Pharmacists at the Center: Public Health, AI & the New Pharmacy Model | TWIRx

This week on TWIRx, we’re looking at the expanding role of pharmacists in public health, value-based care, artificial intelligence, medication intelligence, and the technology infrastructure supporting independent community pharmacy.

We begin with a special conversation featuring Alex J. Adams, PharmD, MPH, Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), and Pennsylvania pharmacy leader Robert “Rob” Maher, PharmD, President and Chief Operating Officer of the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Care Network (PPCN).

Dr. Adams brings a pharmacist’s perspective to federal health and human services leadership, while Maher leads a statewide clinically integrated pharmacy network focused on measurable patient outcomes. Together, we discuss how pharmacists are becoming increasingly involved in public health initiatives and how organizations such as PPCN are helping demonstrate the value of pharmacist-provided care through value-based models in Pennsylvania.

Next, we continue our countdown to NASP inSPire 2026 with one of PPN’s Podcast Press Sponsors, Hendren AI.

John Boos, PharmD, MBA, Founder and CEO of Hendren AI, joins us to examine the growing role of artificial intelligence in specialty pharmacy and rare disease management. We discuss how AI-enabled tools can support pharmacists by processing complex information, improving workflow efficiency, automating administrative processes, and helping pharmacy teams devote more time to clinical care and patient engagement.

Our 3rd segement on today’s TWIRx, we catch up with Vince Costanzo of RxBLU for an important discussion about the rapidly changing pharmacy technology landscape.

Pharmacy software today is about far more than features and functionality. For an independent pharmacy, its technology platform can sit at the center of dispensing, claims, inventory, patient communication, workflow, and business continuity.

We discuss why pharmacies should evaluate not only the technology they purchase, but also the stability, accessibility, support structure, and long-term strategy of the company behind it. As consolidation continues throughout healthcare technology, independent pharmacy owners need to understand what a potential acquisition, ownership change, or shift in corporate priorities could mean for the software platforms their operations depend upon.

Our featured Podcast Press Sponsor is First Databank — FDB.

David Delaney, MD, President of FDB, joins TWIRx to discuss the company