Role of the Pharmacist in Supporting the Use of Connected Health Devices: Example of Connected Watches

The use of Connected Medical Devices (CMDs) is growing significantly throughout the world. Although they are not dispensed in pharmacies and are not part of the pharmacy-only drug dispensing system, clinical pharmacists must be able to support patients in the use of these new technologies, which are central to their care. The aim of this study is to identify the role of the community pharmacist in supporting patients who use CMDs, using the case of connected watches in electrophysiology. Semi-structured interviews were conducted between 15 February and 20 April 2024 by a pharmacy student. The questionnaires were drafted in collaboration with a pharmacist, a cardiac electrophysiologist, a methodologist specializing in the evaluation of medical devices, and an ethical philosopher specializing in the support and acceptability of new technologies. The aim of these questionnaires was to study the use of connected watches and support for patients who own them. A total of 4 cardiac electrophysiologists and 10 cardiac electrophysiology patients were interviewed, and then 6 pharmacists were also questioned about the roles identified by physicians and patients. This study identified a major need on the part of specialist physicians for clinical pharmacist support in helping patients use connected watches. Patients expressed a high level of confidence in their pharmacists to support them, and in the motivation of pharmacists' ability to take up these challenges. A number of challenges remain, such as the effective integration of this support into pharmacy practice, remuneration, and the organization of collaboration between clinical pharmacists and hospital electrophysiologists.