This week more vendors announce integrations with artificial intelligence-driven tools and platforms that better connect patients and doctors during visits, find and lower specialty medication costs and access care resources at home or on the go.

Pfizer pledged to simplify access to routine healthcare with partners like Instacart and Zocdoc on a user-friendly web-based platform aimed directly at consumers. To lower costs of specialty medications, Reliance Rx said it has joined the Waltz Connect marketplace while Elation Health, an electronic health records vendor focused on primary care, launched ambient note-taking as a first step in redesigning a better experience for doctors.

It's "just the start of our larger vision for transforming the EHR from a supportive technology to a valued assistant to the clinician," Kyna Fong, Elation Health, CEO said in a statement Tuesday.

Reliance Rx partners on specialty meds

The companies announced Monday that Buffalo, New York-based Reliance Rx will join Waltz Connect, an AI-backed marketplace, as an in-network pharmacy option for specialty prescriptions. 

Reliance said its average time-to-fill period is about three days and can pass on more than $5,200 in cost savings per successful clinical interaction.

The new partnership aims to reduce plan sponsor and provider administrative burdens and lower net costs, according to Timothy Carroll, Reliance Rx vice president of business development and analytics.

"Waltz Health provides a solution for plan sponsors to recognize a more seamless specialty pharmacy experience while also removing obstacles for plan members in accessing life-saving pharmaceuticals," Carrol said in a statement.

Chicago-based Waltz Health, a platform for payers, pharmacies, pharmacy benefit managers and self-insured employers, said that adding the new specialty pharmacy partner will reduce friction for health plan members. 

"With its demonstrated ability to fill prescriptions at scale and its predictable prices, we’re providing access to a reliable, mission-driven specialty pharmacy that can reduce costs and deliver on member expectations," Mark Thierer, Waltz Health cofounder and CEO, said in the announcement.

Elation EHR adds AI note-taking 

Elation Health said that it has added ambient note generation to reduce administrative burdens in note-taking for the complex patient visit requirements of primary care.

Called Note Assist, the embedded AI works with providers' note templates and reviews existing notes and patient records to craft documentation in near real-time during visits.

The tool requires minimal workflow changes and access to patient data and other EHR tools is not disrupted while in use, according to the company.

"The connection between patient and physician is invaluable and easy to disrupt," Phill Tornroth, Elation Health vice president of engineering, noted in the statement. 

"It was critical for this first intelligent feature to not only prove useful in the EHR but also to show what is possible when AI is designed for trust by primary care experts with a deep understanding of clinician workflows."

Pfizer targets health outcomes

Pfizer announced Tuesday that a new digital platform called PfizerForAll will enable patients to use existing insurance and pharmacy programs and offer new direct services from partners including UpScriptHealth, Alto Pharmacy and Instacart.

The new digital health platform will address common illnesses like migraines and common respiratory viruses and book adult vaccinations with the goal of cutting down on patients' time to get care and fill prescriptions, the company said.

"People often experience information overload and encounter roadblocks when making decisions for themselves or their family in our complex and often overwhelming U.S. healthcare system," Aamir Malik, Pfizer's executive vice president and chief U.S. commercial officer, said in a statement.

"This can be extremely time-consuming and lead to indecision or inaction – and as a result, poor health outcomes."

The web platform enables patients to talk to a doctor at UpScript or book an appointment on Zocdoc, learn about migraines and get support on prior authorizations for medications. 

Andrea Fox is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.

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