'Dispensing is dying': A look at the future of pharmacy

By the year 2030, pharmacists' jobs will likely have little to do with dispensing drugs and much more to do with clinical outcomes, pharmacy leaders told Drug Topics.

Automation, robots and software can probably dispense drugs faster and more accurately, Michael Rea, PharmD, founder of medication therapy management firm Rx Savings, told Drug Topics

"Dispensing is dying,” Becky Winslow, PharmD, senior pharmacogenomics specialist at Admera Health in Plainfield, N.J., told Drug Topics. "I was a pharmacy manager for Walmart 21 years ago and started plotting my way out within two years. I could see the business model just wasn’t sustainable."

In the next 10 years, the pharmacy industry will likely transform from dispensing a product to providing personalized treatment focused on improving clinical outcomes, the pharmacy leaders predicted. 

If pharmacists were able to be more involved with patients, that could have a significant impact on lowering their total cost of care,  Kurt Proctor, PhD, RPh, senior vice president of strategic initiatives for the National Community Pharmacists Association, told Drug Topics

Patients are likely to be motivated to use pharmacies that prove they can improve patient outcomes, the pharmacists said. 

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