2025 has been a year of hard truths for retail pharmacy.
Persistent reimbursement pressures, escalating fees, workforce shortages and policy whiplash have forced many operators to rethink how they serve patients and sustain their businesses. Expanding into clinical services and stepping into the role of frontline healthcare providers is becoming an expectation, not an option. Direct-to-payer contracting is no longer experimental.
But perhaps the most palpable change for pharmacy is the same that every other industry is facing. The rise of AI. The ability to harness data and deploy digital tools to improve patient experience, strengthen adherence, and demonstrate outcomes is rapidly changing everything. That said, if we don’t use it responsibly, all of the hype and investment around AI tools will amount to exactly nothing. We need to adapt AI models that make sense for all parties, including patients, pharmacists, payors and investors. Just as importantly, we must ensure that technology strategies are built to simplify the work of care, reducing manual documentation, easing staff burnout, and supporting consistent service delivery.
The shift to a more AI-driven landscape is not short-term. Success in this new paradigm will increasingly depend on the ability to integrate patient experience, clinical outcomes, and financial performance into a connected system that delivers measurable value for both patients and the business of pharmacy.
Let’s look a little closer at how the year played out, and what it might mean for the industry’s trajectory in 2026.
Key Trends & Takeaways from 2025
From shifting vaccine standards to AI-driven insights, the past year revealed how pharmacies are adapting to disruption while preparing for what comes next. Here are just a few highlights that will undoubtedly carry over into our conversations and innovations into next year:
1. New Standards of Care and Vaccine Uncertainty
The disbanding of the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) created confusion across the healthcare ecosystem, with professional organizations urging providers to continue following science-based guidelines. For pharmacies, the result was disruption in vaccine flow and uncertainty around demand. Many independent and community pharmacists were left asking what it meant for both inventory and patient communication strategies. The lack of clarity highlighted how vulnerable small pharmacies can be to shifts in oversight and standards. It also underscored the importance of developing internal protocols and state-level guidance.
2. AI Adoption vs. Data Guardrails
AI is often described as only being as strong as the data behind it. Unfortunately, in healthcare, that data remains fragmented. Clinical data is still often locked away for reasons ranging from HIPPA concerns to a lack of structure in the data itself. Not only that, but some sectors, like rural providers, are being left out of the equation, meaning the data we do have access to is not representative of all patients. The result is that another year has passed where AI was unable to deliver on its promise of personalization and improved outcomes. The tension between protecting sensitive information and building useful, scalable AI models defined much of the year’s AI conversation.
3. Predictive Analytics Gained Ground
Even with data-sharing hurdles, pharmacies made progress in trending and predictive analytics. By applying artificial intelligence in areas like medication adherence and prescription refills, community pharmacies have improved patient outcomes, achieving higher adherence rates, fewer missed refills, and reduced errors in dispensing. These improvements allowed pharmacies to better support patients and contribute to more consistent, preventative care.
Even amid uncertainty and fragmented data, pharmacies are finding ways to improve operations and set a strong foundation for continued innovation.
Looking Ahead to 2026
Of course, no one can predict the future, but momentum does seem to be veering in a particular direction for the pharmacy industry. We can confidently lean into these ideas as important pieces moving forward:
- Data-Driven AI
Access to relevant clinical data is likely to be a challenge for a long time, but initiatives like TEFCA, FHIR and USCDI standards, incentive programs, and oversight from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT could potentially make it easier to train AI models that are both effective and representative. With better data, AI can move beyond experimentation and start delivering meaningful insights that support real-world patient care. - Tech Tools That Do the Busywork
Tech vendors are starting to get the memo that providers, patients and payors are not looking for AI that replaces people. The next wave of AI applications should focus on taking care of repetitive, time-consuming tasks rather than replacing clinicians. Tools that handle grunt work such as automated documentation, scheduling, and basic analytics can allow human experts to focus on higher-level decision-making and patient engagement in an industry where bandwidth is stretched thin. - Industry-Led Solutions and Collaboration
With fewer top-down recommendations from the federal government on things like immunizations, the pharmacy industry is poised to innovate both independently and collaboratively. Providers, payors, and professional organizations must focus on developing their own best practices, ensuring that patients receive consistent, science-based care. We’ve already seen encouraging examples through expanded scope of practice initiatives and the use of AI-driven insights to guide pharmacies in clinical decision-making and reimbursement strategies. By looking inwards, the industry can continue advancing preventive health and chronic disease management, even in the face of regulatory uncertainty.
Together, these developments suggest that 2026 could be a year where smarter use of data and AI help pharmacies work more efficiently and strengthen their role in healthcare as a whole.
Shaping the Next Chapter of Pharmacy
Seeing all of the industry changes grouped together like this might paint an overwhelming picture, but pharmacists have proved time and time again that their adaptability and commitment to being trusted providers of care are unmatched.
Even so, no pharmacy should have to navigate this transition alone. Success will come from finding the right partners, building supportive networks, and embracing solutions that make the work more sustainable. By doing so, pharmacies can continue to strengthen their role as vital, accessible care hubs while protecting the health of both their patients and their businesses.
About Martha Thorne
Martha Thorne joined Omnicell in June 2023. As Senior Vice President and General Manager of EnlivenHealth, she is responsible for the strategic growth and development of Omnicell’s patient engagement Advanced Services solutions. Ms. Thorne is an accomplished healthcare technology executive with over 25 years of experience in driving global sales and growth in the industry.
Prior to joining Omnicell, she was Chief Revenue Officer of egnite, leading the transformation to a SaaS, data and analytics company powered by AI. Ms. Thorne also served as Chief Revenue Officer for CareCentrix, focusing on client success, new business development and the positioning and messaging for CareCentrix. Prior to CareCentrix, she was the General Manager of the Provider Business for Watson Health, a division of IBM, responsible for global strategic growth and ongoing introduction of AI.
