International pharmacy students' perceptions towards artificial intelligence in medicine—A multinational, multicentre cross‐sectional study

British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, vol. 90, pp. 649–661

Abstract

AIMS: To explore international undergraduate pharmacy students' views on integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into pharmacy education and practice. METHODS: This cross-sectional institutional review board-approved multinational, multicentre study comprised an anonymous online survey of 14 multiple-choice items to assess pharmacy students' preferences for AI events in the pharmacy curriculum, the current state of AI education, and students' AI knowledge and attitudes towards using AI in the pharmacy profession, supplemented by 8 demographic queries. Subgroup analyses were performed considering sex, study year, tech-savviness, and prior AI knowledge and AI events in the curriculum using the Mann-Whitney U-test. Variances were reported for responses in Likert scale format. RESULTS: The survey gathered 387 pharmacy student opinions across 16 faculties and 12 countries. Students showed predominantly positive attitudes towards AI in medicine (58%, n = 225) and expressed a strong desire for more AI education (72%, n = 276). However, they reported limited general knowledge of AI (63%, n = 242) and felt inadequately prepared to use AI in their future careers (51%, n = 197). Male students showed more positive attitudes towards increasing efficiency through AI (P = .011), while tech-savvy and advanced-year students expressed heightened concerns about potential legal and ethical issues related to AI (P < .001/P = .025, respectively). Students who had AI courses as part of their studies reported better AI knowledge (P < .001) and felt more prepared to apply it professionally (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings underline the generally positive attitude of international pharmacy students towards AI application in medicine and highlight the necessity for a greater emphasis on AI education within pharmacy curricula.

Authors 9

1. Felix Busch corresponding

   Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin · Freie Universität Berlin · Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Anesthesiology, Division of Operative Intensive Care Medicine Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany

   Department of Radiology Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany

   FB and LH contributed equally and should be considered joint first authors

2. Lena Hoffmann

   Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin · Freie Universität Berlin · Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Radiology Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany

   FB and LH contributed equally and should be considered joint first authors

3. Daniel Truhn Aachen Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology

   Universitätsklinikum Aachen

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology University Hospital Aachen Aachen Germany

   Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Aachen, Aachen, Germany

4. Subish Palaian

   Ajman University

   Affiliation as printed

   Center of Medical and Bio‐Allied Health Sciences Research Ajman University Ajman United Arab Emirates

   Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Ajman University Ajman United Arab Emirates

   Center of Medical and Bio-Allied Health Sciences Research, Ajman University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates

   Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Ajman University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates

5. Muaed Jamal Alomar

   Ajman University

   Affiliation as printed

   Center of Medical and Bio‐Allied Health Sciences Research Ajman University Ajman United Arab Emirates

   Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Ajman University Ajman United Arab Emirates

   Center of Medical and Bio-Allied Health Sciences Research, Ajman University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates

   Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Ajman University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates

6. Kleva Shpati

   Albanian University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Pharmacy Albanian University Tirana Albania

   Department of Pharmacy, Albanian University, Tirana, Albania

7. Marcus R. Makowski

   Technical University of Munich

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Radiology Technical University of Munich Munich Germany

   Department of Radiology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany

8. Keno K. Bressem

   Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin · Freie Universität Berlin · Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Radiology Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany

   FB and LH contributed equally and should be considered joint first authors

9. Lisa C. Adams

   Technical University of Munich

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Radiology Technical University of Munich Munich Germany

   Department of Radiology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany

   FB and LH contributed equally and should be considered joint first authors