Cigna invests $100 million in Pharmacy Forward, an AI-powered program to transform specialty care

Cigna invests $100 million in new AI-powered specialty pharmacy program

Cigna's Evernorth has unveiled Pharmacy Forward, an AI-driven specialty pharmacy program backed by a $100 million investment. This initiative, starting with Accredo, aims to slash prescription processing times and enhance patient care by reducing clinician documentation by up to 50%. The program is set to deliver significant value, with plans to expand its AI capabilities across other pharmacy operations. Cigna said on Wednesday its health services unit Evernorth has launched a new AI-powered specialty pharmacy program to reduce the time it takes to process prescriptions and improve customer service. The program, called Pharmacy Forward, is supported by ⁠a $100 ⁠million investment through 2028, the health insurer said. Here are more details: The company is launching the AI program first through its specialty pharmacy, Accredo. The program uses AI to integrate clinical data and insights, generate summaries to free up more time ⁠for clinicians to focus on patient care. 'Pharmacy Forward' is expected to reduce clinician documentation time ⁠by up to 50%, the company said. The program uses AI to improve prior authorization requests, halving the time it takes for patients to receive their medication after Accredo receives a prescription, the company said. Health insurers are increasingly adopting artificial intelligence tools to streamline documentation processes, reduce administrative burdens and lower costs. Accredo is also expanding capacity, staffing, and capabilities at ⁠many of its nearly 40 care facilities, Cigna said. The program is expected to generate about $400 million in value by the end of 2028, with Evernorth expecting to extend many of these capabilities to its other pharmacy operations in the coming years, it said.

Evernorth Unveils Pharmacy Forward Ai-Powered Program for Specialty Care

Evernorth, the health services division of The Cigna Group, unveiled Pharmacy Forward, a new AI-powered program designed to improve how patients access and experience specialty care. Launching first with Accredo Specialty Pharmacy ? which serves patients with chronic and complex specialty conditions through condition-specific Therapeutic Resource Centers (TRCs) ? the program is supported by a $100 million investment through 2028. This investment enables care teams to focus more on clinical care and patient outcomes while reducing prescription processing timelines and improving service responsiveness. Pharmacy Forward applies AI across four core areas: clinical care, prescription intake, administration, and medication fulfillment. Pharmacy Forward is expected to improve medication adherence beyond the industry standard of 80%, helping patients stay on therapy and achieve optimal health outcomes. By integrating clinical data and insights, AI-generated summaries, and predictive analytics, care teams can deliver more connected, informed support. This enables clinicians to proactively identify patients at risk of falling off therapy or experiencing adverse events, empowering earlier intervention, stronger coordination, and an improved patient experience. The program uses AI to free up more time for clinicians to focus on patient care and is expected to reduce clinician documentation time by up to 50%. Pharmacy Forward uses AI-enabled tools to reach patients earlier in their care journey and deliver more proactive, personalized support. Accredo has implemented AI-enabled scheduling so outreach occurs during patients' preferred call windows. Accredo anticipates a 25% increase in use of personalized patient digital pathways, enabling more patients to complete routine steps on their own terms ? getting answers faster, starting prescriptions through the app or website, and scheduling therapy more easily. Pharmacy Forward is cutting the time it takes for patients to receive their medication after Accredo receives a prescription in half ? helping patients start treatment sooner. By using AI to improve the completeness of prior authorization submissions, identify copay assistance eligibility, and ensure prescriptions are ready earlier in the process, the program is designed to streamline the time it takes to process a prescription and reduce delays in care. Pharmacy Forward will enhance Accredo's ability to ship complex specialty medications from sites as close to a patient's home as possible, ensuring that 90% of patients are within a 1-day or same day ground shipping radius. To enable this, Accredo is expanding capacity, staffing, and capabilities at many of its nearly 40 care facilities to reduce the need for longer ground or air shipments, which are more susceptible to delays from adverse events such as weather. The enhancements will be supported by AI technology, for example, to continuously analyze factors such as patient location, delivery timing, and medication handling requirements to determine the most effective dispensing location. The program is expected to generate approximately $400 million in value by the end of 2028, helping make care more coordinated and personalized for the more than one million patients Accredo serves each year. Evernorth expects to extend many of these capabilities to its other pharmacies' operations in the coming years.