Duncan Dobbins, Pharm.D., MHI, is a fourth-generation pharmacist and clinical informatician at Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania. He earned his Pharm.D. and BS in pharmacy foundations degrees from Duquesne University in 2023, where he conducted biopharmaceutics research. He went on to complete a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship in health system science at Geisinger’s Center for Pharmacy Innovation and Outcomes (CPIO). During this fellowship, his work focused on research methods, health service evaluation, system redesign, and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven solutions for the pharmacy enterprise. While at CPIO, he also earned a Master of Health Informatics degree from Wake Forest University, blending pharmacy expertise with advanced data analytics and information technology.
In his current role as clinical informatics pharmacist, Dobbins oversees Geisinger’s pharmacy AI agenda and contributes to Epic clinical-builder initiatives. In the Epic arena, he trains in pharmacotherapy-driven Clinical Builder work: configuring medication workflows, order sets, and decision support while also guiding the safe adoption of emerging technologies. In parallel, he functions as the pharmacy department’s de facto AI liaison. As lead of the Pharmacy AI Task Force, he delivers AI education to frontline teams, assists leadership with vendor evaluations, and develops governance structures to scale innovation responsibly. His work centers on creating the technical foundation for next-generation pharmacy AI while ensuring patient safety and equity remain paramount.
Dobbins’ choice to pursue pharmacy was deeply influenced by his family’s long tradition in the profession. Growing up in a household where conversations about patient care and medication stewardship were routine, he gravitated toward the science behind therapy. While at Duquesne, his biopharmaceutics research marked his first step toward a nontraditional path, ultimately leading him to health system science and clinical informatics. He views his current practice as the intersection of his family’s hands-on pharmacy legacy and modern systems thinking. “I love bridging clinical realities with data, workflows, and technology so pharmacists can spend more time practicing at the top of their license,” he says.
An active ACCP member, Dobbins has found the organization to be a professional home. As national chair of the Resident Advisory Committee, he led a team of postgraduate clinical pharmacists to produce member-facing content. An advocate for innovation, he championed the use of AI tools to enhance communication and efficiency. ACCP, he notes, has expanded his network, connected him with mentors, and provided opportunities to collaborate on practice models and research. “The cross-pollination of pharmacy practice types is a breeding ground for ideas that can be piloted, measured, and scaled,” he writes.
Looking ahead, Dobbins sees both personal and professional goals on the horizon. He envisions shaping the future of pharmacy AI through formal governance, dedicated teams, and leadership roles that do not yet exist but soon will. At the same time, he hopes to carry forward his family’s legacy by one day owning Dobbins Drugs, even if he is not physically behind the counter.
A strong advocate for equity in AI, Dobbins emphasizes the importance of monitoring algorithms for bias, ensuring models work effectively across diverse populations, care settings, and languages. He is committed to collaboration across disciplines, working with physicians, nurses, data scientists, and administrators to design solutions that balance access, cost, safety, and efficiency. His career reflects a balance of tradition and innovation, grounded in community pharmacy roots yet focused on the systems and technologies that will shape the next generation of care.