At McKesson ideaShare 2025, pharmacy owners Raj Chhadua, PharmD, of ReNue Apothecary in Texas, and Marc Ost, CPhT, co-owner of Eric’s Rx Shoppe in Pennsylvania, shared how artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept—it’s a present-day solution helping independent pharmacies overcome staffing shortages, reduce administrative burdens, and operate more efficiently.
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Chhadua also operates a call center hub that supports fertility clinics across the US. For him, AI wasn’t just a nice-to-have innovation—it was a necessity. “The biggest thing that prompted [us] to get into AI was technician shortages…[we] need to use staff optimally,” he said.
Chhadua has been using automation and early AI tools for about 3 years. In the fertility space, their hub ingests prescriptions and uses AI to clean them up and push them through the process from submission to verification. This AI system now handles roughly 60% of their prescription volume. More recently, Chhadua has explored how AI can enhance the patient experience through their interactive voice response (IVR) system, which can move beyond basic phone interactions and offer chatbot-style conversations, enabling patients to confirm refills or be notified when additional prescriptions are ready.
He emphasized that implementing these tools took time and learning, but the system continues to improve. When selecting vendors, Chhadua evaluates whether they have in-depth pharmacy knowledge, whether their tools reduce at least 60% to 80% of administrative or nonjudgmental tasks, and whether they can assist with common burdens such as prior authorizations. He noted, “If [the vendor] can hit all 3 of those areas and it’s fair and consistent in the pricing, we’re ready to engage with them and go down that route.”
He advised peers to learn the basics of AI and terminology for themselves, saying, “I’m no expert in this; I had to force myself to dive in.”
Ost has also seen AI transform operations in his community pharmacy and long-term care practice. Since the pandemic, his pharmacy has been recognized for its vaccine services and continues to seek out ways to improve efficiency and reimbursement processes.
Ost partnered with a company offering AI-powered medical billing tools that can explain remittance, show what it means, and offer solutions for correction. The platform also indicates where a claim should be submitted to help ensure payment. Ost started using AI in simple ways, such as generating flyers with ChatGPT for vaccine clinic promotion. He found that results improved when more details were provided, saying, “It really can create a lot of useful stuff and it’s saved a lot of cost on design, just being able to use this software.”
He also uses AI for fact-checking and general administrative tasks but is careful to avoid medical uses, recognizing that the information isn’t always accurate and the need for compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Ost discussed the balance between using AI efficiently while maintaining personal service, noting that he and his co-owner have different approaches—he’s more technology-driven, while his partner is more traditional.
Ost encouraged pharmacy teams to think about how different populations—particularly older adults—might respond to AI tools like chatbots. He also pointed out that AI systems improve with more use and training, saying, “AI is adaptive; the more you can teach it the better it’ll be.”
For those just getting started, Ost recommended small steps, such as subscribing to a note-taking platform that can enhance communication. Chhadua and Ost’s experiences underscore how independent pharmacies can strategically adopt AI—not to replace the human touch, but to extend it.