Meet Aiskyra: Pharmacists create AI Health Consultant company

What might AI look like in pharmacy in the near future? Pharmacist Kenny Chan and PharmD candidate and software developer Olexiy Pukhov think clinicians should work with an AI Health Consultant created by their company, Aiskyra (pronounced eye-sky-ruh). The first offering from their company, an AI Medication Expert, is available now as a beta version on Aiskyra’s website or through an app. It’s been used by more than 140 people. “It’s publicly available and can have immediate benefit,” says Chan. The Medication Expert relies on credible medical resources, especially evidence-based guidelines curated by Chan and Pukhov.It can answer simple questions, such as, “What is the dose of this anticoagulant for a patient with atrial fibrillation?” or “Spiriva capsule and respimat on backorder, give me 3 alternatives covered by ODB.”Read: Artificial intelligence in retail pharmacy: the impact and potential of AIBut it can also offer answers to more complicated questions, such as when to consider one drug over another, and why. Users can even upload a patient case with the identifiers removed for information about what kind of drug the patient should be on, for how long, and whether there are any medications that might react with it.It always cites its sources, which is a pain point with typical AI tools. And the feedback they have received so far on the beta version is that it’s “extremely accurate,” says Pukhov. He sees it as almost another team member in the pharmacy. “This AI doesn’t replace the pharmacist; rather, it helps the pharmacist arrive at a possible conclusion with the use of this tool,” says Pukhov. “The pharmacy can look at [the AI answer] and say, this looks correct, I’ll do this, or they could use it as a second opinion, a refresher, to validate an idea they already had. It’s really the human in the loop [that’s important].”Read: University of Alberta researchers eye artificial intelligence to weigh opioid risksAiskyra is developing two other offerings as well: an AI Technician and an AI Patient Consultant. The goal for the AI Technician is to be able to automate prescription entry and do it faster and more accurately than a person could. The AI Health Consultant would be patient-focused; people would give it their relevant health data, and it would look for incomplete care and make recommendations in the form of a personal care plan. It’s focusing on patients with type 2 diabetes for now, and the app might find things like the fact that the person should be screened for obstructive sleep apnea. It’s both partners’ first startup. “There’s a lot of learning involved, but we’re a great team because we both really enjoy learning,” says Chan, adding that they’re eager for feedback, both good and bad, so they can make the product better. In the end, they’re driven by their vision, he says. “Ultimately, we love this because we really feel like we’re doing something for healthcare.”Read: Lindsay Dixon launches AI-powered search engine for pharmacists

Meet Aiskyra: Pharmacists create AI Health Consultant company

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