Evernorth, the health services division of The Cigna Group, launched an AI-driven specialty pharmacy program backed by a $100 million investment through 2028. The initiative, called Pharmacy Forward, aims to cut medication delivery times in half and reduce administrative burdens for clinicians treating complex chronic conditions.
The program initially launches with Evernorth's Accredo Specialty Pharmacy, which serves about 1 million patients managing chronic and complex conditions. Evernorth plans to expand the technology across its other pharmacy operations in the future. The company anticipates the initiative will generate $400 million in value by the end of 2028. Success will be measured by medication adherence and patient net promoter scores, alongside medication delivery speed.
Four focus areas for patient care
Matt Perlberg, president of the Evernorth Health Services pharmacy and care delivery businesses, outlined four specific areas where the technology applies. Under care enablement, the system provides clinical insights and predictive analytics to help clinicians identify patients at risk of adverse events. Experience accelerators use AI to personalize patient outreach, such as scheduling calls during preferred time windows. The Rx readiness component supports prior authorization submissions and copay assistance eligibility to speed up treatment.
Fulfillment network and delivery times
Evernorth is also investing in its physical infrastructure through a unified fulfillment network. The company operates about 40 care delivery sites across the U.S. and is upgrading them so that 90% of patients fall within a same- or next-day ground shipping radius. On the clinical side, the AI tools target the administrative tasks that consume about 15% of clinicians' time. "We are going to cut the time that it takes for patients to receive their medication after we get the referral in half, so we're going to help patients receive their medications much sooner," Perlberg said.
Reducing this friction requires removing manual bottlenecks from the prescription process. "What Pharmacy Forward will help us do is reduce that administrative burden, so that our clinicians can get back to doing what they do best, which is take care of patients," Perlberg said.
Why this matters for healthcare professionals
The deployment of AI for Healthcare in specialty pharmacy moves beyond basic back-office automation to directly alter patient treatment timelines. For clinical teams, the practical takeaway is a measurable reduction in prior authorization delays and administrative chart reviews. This shift allows pharmacists and care managers to redirect their focus toward proactive clinical interventions rather than routing paperwork.
Your membership also unlocks:
