Evernorth introduces Pharmacy Forward, a new AI-powered specialty pharmacy program

Evernorth has announced a new specialty pharmacy program, utilizing artificial intelligence to enhance patients’ experiences with complex conditions.

Under the name “Pharmacy Forward”, the program is designed to leverage technology for greater coordination and connectivity of care and provide personalized support in real-time. Evernorth is rolling the program out first to Accredo Specialty Pharmacy customers, and is committing $100 million over the next five years to the program.

The company said the aim is to enable care teams to focus more on clinical and patient care, and also speed up the prescription processing and response to service calls.

“For patients with complex health situations, there’s a need for comprehensive, expert support, often in some of the toughest times of their lives,” Matt Perlberg, president of the Evernorth Health Services pharmacy and care delivery businesses, including Accredo, and executive vice president of Customer Innovation for The Cigna Group, stated in the announcement.

Pharmacy Forward is a testament to our commitment to provide an even faster and more streamlined experience, while giving our patients the support and clinical care they deserve, without leaving the store,” Perlberg said.

The platform integrates essential clinical information and insights with AI-generated summaries and analytics, simplifying care team support and making it more connected and informed. It can, for instance, place them in a position to recognize when patients are likely to drop out of therapy or have a negative event.

In the announcement, the company stated it anticipates that this work will enhance adherence to the medication beyond an industry benchmark of 80%. The use of AI will also likely reduce the clinical documentation necessary by 40%, freeing up clinical teams to focus more on providing care, Evernorth said.

Moreover, AI helps the clinical teams to intervene proactively and, in turn, to get upstream of the patient’s journey and prevent any risks from escalating into major problems. Accredo already has a program to contact patients during their preferred time of day thanks to AI-powered scheduling.

Accredo hopes that Pharmacy Forward will bring a 25% increase in personalised digital patient pathways.

In addition to improving patient care, the program will help shorten the wait time for patients to receive their prescriptions. Accredo estimates that it will reduce the time it takes patients to get their prescriptions in half.

One aspect of that is relying on AI to help complete prior authorization requests and uncover copayment assistance. In addition, Pharmacy Forward will enhance Accredo’s ability to deliver complex specialty medications to patients in their homes.

By 2028, Evernorth anticipates that the program will contribute $400 million in value, and many of the program’s elements will be expanded to other pharmacy operations in the future.

In the announcement, Cigna Group, Evernorth’s parent company, said they are changing the way they support each patient’s journey with AI. With the right combination of real-time data, sophisticated analytics, and clinical expertise, we can provide more personalized, proactive assistance, enabling patients to receive the care they deserve sooner and achieve better health results — in a responsible way.

Evernorth has unveiled Pharmacy Forward, a new AI-powered specialty pharmacy program designed to improve the delivery of complex medications while enhancing patient support and clinical decision-making. The initiative reflects Evernorth’s continued investment in digital healthcare technologies that simplify specialty pharmacy services for patients, providers, and healthcare organizations.

As specialty medications become increasingly important in treating chronic and rare diseases, Evernorth aims to leverage artificial intelligence to improve medication access, streamline care coordination, and deliver more personalized support throughout the treatment journey.

Evernorth Uses AI to Improve Specialty Pharmacy Services

The new Evernorth Pharmacy Forward program combines advanced AI capabilities with clinical expertise to help identify patient needs earlier, optimize therapy management, and reduce administrative burdens. The platform analyzes healthcare data to support pharmacists and care teams in making timely, informed decisions while maintaining a patient-centered approach.