In 2025, global health stands at a crossroads. We have unprecedented tools; AI, telehealth, digital data, automation... and yet, disparities in access to quality care, drug availability, and health outcomes remain massive across continents. In Africa, Asia, and Latin America, vast populations are still left behind by innovation built elsewhere. Young pharmacy professionals are stepping into this moment with fresh ideas, technological fluency, and a passion for equity that can bridge these global divides.

Young pharmacy professionals, those of us entering this field now, are uniquely positioned to be drivers of transformation, not just participants in a system. We carry the science of medicine in our hands, the trust of communities in our voices, and the curiosity to build new systems in our minds. But to shape the future, we must shift how we see our role, invest in new skills, and lead with vision.

In this article, I share how I believe we should approach the road ahead: how we can move from dispensing medications to designing systems, from following trends to defining them, and how young pharmacists and pharmacy technicians can lead the next wave of global health innovation.

The Changing Landscape of Pharmacy

Pharmacy isn’t what it used to be. The traditional view of dispensing, compounding, pharmacy as a back-end in health systems is transforming.

• The FIP Global Situation Report 2025 calls for expanding pharmacists into new practice settings like digital health, telemedicine, patient monitoring, and public health roles.
• The FIP Early Career Strategic Plan 2023–2030 emphasizes that early-career pharmacists should be equipped to lead in science, education, practice, innovation, leadership and collaborate globally.
• Digital transformation in pharmacy is accelerating: AI, online platforms, machine learning, blockchain, and telepharmacy are already reshaping workflows, drug discovery, inventory systems, and patient care.
• In “Applications of AI in Pharmacy Practice,” researchers show how AI is being integrated into prescription verification, automated dispensing, forecasting, and even chatbots for patient care.

These developments are not in the distant future; they are happening now. If we don’t lean into them, we risk becoming obsolete. But if we embrace them, we can lead.

What Young Pharmacy Professionals Must Reimagine

To shape the future, our roles must evolve across five pillars: 

Reimagine Clinical & Community Practice

Pharmacists should move beyond pill dispensing. We should:

• Actively counsel patients, monitor adherence, detect drug interactions, and manage chronic diseases.
• Be part of primary care teams helping reduce pressure on doctors by managing medication regimens.
• Lead community health programs, vaccination drives, outreach, and preventive care.

This trend is supported by evidence: community-based pharmacists have shown they can reduce emergency visits, improve chronic disease outcomes, and optimize drug regimens in collaborative care settings.

Innovate Through Technology & AI

Young pharmacists must learn to wield technology as a tool, not just observe it.

• AI in drug discovery & repurposing: AI models can scan vast molecular libraries,predict drug-target interactions, and reduce trial timelines.
• Clinical decision support: AI tools can analyze patient records, flag potential issues(e.g. drug interactions), and suggest dosage adjustments. Pharmacists become interpreters of AI output.
• Supply chain & inventory: AI and blockchain can ensure valid medications, prevent counterfeits, and optimize logistics.
• Digital patient interface: Telepharmacy apps, automated reminders, AI chatbots, and virtual consultations will shift care delivery.
• Marketing & distribution: AI can optimize promotional targeting, segment patients, predict demand, and personalize outreach.

To lead, you don’t have to become a full ML engineer though that’s an option. Start by mastering AI tools, prompt engineering, no-code AI frameworks, and understanding how to embed AI into product design.

Build & Scale Startups

Pharmacy professionals must stop seeing innovation only in labs or clinics. We should build companies that scale, not just services that patch.

• Identify real pain points; why do patients miss drugs? Where are supply chain gaps? Which rural clinics lack diagnostic support?
• Build minimum viable products (MVPs) digital tools, apps, telehealth extensions.
• Validate, iterate, raise capital, partner aggressively.
• Think of selling or scaling across borders not just as a local pharmacy business.

Lead Policy, Regulation & Professional Evolution

Young pharmacists should influence laws, regulation, and standards:

• Advocate for expanded scope of practice (telepharmacy, prescribing rights, digital consultations).
• Engage with FIP, national associations, health ministries.
• Participate in the Early-Career groups in pharmacy globally (e.g. FIP ECPG) to shape what the profession becomes.

As innovators, we must keep justice and equity at our core:

• Design solutions that work in low-resource settings, rural areas, and for marginalized populations.
• Use sustainable models that scale affordably.
• Include Africans, not just as beneficiaries but as co-designers.

Why We Must Lead (Your Why as a Young Pharmacist)

Allow me to share why I believe this transformation is not optional but essential for those of us destined to lead:

• Becaus our communities deserve more. Too many die from preventable or treatable conditions because systems didn’t reach them.
• Because medicine and drugs are part of life, not just science. Healthcare must become more responsive and less transactional.
• Because our profession is gifted with both knowledge and trust. Patients, doctors, and systems already respect pharmacists. That gives us access and responsibility.
• Because technology without domain experts is dangerous. AI built by people who don’t understand health can misfire. Domain knowledge is critical.
• Because future wealth and influence lie at the intersection of health, technology, and entrepreneurship and pharmacists are uniquely positioned to anchor that.

How to Walk This Road: 7 Practical Steps

Here is a roadmap you can begin implementing today:

Possible Challenges & How to Overcome Them

• Regulatory & compliance barriers: AI and digital health face data privacy laws, medical device regulation.

Mitigate by partnering with legal experts, ensuring privacy-by-design, and piloting in controlled environments.

• Funding & resource constraints: Building health tech is capital-intensive.

Start lean, bootstrap microprojects, apply to grants and fellowships.

• Resistance to change: Traditional systems may resist new models.

Demonstrate results, use pilot data, build alliances with clinicians, and government bodies.

• Lack of technical depth: You may feel you’re not “tech enough.”

Partner with engineers, learn enough to communicate effectively, focus on domain + product direction.

Examples That Inspire

• Healthera (UK): a pharmacy-tech app combining prescription ordering, home delivery, and integration with providers. In 2024, they partnered with Uber for same-hour prescription delivery.
• AI in pharmacy research: Studies show how AI assists drug formulation, dosage design, predictive modeling, trial optimization.
• FIP’s 21 Development Goals: These goals drive global transformation in pharmacy practice, education, and access. Young pharmacists can align innovations with these goals.

Conclusion: The Future Has You in It

The world is changing, and pharmacy must change with it. The next era of global healthcare will be defined by professionals who are not only scientifically grounded but also visionary, digital, and globally aware.

Whether you’re compounding medicines in a local hospital, developing AI tools in a startup, or advocating for better policies at a global forum remember this:

You are part of a generation shaping healthcare for billions. The road ahead is wide open.

And the future has you in it.

Start today. Build for tomorrow. Shape global healthcare not as a spectator, but as a leader..

Connect with George on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/george-bassey