AI First: Synerio Takes on Routine Pharmacy Work
Direct Access | Synerio SVP of Product Brad Crosslin talks about how AI is can offer a life line to pharmacies drowning in repetitive, often administrative tasks.
Pharmacies are drowning in repetitive tasks. From managing refills, prescription status inquiries, and inventory, to phone calls with prescribers and PBMs, there are so many tasks that consume the valuable time of pharmacists and technicians and detract from patient care. In this interview, Pharmacy Technology & Management Review’s Will Lockwood hears from Synerio SVP of Product Brad Crosslin about fundamentally reshaping this dynamic.
PTMR: From your perspective, how is AI (artificial intelligence) reshaping pharmacy today, and what do you see as the biggest opportunities ahead?
Brad Crosslin: AI is fundamentally changing how work gets done in a pharmacy. The most immediate impact is in removing the repetitive tasks that have long consumed pharmacists’ and technicians’ time. When those routine interactions — like answering the same call 20 times a day or repeatedly checking prescription status — are handled by AI, teams are free to concentrate on the patients who truly need their attention.
The second major shift is speed. People expect quick answers, and AI can deliver them faster than any human ever could. Whether it’s AI responding to refill questions or keeping data organized and accessible for the pharmacist, the experience is faster and more satisfying for the patient.
As AI evolves, I think the quality of pharmacist-patient interactions will improve greatly. With fewer distractions and less context switching, pharmacists can give each patient more focused attention. Over time, AI will also help surface-relevant context during those interactions, making the time spent with patients even more meaningful.
PTMR: Synerio has positioned itself as an AI-first company. What does that mean in practice for your customers?
Crosslin: When we say “AI first,” we mean that every product decision we make begins with the question, “What can AI handle that people shouldn’t have to?” Our goal is to remove work, specifically repetitive or redundant work, so that pharmacists and staff can focus on the complex, high-value tasks AI can’t and shouldn’t replace. Some companies treat AI like an add-on feature layered on top of old systems. At Synerio, AI is built into the core. That distinction is critical. It means we’re not forcing our AI into rigid templates or scripted responses that limit its ability to learn and adapt.
A lot of organizations fall into that trap of treating AI as if it’s another form of static code. The problem is, when the AI model advances, those systems don’t benefit from the improvements. Because we approach every product through an AI-first lens, we build for adaptability. Our AI gets smarter and more capable with every update, which means our products do, too.
At Synerio, being AI-first also means being “patient first.” Our technology adapts to how patients naturally communicate, rather than forcing them to adapt to it. Guided by how a pharmacy technician would speak to a patient, we design experiences that feel intuitive and human, no matter how hard the technology is to develop.
PTMR: How do Synerio Engage and Synerio Pinpoint stand apart from other technology solutions in pharmacy?
Crosslin: Both solutions are built to evolve alongside AI itself, and that’s a huge differentiator. Legacy systems — think traditional IVR [interactive voice response] — still work the same way they did decades ago because their underlying technology never evolved. In contrast, our products inherently improve as the AI models advance.
With Synerio Engage, our patient engagement platform, the conversational ability is the game changer. Instead of listening to a long phone menu, a patient can simply ask, “Can I refill my prescription?” and get an immediate, accurate answer. It’s faster, more intuitive,and feels like speaking to a real pharmacy technician. And because our conversational AI keeps evolving, that experience will only get better and better.
Synerio Pinpoint, our support-automation platform, uses AI behind the scenes to streamline internal support and access to key information. Historically, coding integrations like creating or resolving support tickets required endless hard-coded rules. Pinpoint’s AI can interpret the context and complete those actions dynamically, without developers having to write code to meet every situation. That means pharmacy teams get accurate answers faster.
Together, Engage and Pinpoint showcase the visible and invisible power of AI. Engage is the AI you see and talk to; Pinpoint is the AI you don’t see, working behind the scenes to streamline systems and remove friction from pharmacy operations.
PTMR: What has been the response from pharmacists and pharmacy teams using Synerio’s AI tools in their daily workflow?
Crosslin: The response has been overwhelmingly positive, a mix of amazement and relief.
Once live, that excitement deepens into appreciation, because the results are tangible. Calls go down. Patients get help faster. Workflows are smoother. One pharmacy owner told us simply, “The pharmacy is quiet now.”That phrase captures what we’re trying to achieve. When the noise of constant calls and interruptions fades, teams can finally focus on patient care and business strategy.
There’s also an interesting learning curve on the patient side. At first, some patients are caught a little off guard to find they’re talking to an AI. But once they realize that they can speak naturally, especially through bi-directional texting, their comfort and satisfaction grow quickly.
PTMR: Can you share a specific example of how a pharmacy team has used Synerio’s AI to reduce phone burden, improve workflow, or deliver better patient care?
Crosslin: We’ve seen some remarkable real-world moments that highlight the human impact of AI. One that stands out involved a patient with speech difficulties. The AI couldn’t initially understand him through voice, and even the pharmacist struggled. The pharmacist suggested he hang up and text the same number. Through conversational texting, the AI was able to assist him fully, handling his refill needs start to finish. Later that evening, his wife called to say it was the best pharmacy experience her husband had ever had.
Another example involved a patient who mispronounced the name of her medication. The AI recognized enough of what she said to ask, “Are you referring to [the correct drug name]?” Her instant joy that the system understood her was priceless. That’s what we mean when we say our AI feels human. It listens, interprets, and helps in ways that traditional systems simply can’t.
And from the pharmacy perspective, the benefits are just as powerful. A pharmacy owner who used to spend much of her time filling scripts and answering calls told us that after installing Engage, she rarely needs to step into the dispensing area. The pharmacy, she said, is quiet and efficient, giving her time to focus on growing her business instead of managing through constant interruptions.
PTMR: Where do you see the role of AI in pharmacy five years from now?
Crosslin: Five years from now, the concept of “pharmacy workflow” will look nothing like it does today. Workflow as we know it is dead. AI will handle virtually all repetitive tasks — everything from data entry to adjudication checks — so that pharmacy staff can focus on the critical parts of care delivery.
I see technicians becoming more like inventory and operations managers, with pharmacists overseeing care from anywhere. AI will complete most of the data review and verification, leaving the pharmacist to perform a final meaningful check before a prescription goes out the door.
The irony is that AI will actually increase meaningful human interaction in pharmacy. When pharmacists aren’t tied to screens or phones, they can be out front, administering immunizations, consulting with patients, and engaging in real, person-to-person care.
AI will also shift pharmacy from reactive to proactive. Today, pharmacies spend their time responding to calls and questions. With AI managing many tasks, pharmacists will have the bandwidth to plan ahead, creating proactive outreach, anticipating needs, and preparing AI-driven responses for emerging situations like public health events.
Ultimately, AI will strengthen the pharmacist’s role, not replace it. By removing the noise and repetition, it allows pharmacists to practice at the top of their license — to apply their clinical expertise and human insight where it matters most.
PTMR: This was most informative. Thank you, Brad. PTMR
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