5 Things Pharmacy Leaders Should Learn
By Kim Tzoumakas, CEO, VytlOne
Building AI in health system pharmacy means putting the operational foundation in place first and then using AI to amplify it. In practice, that means AI works best when it augments experienced pharmacy teams rather than replacing them: catching compliance gaps before they become denials, handling repetitive work, and freeing pharmacists and liaisons to spend their judgment where it changes patient outcomes. The technology is rarely the obstacle. Operational clarity is.
Technology is never really the hard part. I wish it were because that would make my job easier. The hard part is sequencing, culture, and building the operational foundation that technology can amplify.
I spent years working inside health systems, early on as an attorney advising on strategy, hearing the same conversations again and again: not enough capital to improve outcomes or provide critical services. The 340B compliance gaps I saw were rarely about bad intentions. They came from programs outpaced by complexity and heavy regulatory change, moving faster than teams could manage. I watched health systems lose money they didn’t have to lose, or take overly conservative stances out of fear of regulatory audits. It stuck with me, and it’s the lens I bring to every leadership decision I make today.
Since then, I’ve had the privilege of leading transformation and growth across three very different multi-state healthcare organizations: oncology, radiology, and now pharmacy. These are different clinical worlds, but the same lesson keeps showing up. The technology is rarely the obstacle. Operational clarity and focus are. Get those right and success tends to follow almost naturally. Skip them and AI just helps you move faster in the wrong direction.
Why 340B complexity makes the operational foundation non-negotiable
The 340B program has grown far more complex. There are manufacturer restrictions, audit exposure, and contract pharmacy scrutiny. All of it lands on teams that are also trying to take care of patients every day, often with limited resources. When I joined VytlOne, I found a pharmacy operational team with real depth. What we didn’t have 18 months ago was one unified platform that could work across all of pharmacy operations with the speed and visibility this moment needs.
Building VytlAIQ ourselves, rather than buying something and bolting it on, was deliberate. What we had at the start was unique and would set us apart: a century of pharmacy history, three decades of managing health system pharmacies, and operational data that is real, clean, and ours.
When a health system leader is skeptical of AI, I understand it, and it usually works in our favor. We did not want to be a technology player chasing short-term wins. Instead, we built a platform to augment teams in hospitals as experienced as the ones inside VytlOne. There is a real difference between AI shaped by people who have actually run 340B workflows and a product built by a technology player.
Where AI transformation stalls in health systems
Most transformation struggles in the space between a confident technology decision and the operational reality underneath it. What I am proudest of with VytlAIQ is not the technology itself. It is what it frees people to do: catch the small things that would otherwise become denials or missed opportunities, and quietly handle the work that used to consume pharmacists’, liaisons’, and compliance teams’ time. It does not replace people. It gives them room to use their judgment where it matters most, which is keeping patients on their medicines and delivering care that technology alone never will.
What I’ve come to believe about AI and pharmacy margin
Culture shapes how well technology lands. The hardest conversations are often with the people in the trenches who do not have the bandwidth to assess how the right resources and partners could strengthen operations they have already made successful. That assessment should never feel like a threat or a sign of failure. It reflects leadership and financial rigor at the moment hospitals need both most.
Pharmacy should be driving significant investment in every hospital through the margin it can generate. Without those dollars, patients suffer and services lag across the healthcare system. VytlAIQ exists to augment and support pharmacy teams so they can generate the margin that lets hospitals reinvest in critical programs.
Key Takeaways
- In health system pharmacy, the operational foundation, not the technology, decides whether AI delivers.
- 340B complexity (manufacturer restrictions, audit exposure, contract pharmacy scrutiny) makes that foundation non-negotiable.
- VytlOne built VytlAIQ in house to augment experienced pharmacy teams, not replace them.
- Done right, AI in health system pharmacy protects margin, and that margin lets hospitals reinvest in patient care.
FAQs
What does building AI in health system pharmacy actually require?
It requires an operational foundation first. AI amplifies whatever process it lands on, so operational clarity has to come before the technology. Without it, AI just accelerates existing problems.
Does AI replace pharmacists in health systems?
No. Used well, AI in health system pharmacy augments pharmacists, liaisons, and compliance teams by handling repetitive work and catching issues early, which frees them to apply clinical judgment where it most affects patient outcomes.
How does AI in health system pharmacy affect 340B compliance?
It helps teams keep pace with 340B complexity, including manufacturer restrictions, audit exposure, and contract pharmacy scrutiny, by surfacing gaps before they become denials or missed opportunities.
How does AI in health system pharmacy support hospital margin?
By protecting the margin pharmacy generates, AI helps hospitals reinvest in critical programs and services. The goal is not cost-cutting; it is freeing skilled teams to generate value.
Kim Tzoumakas is the CEO of VytlOne.