Platform Overview?

PharmBot AI is a clinical platform designed to enable the safe, consistent, and scalable use of artificial intelligence across pharmacy and medicines optimisation workflows.

Rather than delivering isolated tools, the PharmBot AI platform provides shared clinical, governance, and technical foundations upon which individual service modules are delivered. This approach allows innovation to be introduced in a controlled, auditable, and clinically appropriate manner, aligned with the realities of pharmacy practice and NHS environments.

The platform has been designed to support pharmacists and pharmacy teams by improving consistency, documentation, and workflow efficiency, while maintaining professional oversight and accountability.

Modular Platform Architecture ?

PharmBot AI operates using a modular architecture.

Each service (including AIVAe, Prescription Verification, and Pharmacy First) is delivered as a dedicated module within the wider PharmBot AI platform. Modules operate independently for safety and access control purposes, while sharing a common governance and assurance framework.

This modular approach enables:

  • Clear separation of services and user roles
  • Reduced risk of cross-service impact
  • Controlled evolution of individual modules
  • Consistent clinical, safety, and audit standards across the platform

Modules are accessed via secure application endpoints appropriate to their function and user group. The use of separate access points is a deliberate design decision to support safety, scalability, and governance.

Clinical Safety & Governance

Clinical safety is central to the design, development, and operation of the PharmBot AI platform.

All services are developed in line with NHS clinical safety standards, with clinical risk management principles applied throughout the lifecycle of each module. This includes structured hazard identification, risk assessment, and mitigation, proportionate to the intended clinical use of each service.

Key principles include:

  • Alignment with NHS clinical safety standards (including DCB0129 and, where applicable, DCB0160)
  • Defined clinical oversight and accountability
  • Clear escalation pathways for clinical risk
  • Ongoing review and refinement as services evolve

PharmBot AI is designed to support clinical decision-making and service delivery. It does not replace professional judgement, and human oversight remains integral to all clinically relevant workflows.

Data Protection & Information Governance

PharmBot AI is designed with data protection and information governance embedded at platform level.

The platform applies GDPR-aligned principles, including:

  • Lawful and transparent processing
  • Data minimisation
  • Purpose limitation
  • Appropriate retention controls

Data is processed only where necessary to deliver the intended service, and information handling is proportionate to the clinical and operational context of each module.

Information governance controls include:

  • Role-based access controls
  • Audit logging of system activity
  • Logical separation of data between modules
  • Support for Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) where required

Privacy notices and detailed data protection documentation are available separately.

Security & Technical Assurance

Security is addressed as a foundational requirement, not an add-on.

The PharmBot AI platform follows a secure-by-design approach, with controls in place to protect system access, data integrity, and availability.

Core security principles include:

  • Role-based authentication and authorisation
  • Monitoring and logging of system activity
  • Secure development and deployment practices
  • Separation of development, testing, and production environments

Security controls are designed to be proportionate to the clinical and operational risk profile of each module, while remaining consistent across the platform.

Interoperability & NHS Alignment

PharmBot AI is designed to align with NHS pharmacy workflows and documentation requirements.

The platform supports structured clinical information capture and is built with interoperability considerations in mind, enabling future integration where appropriate and agreed with partner organisations.

PharmBot AI does not seek to disrupt existing systems unnecessarily. Instead, it is designed to complement established workflows and support safe, efficient service delivery within real-world pharmacy environments.

Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence

PharmBot AI adopts a responsible and bounded approach to the use of artificial intelligence.

Key principles include:

  • AI is used to support documentation, workflow consistency, and service delivery
  • No autonomous clinical decision-making
  • Outputs are reviewable and attributable
  • Human oversight remains central at all times

The platform is designed to promote transparency, safety, and professional accountability, recognising both the potential and the limitations of AI in clinical and operational settings.

Assurance Summary

In summary

PharmBot AI is designed as a clinical platform with governance, safety, and assurance embedded at its core.

Individual services are delivered as modular applications within this framework, enabling innovation while maintaining patient safety, data protection, and professional accountability.

This platform-first approach supports scalable adoption across pharmacy settings without compromising the standards required in regulated healthcare environments.