The job of a pharmacist is not what it used to be.

Historically, a pharmacist’s primary responsibility was to fill and dispense prescription medications in community and hospital pharmacies. Today, pharmacists are providing more clinical services than ever before—in a role that more closely resembles a primary care provider.

“Over the last couple of decades of my career, the community pharmacy space in particular has changed quite a bit,” Alison Lum, VP of pharmacy services at Blue Shield of California and a pharmacist by training, told Healthcare Brew. “We’re seeing more and more pharmacists stepping away from the dispensing function and starting to focus more on the clinical care side, meaning working with patients to look at their overall medication profile, and working to make sure that people are taking their medications appropriately.”

Keep reading here.—SY, MA

Do you work in healthcare or have information about the industry that we should know? Email Shannon at [email protected]. For confidential conversations, ask Shannon for her number on Signal.

This Women’s History Month, it’s time for a little financial self-care. Here’s what Laurel Road’s General Manager + Chief Experience Officer, Alyssa Schaefer, says about managing student loans and securing your financial future.

Q: What advice do you have for people feeling overwhelmed by paying off their student loans?

Alyssa Schaefer: Good question—student loans are our specialty! Everyone’s financial journey is unique, so it's crucial to tailor your repayment approach to your goals. I recommend booking a free consultation with our student loan specialists to learn about repayment options and how to qualify for forgiveness.

Q: Any additional advice for those looking to secure their financial future?

Alyssa Schaefer: My advice is that it’s important to strike a balance between needs and wants. You can slowly introduce luxuries while keeping an eye on your budget to make sure you aren’t sabotaging your financial goals.

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Nurses at two southern HCA Healthcare hospitals are testing out Google’s generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology to help make handoffs more seamless and cut down on administrative burdens, executives announced Tuesday.

The tech, which is deployed on a hospital-issued iPhone, tracks a 12-hour shift to create a summary and task list for dozens of nurses at TriStar Hendersonville Medical Center just outside of Nashville and UCF Lake Nona Hospital in Orlando—two hospitals in HCA that are dedicated “laboratories” for various innovation efforts, Michael Schlosser, HCA’s SVP for care transformation and innovation, told Healthcare Brew at Google Health’s annual event, The Check Up.

A nurse preparing to end their shift can then review the MedLM-created breakdown and make edits to it before transferring that “critical information” to the next incoming nurse in a handoff—a process that’s typically lengthy and manual, Schlosser said during a presentation at the company’s Pier 57 office.

Keep reading here.—AE

Do you work in healthcare or have information about the industry that we should know? Email Amanda at [email protected]. For confidential conversations, ask Amanda for her number on Signal.

Patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease will soon have more options when it comes to accessing low-cost inhalers.

AstraZeneca executives announced Monday that the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company plans to expand savings programs that will cap certain US patients’ out-of-pocket costs for inhalers—including Airsupra, Bevespi Aerosphere, Breztri Aeroosphere, and Symbicort—at $35 per month.

The cap will take effect June 1 for patients with commercial insurance, as well as uninsured and underinsured individuals. The announcement comes just weeks after Boehringer Ingelheim announced its own $35 out-of-pocket cap for inhaler products and two months after congressional lawmakers on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee opened a price manipulation investigation into inhaler prices. Boehringer Ingelheim’s cap will also take effect June 1.

Keep reading here.—SY

Less $tress ahead. Laurel Road’s International Women’s Day survey found that men + women’s financial stressors are different (no shocker there). Women tend to worry about personal and household finances, whereas men stress about their careers. Find peace of mind with Laurel Road’s personalized offerings, from student loan consultations to checking and savings products. Learn more.