Amazon's Pharmacy: Fast, AI-Powered Care

Amazon Pharmacy is employing artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the efficiency of its prescription fulfilment procedure, resulting in same-day delivery of medications for customers in specific urban areas. This AI technology automates tasks that previously consumed pharmacists’ considerable time, reducing them to mere minutes or even seconds. This allows pharmacists to focus on their core duties and offer improved patient care, as stated by Kelvin Downes, the Director of Fulfillment for Amazon Pharmacy.

Downes stressed that AI is not meant to replace pharmacists but rather to empower them. By alleviating administrative burdens, pharmacists can devote their attention to critical aspects, ensuring patients receive accurate medication and a satisfactory experience. Upholding patient safety as a top priority, Downes reassured that each prescription undergoes a thorough verification process by a licensed pharmacist before leaving the fulfillment centre, guaranteeing accuracy in medication, dosage, quantity, and address information.

In support of prescription medication drone delivery, Amazon Pharmacy and Prime Air collaborated to establish a novel fulfillment process for expedited delivery. Integration between the pharmacy and fulfillment centre allows the pharmacy team to evaluate new prescriptions clinically, dispense medication, and swiftly hand over a single package for drone delivery. Notably, an order was processed and delivered via drone in just 53 minutes.

Downes explained developing a new fulfilment system by incorporating a fully licensed pharmacy into existing logistics operations and smaller sites. Utilizing AI on the back end, alongside automation and new micromobility technologies on the front end, prescription medication processing time is substantially reduced.

The integration of robotic arms facilitates the filling, labeling, and dispatching of prescriptions for pharmacist inspection in as little as 30 seconds, a process that would typically take manual handlers at least three minutes. This is particularly evident in the new small-format pharmacies that enable same-day delivery in an increasing number of cities.

Source: Inputs from various media Sources