Cigna’s Evernorth Health Services announced Pharmacy Forward, an AI-powered program for specialty care, July 1.
The program, backed by a $100 million investment through 2028, will first launch with Evernorth’s Accredo Specialty Pharmacy.
Pharmacy Forward will integrate clinical data, AI-generated summaries and predictive analytics to help care teams. Clinicians will be able to proactively find at-risk patients, and the program is anticipated to reduce documentation time by up to 50%.
The program will also harness AI to reach patients earlier and offer personalized support. Accredo is offering AI-enabled scheduling, and it expects a 25% increase in personalized patient digital pathway use.
Pharmacy Forward aims to cut the time between Accredo receiving a prescription and the patient getting their medication in half. It uses AI to ensure complete prior authorization submissions and determine copay assistance eligibility.
Pharmacy Forward will also bolster Accredo’s ability to ship complex specialty medications quickly, with 90% of patients within a one- or same-day ground shipping radius. Accredo is expanding its capacity across many of its care facilities to accommodate this. To assist in finding the best dispensing location, AI will continuously assess patient location, delivery timing and medication handling requirements.
The program is expected to have a $400 million value by the end of 2028. Evernorth plans to bring Pharmacy Forward’s capabilities to its other pharmacies in the coming years.
“Pharmacy Forward reflects our commitment to meet patients where they are — delivering an even faster, more seamless experience while ensuring they receive the personalized support and clinical care they deserve,” said Matt Perlberg, president of the Evernorth Health Services pharmacy and care delivery businesses and executive vice president of customer innovation for The Cigna Group.
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