Evernorth, the medical services division of Cigna Group, on Thursday launched a new AI-powered program for specialty pharmacies called Pharmacy Forward. The program is backed by a $100 million investment through 2028.
Evernorth serves 190 million people and provides pharmacy, care and benefits solutions. Pharmacy Forward will initially partner with Evernorth’s Accredo Specialty Pharmacy to serve approximately 1 million patients living with chronic, complex specialty conditions. Evernorth plans to expand this program to other pharmacy businesses in the future.
The program leverages AI in four key areas, said Matt Perlberg, president of Evernorth Health Services’ pharmacy and care delivery business.
- Enabling care: Pharmacy Forward provides clinical insights, AI-generated summaries, and predictive analytics to help clinicians identify patients at risk for adverse events and intervene earlier. It also reduces the administrative burden on doctors.
“About 15 percent of a clinician’s time is spent on administrative tasks. …Pharmacy Forward helps us reduce that administrative burden and allow clinicians to get back to what they do best: caring for patients,” Perlberg said in an interview.
- Experience Accelerator: This program uses AI to reach patients early and personalize care. Perlberg gave the example of an AI-enabled scheduling tool that ensures patients are contacted during their preferred call time.
- Rx Readiness: Pharmacy Forward uses AI to support prior authorization requests, eligibility for copay assistance, and reduce the time it takes for patients to receive their medications.
“We will help patients receive their medications faster by cutting the time it takes from receiving a referral to receiving their medication in half,” Perlberg declared.
- One Fulfillment Network: Evernorth has approximately 40 different care delivery sites across the United States where we dispense complex specialty medicines. The company is investing in these facilities so that 90% of patients can reach same-day or next-day ground delivery.
Evernorth expects Pharmacy Forward to be worth $400 million by the end of 2028, according to the announcement. To measure the program’s success, Evernorth will track medication adherence, patients’ Net Promoter Scores and how quickly it can get drugs to patients, Perlberg said.
Ultimately, Evernorth said he hopes Pharmacy Forward can drive “better, faster patient care.”
“This is a major innovation that will allow us to provide simpler, better and faster treatments to patients,” Perlberg said.
Photo: Ismadhilov, Getty Images
