Bridging Health Informatics Across Pharmacy and Dentistry: A Scoping Review of Digital Transformation, Interoperability, Clinical Decision Support, Artificial Intelligence, and Patient Safety

Abstract

Background: Pharmacy and dentistry are rapidly digitizing, yet information ecosystems remain poorly connected. This gap is clinically relevant because medication/systemic- health/oral-health information may be mutually relevant for safe care. Objective: Map digital health technology/electronic health record (EHR)/informatics literature on interoperability, clinical decision support systems (CDSS), artificial intelligence (AI), and patient safety across pharmacy and dentistry and identify cross-professional gaps in the evidence. Methods: Structured as a scoping review (Population–Concept–Context framework; Joanna Briggs Institute [JBI]/Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews [PRISMA-ScR] reporting). Study evidence maps by technology, clinical function, interoperability maturity, safety mechanism, implementation determinant, and outcome. Results: Literature demonstrates robust digital advancement within each profession, but limited evidence supporting integrated pharmacy dentistry clinical workflows. Dental informatics evidence evolved with each stage of electronic records, coding, imaging, data capture, and reuse competency. Pharmacy literature proliferated AI-supported medication management and decision support. Interoperability/data quality/workflow integration/alert governance/human oversight/privacy/bias/equity repeatedly emerge as factors that determine whether or not digitalization delivers net safety gains. Conclusion: Cross-cutting gaps are opportunities: not necessarily for further digitization as individual professions or specialties, but interoperable, context-aware, governed digital ecosystems that help professionals keep patients safer overall.