The role of artificial intelligence in emergency medicine pharmacy practice

This primer aims to serve as a foundational resource on artificial intelligence (AI) for pharmacists practicing in the emergency department (ED).

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly recognized for its potential to transform healthcare, including emergency medicine (EM) and pharmacy practice. AI applications in EM include diagnostic evaluation, risk stratification, resource optimization, and therapeutic decision-making. AI's role in improving triage, diagnostics, and resource utilization in the emergency setting is discussed along with its application in the medication-use process, from prescribing to monitoring. Despite the promise of AI, significant barriers such as factual inaccuracies, ethical concerns, and data transparency prevent the widespread clinical adoption of AI tools. Challenges such as racial bias, data privacy, model transparency, and the phenomenon of hallucinations in large language model outputs are highlighted as critical considerations. AI's future success in EM will depend on responsible integration, guided by clinicians including pharmacists, and a careful consideration of ethical issues and patient-specific values.

Pharmacists practicing in the ED should be familiar with AI tools and should understand the importance of their role in the development, implementation, and oversight of these tools to ensure safe, effective, and equitable patient care.