The IPU attended the Pharmacy Show in Birmingham in October to explore emerging technologies, meet suppliers and consider how developments elsewhere could support community pharmacy in Ireland. Bringing together an exhibition and educational programme, the show provides a valuable opportunity to see new solutions in action and discuss the practical challenges facing pharmacy teams.

Of particular interest were digital solutions designed to support the growing clinical role of community pharmacists. As pharmacies deliver a broader range of services, the systems supporting them need to help manage consultations, capture relevant clinical information and communicate with patients and other healthcare professionals, while keeping administration to a minimum.

Several platforms demonstrated how different stages of a patient’s journey could be brought together: booking an appointment, completing information in advance, attending a consultation and receiving follow-up reminders. Others offered tools for documenting assessments, supporting clinical pathways, generating referrals and maintaining consultation records. The potential value for pharmacies lies in making these activities easier to manage within an already busy working day.

A recurring consideration was integration with existing patient medication record (PMR) systems. A platform may offer useful functionality, but its value is limited if pharmacy teams must enter the same information into several systems. For Irish pharmacies, the priority is to ensure that new tools fit into existing workflows, make relevant information available when needed and reduce duplication.

Artificial intelligence also featured in a number of demonstrations, including tools intended to assist with consultation notes, patient communications and administrative tasks. These developments offer possibilities for reducing routine work. Their usefulness will depend on how reliably they perform, how patient information is protected and how effectively pharmacists can review and oversee their outputs.

The educational sessions provided an equally useful perspective. A session on clinical governance and prescribing highlighted the preparation needed to introduce services safely and consistently. Clear clinical pathways, appropriate records, staff competence, access to professional support and well-designed workflows were recurring themes. For Ireland, the value lies in considering these lessons alongside our own professional, regulatory and service requirements.

Discussions also extended to dispensing automation, pharmacy operations and the use of reliable product information across different applications. Together, these developments illustrated how technology can support both clinical care and the everyday running of a pharmacy.

Not every solution demonstrated was suitable for the Irish market, and some suppliers were focused exclusively on the UK. However, attending provided an opportunity to explain the needs of Irish community pharmacy, establish contacts and identify products that merit further discussion or demonstration.

The value of the Pharmacy Show is in seeing what is becoming possible and considering how it could address the challenges members face. The central question remains practical: will a solution help pharmacy teams deliver safe, efficient care and free up more time for patients? We will explore this further in the December/January edition of the IPU Review, with a dedicated feature on digital solutions and working practices, looking at how pharmacies can use these tools to streamline workflows, reduce administration and create more time for clinical services and patient care.