AI Guided Care Plans Streamline Workflow and Improve Patient Care

Jay Patel, PharmD, has embraced the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in his business. Patel is the founder and CEO of Ivira Health, which includes 6 pharmacies, a specialty pharmacy licensed in 30 states, infusion centers, and a care coordination business. What began with a business plan to help patients living within a 15-mile radius has expanded far beyond his immediate community, and Ivira Health now provides a plethora of services beyond traditional pharmacy functions.

As Patel puts it, the integration of AI into his pharmacy business began by accident: A casual conversation with a friend about the challenges of AI turned into a more serious discussion about the issues with AI in the medical space, which led to the realization that AI would be well suited to help pharmacists develop care plans for patients using guideline-driven care.

Over 6 months, Patel and his team trained the AI to ensure it was working correctly. “We have a team of 4 pharmacists, all residency-trained or board certified, who were originally doing all of this work because they knew the guidelines, but the AI really helped to streamline their work,” Patel said. “It also helps bring in pieces of care that sometimes aren’t medication related, whether it be health and wellness [or] diet and exercise.”

In an interview with American Associated Pharmacies (AAP), Patel—an AAP member—dove into the “why” behind Patel’s embrace of AI, the ways that AI can help pharmacists be better health care providers, and what the future looks like for the role of AI in the pharmacy space.

“Now that we’ve done all the groundwork, we think [our AI software] a really easy, valuable tool for pharmacists to have available to them,” Patel said. “If there are thousands of independent pharmacies across the nation that are proving themselves to be valuable to physicians, to patients, and to insurance companies, then we’re well positioned in the future to get recognized as providers through Medicare and [the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services], and be able to really operate at the top of our license.”

Click here to learn more about the Ivira Care Compass portal.

This interview was sponsored by American Associated Pharmacies.