Health Economics, Department of Accounting, Finance & Economics, Bournemouth, UK.
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Res Social Adm Pharm. 2020 Sep;16(9):1279-1281. doi: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2019.04.003. Epub 2019 Apr 16.
The industrial world is at the beginning of a Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). This era will radically change the human use of technology, with major implications for the ways people live and work. This commentary asks: will 4IR change pharmacy practice? The first three revolutions created the pharmaceutical industry and gave pharmacists a near-monopoly over drug supply. 4IR could do the opposite and create alternative, non-pharmaceutical means of treating patients as well reducing the involvement in medicines supply. If the pharmacy sector becomes stuck in traditional, linear thinking that assumes the future will be an extension of the past, then the fourth revolution may be less of an opportunity and more of a threat. The sector faces the "innovator's dilemma" when responding to 4IR. Should the pharmacy profession disrupt their current activities in order to: (i) do things better, (ii) do new things, and (iii) deter competition? To maintain its position in the medical marketplace, pharmacy needs to discover how to work with AI, robotics, IoT, autonomous vehicles, 3-D printing, nanotechnology, biotechnology, materials science, energy storage, and quantum computing. If the new game is understood, pharmacists may become the playmaster of tomorrow. If not, then the practice of pharmacy may be replaced by innovative new ways of meeting patient pharmaceutical needs.
工业界正处于第四次工业革命（4IR）的开端。这个时代将彻底改变人类使用技术的方式，对人们的生活和工作方式产生重大影响。本评论探讨：4IR 是否会改变药学实践？前三次革命创造了制药行业，并使药剂师对药品供应享有近乎垄断的地位。4IR 可能会产生相反的效果，创造出替代的、非药物的治疗患者的方法，并减少药品供应的参与。如果药房部门陷入传统的、线性的思维，假设未来将是过去的延伸，那么第四次革命可能不是机遇，而是更大的威胁。该行业在应对 4IR 时面临“创新者的困境”。为了：(i) 做得更好，(ii) 做新的事情，以及 (iii) 阻止竞争，药房专业应该扰乱当前的活动吗？为了在医疗市场中保持地位，药房需要了解如何与人工智能、机器人技术、物联网、自动驾驶汽车、3D 打印、纳米技术、生物技术、材料科学、储能和量子计算合作。如果理解了新的游戏规则，药剂师可能会成为明天的游戏主宰者。否则，那么满足患者药物需求的实践可能会被创新的新方法所取代。
