AI and the pharmacist professional role in focus at Almedalen Week 2025

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly becoming a natural part of our everyday lives. The pharmaceutical professions are no exception, with AI-driven decision support and automated prescription dispatching already being realities. This development places new demands on future pharmaceutical experts as well as the Swedish pharmaceutical educations, and at Almedalen Week 2025, the Faculty of Pharmacy will arrange a panel talk with the aim to set the direction for the future.

“These rapid technological advances are constantly opening new doors, and if we are to utlize all opportunities in the best possible way, we must meet at the same table. Here, Almedalen offers the perfect arena, and on Wednesday 25 June we will gather ten highly committed representatives from academia, the pharmaceutical industry, authorities and politics for a seminar that will provide both up-to-date and valuable insights,” says Anja Sandström, Deputy Dean at the Faculty of Pharmacy.

On site in Almedalen Anja Sandström is joined by, among others, Lina Nordquist, Member of Parliament (L) and Monika Magnusson, CEO of Apotek Hjärtat, both alumni of Uppsala University. Gabriel Westman, Head of Unit and Scientific Leader for AI, will join from the Swedish Medical Products Agency, and Jörgen Bengtsson, Chair of the Master of Science Programme in Pharmacy, will participate on behalf of the Faculty of Pharmacy, as well as Sigrid Welin, Chair of the Pharmacy Student Union.

“We recently met with the faculty's Pharmaceutical Council, which gathers several key persons in the Swedish pharmaceutical sector, and it is obvious that more or less all major players are already using automated systems in their operations. We also see that many are tailoring their own technology platforms, which makes it even more important to provide our students with a comprehensive understanding and knowledge of how to use AI in an optimal way,” says Anja Sandström.

The transition has already begun in the lecture halls of Uppsala's Biomedical Center. A project group led by Anja Sandström is currently collecting experiences and needs from the faculty staff. In parallel, students are training both to create and critically review AI-generated material, but also reasoning about in which contexts it is right to use AI and how this should be reported to ensure sufficient transparency.

“Everything is developing very quickly and both teachers and students are currently in an extensive and intensive learning process. What we do know for sure is that we must implement AI in our education in a manner that gives our students the knowledge the industry needs, but also the ability to lead future development in the right direction where AI helps to refine and advance the pharmaceutical professional role. And with a focus on these issues, we look forward to a very fruitful seminar in Visby,” states Anja Sandström.

Text: Magnus Alsne, photo: Mikael Wallerstedt a o