AI in Pharmacy Standards and Drug Supply Chain Upgrades | TWIRx

AI in Pharmacy Standards and Drug Supply Chain Upgrades This Week in Pharmacy — July 17, 2026

 

Artificial intelligence and supply chain modernization are reshaping pharmacy practice, patient access, and healthcare operations.

 

In this episode of This Week in Pharmacy, host Todd Eury speaks with leaders from URAC and Cencora about responsible AI adoption and the growing gap between drug availability and real-world access.

 

Guests

 

Shawn Griffin, MD President and CEO, URAC

 

Brent Wilhelm Senior Vice President, Global Supply Chain Center of Excellence, Cencora

 

Tim Weber Pharmacy Operations and Regulatory Executive

 

AI is already supporting clinical documentation, patient communication, risk prediction, and workflow automation. URAC President and CEO Shawn Griffin, MD, explains why healthcare organizations need clear governance, defined accountability, human oversight, and continuous monitoring before deploying AI at scale.

 

The discussion addresses transparency, performance evaluation, bias, data integrity, cybersecurity, and the role accreditation standards may play in promoting safe and responsible AI adoption.

 

• Governance and accountability for AI outputs
• Human review of AI-supported decisions
• Monitoring safety, accuracy, and bias
• The role of accreditation in AI oversight
• Balancing innovation with patient protection

 

Drug Availability Versus Patient Access

 

Brent Wilhelm of Cencora discusses why a medication may exist somewhere in the supply chain but still remain difficult for providers to obtain.

 

Dosage limitations, delivery timing, ordering complexity, reimbursement barriers, cold-chain requirements, and site-of-care restrictions can all delay patient access.

 

Wilhelm explains why the industry must look beyond inventory levels and focus on whether providers can obtain the correct therapy, at the right location, when the patient needs it.

 

• Inventory visibility versus actual access
• Differences across pharmacies and sites of care
• Specialty and temperature-sensitive therapies
• Provider demand forecasting
• Reducing delays, shortages, and waste

 

Tim Weber adds the pharmacy operations and regulatory viewpoint, discussing inventory planning, compliance, product tracing, reimbursement, and patient fulfillment.

 

The conversation highlights the need for better coordination among manufacturers, distributors, pharmacies, health systems, payers, and regulators.