Integrating Artificial Intelligence into Automated Pharmacy Dispensing: Opportunities and Public Health Implications: A Mini-Review
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Abstract
The global healthcare system is going through a big evolution in technological innovation. These evolvements include the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into the pharmaceutical sector. These changes have shaped the shape of traditional pharmacy practice and services, especially AI-powered automated dispensing systems (ADSs) such as pharmacy vending machines, which have a huge potential in improving accessibility to medications, particularly in remote areas. ADSs have the potential to improve accuracy, reduce medication errors, and optimize inventory. These systems, when integrated with AI algorithms, can provide up-to-date features such as user-specific recommendations for medications and other health products, ID verification for controlled drugs, and real-time inventory management, in addition to the integration with patient medical records. Furthermore, AI-enabled symptom checkers and chatbots embedded in such systems can help patients and users in self-assessing minor illnesses and injuries and selecting the suitable over-the-counter medications without direct pharmacist involvement. This review article surveys and explores the current state, opportunities, and challenges of integrating AI into automated pharmacy dispensing systems. It examines their impact on public health outcomes and provides recommendations for safe, ethical, and effective implementation.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Mazin S. Matar, M. Pharm, Ahmed Abdelrahman Hassan Osman, B. Pharm, Yasir S. Kheir, PhD, Bashir A. Yousef, PhD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Creative Commons License All articles published in Annals of Medicine and Medical Sciences are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Bashir A. Yousef, PhD, Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Ibn Sina National College for Medical Studies, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan.
Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Ibn Sina National College for Medical Studies, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan.
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