McKesson ideaShare 2026: How AI and Automation Are Reshaping the Dispensing Experience

As prescription volumes grow and staffing pressures persist, independent pharmacy owners are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) and automation not as distant aspirations, but as practical, scalable tools they are deploying today. At McKesson ideaShare 2026, taking place June 18–21, 2026, in Denver, Colorado, a Pharma Talk session titled "Beyond the Bottle: How AI and Automation Are Reshaping the Dispensing Experience" brought together 2 experienced pharmacy operators to share firsthand lessons on the rising tide of automation.¹

A clear message emerged: the transformation is already underway, and pharmacies of every size can participate.¹

The session featured Greg Hamby, owner of King's Pharmacy in Beaumont, Texas, and Michael Deninger, chief technology officer of Towncrest Pharmacies, a multi-store operation based in Iowa. Moderated by Amie Stephens, vice president of pharmacy retail operations at McKesson, the conversation ranged from robotic dispensing to AI-assisted data analysis to the cultural challenges of getting staff on board.¹

Their Path to Automation

For Hamby, the inflection point was simple: growth. Having come from a hospital pharmacy background, where charge capture and automation were standard, he found that his community pharmacy eventually hit a wall.¹

"How do I continue to grow this business?" Hamby said, reflecting on the question that drove him toward automation early in his ownership journey. Once operations reached a certain volume, manual processes were no longer capable of sustaining further throughput. Investing in dispensing technology became not just a convenience but a competitive necessity.¹

Deninger's journey into AI was more recent. Six months before ideaShare, he described himself as largely skeptical of AI tools—uncertain of their reliability and wary of overpromising technology. As the platforms matured, however, he began incorporating AI into his daily operations with measurable results. One example stood out: reconciling insurance claims data across multiple pharmacy locations.¹

"I took what was a very daunting task and was able to complete it very quickly," Deninger said. What had previously taken colleagues tens of hours to sort manually—mapping insurance carriers across stores to distinguish Medicare, Medicaid, commercial plans, discount cards, and hospice coverage—Deninger accomplished in roughly 2 hours by feeding de-identified claims data into an AI agent. The result was a consolidated, usable reporting structure for all his locations.¹

The broader efficiency gains have been similarly striking. "There are lots of things that used to take many months, which can now take a week," Deninger noted.¹

Scalability Over Size: Automation Is for Every Pharmacy

A common hesitation among independent pharmacy owners is the belief that automation only makes sense at high volume. Both panelists pushed back on that assumption.¹

"It's almost unavoidable, but it's all scalable. You don't have to have 3 dispensing robots to begin an automation process," Hamby said. He described how pharmacies can start with a basic counting device, connect it to an inventory management system, and then layer in security and workflow tools over time, building incrementally rather than committing to a full overhaul upfront.¹

Deninger echoed that framing, emphasizing that the real question is not about volume but about efficiency. The goal at Towncrest Pharmacies has always been to free up pharmacists to spend more time working directly with patients, according to Deninger. Automation, regardless of pharmacy size, is a means to that end. He also noted that their robotic dispensing system had only experienced a single day of downtime in a decade of operation, a reliability advantage that manual staffing cannot match.¹

The pharmacy automation market reflects this growing momentum. The global pharmacy automation market was valued at approximately $6.6 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $10 billion by 2030, driven by increasing demand for error-free dispensing systems and AI-enhanced workflow tools.²

AI in Action: From Clinical Notes to Data Bots

Deninger offered several concrete examples of where AI has made the most immediate difference in day-to-day pharmacy operations.¹

For clinical documentation, he described a workflow built around AI-assisted Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan (SOAP) note generation. After completing a patient consultation, sometimes lasting 45 minutes, he would input a de-identified “brain dump” of the interaction into an AI platform, which then organized it into a complete clinical note with relevant diagnostic and Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes. What previously required 45 minutes of documentation time now takes approximately 5.¹

He also introduced staff to OpenEvidence, an AI application that draws answers from the primary medical literature rather than general web sources, allowing technicians and pharmacists to quickly access clinically reliable information on unfamiliar topics. At one store, Towncrest has implemented an AI data entry bot that autonomously processes orders and refills, freeing technicians for higher-value tasks.¹

The key, Deninger said, is identifying the most painful inefficiencies first. "What is the one painful thing that you do that takes 5 minutes of your day that you want to remove?" he advised, paraphrasing advice from the conference's keynote speaker. Once that pain point is identified, AI can be directed toward it with focused, measurable impact.¹

Freeing Pharmacists to Practice Pharmacy

Both panelists described a common theme: automation and AI are not replacing pharmacists; rather, they are repositioning them. In automated environments, pharmacists report spending up to 45% more time on patient-facing care such as medication therapy management (MTM) and chronic disease management.³

"It is allowing our profession to practice our profession; it is allowing us time away from activities that are really technical," Hamby said. Tasks like counting, pouring, and routine data entry are increasingly handled by technology, creating bandwidth for clinical interventions, MTM services, and direct patient engagement.¹

Deninger noted that the benefits extend beyond pharmacists to the technician workforce as well. AI-powered documentation tools and internal knowledge bases are allowing technicians to self-educate on complex protocols, reducing their dependence on pharmacist interruptions for routine questions. "We have a lot of documentation that most of my staff have not memorized; they can teach themselves more quickly," Deninger said.¹

Approaching AI Responsibly: Skepticism as a Feature

Both panelists were careful to frame AI adoption not as uncritical embrace but as informed, cautious experimentation. Deninger, who described himself as a self-professed skeptic, emphasized that human judgment must remain central.¹

"The human element is still so important in our jobs day to day. You need to be skeptical and always challenge what it is. Go at it with an open mind, but be critical of it and make sure that you're looking at your answer," he said.¹

He also noted the cost and compliance landscape: while free-tier AI tools are available and sufficient for many staff use cases, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-compliant AI platforms remain largely out of reach for most independent pharmacies at present. In the meantime, he recommended strict de-identification of any patient data entered into consumer AI tools.¹

For pharmacy owners ready to act, Hamby offered a practical framework: resist the urge to pursue multiple AI applications simultaneously. "I would give direction on identifying one thing, one goal, and one aspect that you want to implement. Draw that down to a focus point... Don't spread your effort across 4 or 5 revenue streams at one time. Get it up, stand it up, make it run. Identify that goal next week, then go from there," he said.¹

Deninger's immediate action step was even simpler: “[The] first thing they need to do is to step in and ask a chatbot a question; it doesn't even have to be pharmacy related."¹

The Bottom Line

The panelists at McKesson ideaShare 2026 made a compelling case that pharmacy automation and AI are no longer the domain of large chains or well-funded health systems. Independent pharmacy owners who identify their most painful operational friction points, start with a single manageable use case, and apply appropriate skepticism to AI outputs are already seeing meaningful gains—in efficiency, in data quality, and in the time available for patient care. The tools are here. The question now is where each pharmacy wants to begin.¹

REFERENCES

1. Hamby G, Deninger M. Beyond the Bottle: How AI and automation are re-shaping the dispensing experience. Pharma Talk Presented at: McKesson ideaShare 2026; June 19, 2026; Denver, CO. Accessed June 19, 2026 on ideaShare Virtual Platform.

2. Pharmacy Automation Strategic Research Report 2025-2030: Increasing demand for remote and telepharmacy services drives technology adoption and focus on cost reduction and efficiency in pharmacies. Published June 9, 2025. Accessed June 19, 2026. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/06/09/3095669/28124/en/Pharmacy-Automation-Strategic-Research-Report-2025-2030-Increasing-Demand-for-Remote-and-Telepharmacy-Services-Drives-Technology-Adoption-and-Focus-on-Cost-Reduction-and-Efficiency.html

3. Kimble C, Coustasse A, Gorli K, Pile T. Intelligent pharmacy: Leveraging AI and automation to enhance patient care and pharmacist roles. Pharmacy Practice in Focus: Health Systems. 2025;14(5). Published online September 19, 2025. Accessed June 19, 2026. https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/intelligent-pharmacy-leveraging-ai-and-automation-to-enhance-patient-care-and-pharmacist-roles