Testimony from a pharmacy owner
I’ve been a pharmacy owner for several years. I’ve tested my share of tools. I’ve heard my share of tech promises. So when my team told me about Pharmia Atlas, I did what I always do: I tested it myself. And to compare, I asked the same question to Open Evidence, a well-known medical AI tool in academic circles.
The question was simple, concrete, the kind of situation we deal with every week at the counter: Which vaccines are free and recommended for a 71-year-old diabetic patient? What would be the recommended administration schedule?
A routine case. A real patient. An answer I need in thirty seconds, not thirty minutes.
Open Evidence: A Scholarly Answer, But Not for Here
Open Evidence gave me a structured answer. The recommended vaccines were: influenza, pneumococcal, shingles, COVID-19, tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis, and even hepatitis B. The sources? American guidelines — AACE, ADA, CDC. Solid on paper.
But when I read that the recommended pneumococcal vaccine is “PCV15 or PCV20 followed by PPSV23,” I check out. That’s not the nomenclature we use in Quebec. And most importantly, when I look for the answer to my real question — is it free for my patient? — Open Evidence tells me: “The availability of free vaccination varies depending on the healthcare system and the patient’s insurance program.”
In other words: figure it out yourself.
The tool even suggests I explore the “specific free vaccination programs available in my region.” That’s exactly what I was trying to do by asking the question.
Pharmia Atlas: The Answer I Would Have Written Myself
Pharmia Atlas’s answer stopped me in my tracks. Not because it was longer or more impressive. Because it was right.
Right off the bat, Atlas tells me it’s consulting the PIQ — Quebec’s Immunization Protocol. Already, I know I’m in the right framework. Then, a clear table with five vaccines: influenza, conjugate pneumococcal, shingles, COVID-19, and Tdap. For each one, the specific eligibility for free coverage under Quebec’s public program, and the precise administration schedule with recommended and minimum intervals.
A few details that convinced me the tool truly understands my context:
- It recommends Pneu-C-21 (Capvaxive) as a single dose, and specifies that Pneumovax 23 is no longer used in the public program. This is a recent change that even some colleagues don’t know about yet.
- For influenza, it specifies to prefer Fluad or Fluzone High Dose for those 75 and older with chronic disease. This isn’t generic information — it’s what the PIQ recommends.
- For shingles, it notes that at 71, free coverage applies based on age, regardless of diabetes. A detail that changes the conversation with the patient.
- The COVID-19 products available for free are named: Comirnaty and Spikevax. Not “according to current health authority recommendations.”
Where Open Evidence cites the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology and Diabetes Care, Atlas directly cites PIQ sections — the document I use every day in my practice.
What It Changes at the Counter
The difference isn’t measured in the number of recommended vaccines. It’s measured in validation time.
With Open Evidence, I would have had to open the PIQ alongside it, verify each recommendation, adapt the American nomenclature to our reality, and confirm the free coverage myself. Twenty extra minutes of work. Multiplied by the dozens of vaccine consultations we do each week, that adds up to hours.
With Pharmia Atlas, the answer was ready to use. I still verified — that’s my pharmacist reflex — and everything matched the PIQ. The sources were there, clickable, each one pointing to the relevant section.
A Tool Made for Us
This isn’t about good or bad tools. Open Evidence has its place in clinical research, in academic settings, when exploring international literature. But at the counter of a pharmacy in Quebec, facing a patient waiting for their answer, I need a tool that knows my healthcare system, my public coverage programs, my nomenclature.
Pharmia Atlas didn’t impress me with prestigious references. It impressed me by giving me exactly what I would have looked up myself — but in thirty seconds instead of twenty minutes.
That’s the real value of a clinical tool. Not replacing the pharmacist. Arming them.
Pharmia Atlas is available for free for Quebec pharmacists. Try it at app.pharmia.ca/atlas.
