improving medication safety, adherence, workflow, and patient care. However, the unique impacts and challenges of these technologies in pharmacy practice necessitate more exploration. Objectives: The current systematic review explores the effectiveness of digital health interventions in pharmacy practice using evidence from recent studies. Method: A systematic review was performed on 50 studies published from 2019 to 2024, each assessing different digital health tools in pharmacy. Studies sourced from databases such as CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Primary outcomes included medication safety improvements, better clinical decision making, and operational factors like workflow efficiency and patient engagement. Results: Overall, the interventions yielded significant improvements in pharmacy practice activities among the surveyed 50 studies. Tele pharmacy service and AI - based decision support tools advanced medication, patient safety and care services over older technologies. On the contrary, key challenges identified included: issues of data privacy, regulations and standards, required infrastructure and IT support systems for tele pharmacy and AI - based technology systems, within underserved locations or lower - resourced pharmacy settings. Conclusion: The current systematic review concluded that while digital health technologies improve accessibility and medication management, addressing issues like regulatory limits and data security is critical for realizing their full potential. While digital health has shown promise, there is still a need for more research to demonstrate its effectiveness in pharmacy practice, especially regarding long-term patient outcomes.