The digitalization of healthcare, now widespread and now essential even following the Covid-19 pandemic, allows us to save an increasing number of lives: from this point the report of the digital education of pharmacists, “digital health in pharmacy education – Developing a digitally enabled pharmaceutical workforce”. The results of research conducted in universities around the world underline how the adoption of technological and digital tools by healthcare organizations, including pharmacies, has enhanced healthcare and revolutionized clinical practices, allowing better work on diagnoses, therapies, disease monitoring and management, from dematerialized recipes to wearable devices retail pharmacy computer systems.
The “digital” revolution of healthcare
Pharmacies, as an integral part of the healthcare system, are at the heart of the digital healthcare revolution. For this they must adapt, specialize and equip themselves with all the technologies and skills necessary to offer citizens an effective and widespread integrated service. According education becomes the center of innovation for the profession. The document aims to frame pharmaceutical education and training schools to understand if they are in step with the times and if the programs are in line with digital demands.
Digital in pharmaceutical education
What emerges from the report is the lack, in many faculties and schools on a global scale, of programs related to healthcare digitalization, as well as in continuing post-graduate training courses, despite the awareness of schools, which are trying to integrate more and more digital programs. The main obstacle was the lack of experts and resources. However, pharmaceutical schools as well as faculties, students and pharmacists have expressed their willingness to have access to more lectures, courses and exercises. The consequence of this lack of digital education is the unfamiliarity of pharmacists and students with new digital health technologies, from bots to blockchains, from big data to telemedicine.
Digitization of pharmacies, the future passes through the faculties
To ensure that pharmacies, in hospitals or communities, evolve towards an ever greater digitization of processes, thus offering citizens efficient and life-saving services to investigate at a global level.
