The speed at which the use of advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence are reshaping pharmacy benefits is only increasing. As we look at 2026, what are the most impactful changes for plan sponsors and members? Host Scott Draeger welcomes guests Optum Rx Senior Vice President Enterprise Capabilities Jen McGonigle and Optum Rx Chief Information Officer Santiago Abraham to learn about the latest developments.
Every year, scores of new, innovative and expensive prescription medications advance from the drug development pipeline into the marketplace. Which ones have the greatest potential to make a meaningful impact for patients and plan sponsors? On the latest episode of the Pharmacy Insights Podcast, Optum Rx Senior Vice President of Clinical Consulting Scott Draeger dives into to the latest drug pipeline developments with Sara Guidry, Optum Rx Senior Director of Pipeline and Drug Surveillance and Arash Sadeghi, Optum Rx Clinical Pharmacist for Pipeline and Drug Surveillance. Touching on everything from cancer to Alzheimer’s, together they sift through the noise to identify the new drugs most likely to fill unmet medical needs and create potential financial implications for sponsors of the pharmacy benefit.
The use of artificial intelligence has exploded into the public consciousness in recent years. While people are becoming more accustomed to the presence of AI in their personal lives, what does it mean for pharmacy care services?On the latest episode of the Pharmacy Insights Podcast, Optum Rx Senior Vice President of Clinical Consulting Scott Draeger welcomed Santiago Abraham, Chief Information Officer at Optum Rx and Sid Sahni, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Innovation at Optum Rx to discuss how Optum Rx is approaching the use of AI and what that means for sponsors and users of pharmacy benefits.
As we exit the first quarter of the 21st century, what are the big trends defining prescription drugs and how pharmacy benefits are administered? On the latest episode of the Pharmacy Insights Podcast, Optum Rx Senior Vice President of Clinical Consulting Scott Draeger welcomed Dr. John Wig, Chief Clinical Officer of Optum Rx, to discuss everything from new indications for GLP-1 medications to emerging biosimilar options for popular biologic drugs to the role of artificial intelligence in pharmacy care.
The array of challenges faced by sponsors of the pharmacy benefit are constantly evolving. To help plan sponsors get a sense of the emerging options available to help them, Optum Rx Senior Vice President of Clinical Consulting Scott Draeger welcomed Mike McGinnity, Senior Vice President of Growth and Retention at Optum Rx and Sid Sahni, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Innovation at Optum Rx to discuss the current state of innovation in pharmacy care services on the latest episode of the Pharmacy Insights Podcast.
Pharmacy Benefit Managers have long been subject to a broad array of regulatory requirements. Yet, a flurry of new legislation and rulemaking has emerged in recent years – some of which threatens to undermine longstanding practices PBMs use to save members and plan sponsors money and ensure quality of care. To help bring clarity to this burst of activity and sort through the implication for patients and plan sponsors alike, Optum Rx Senior Vice President of Clinical Consulting Scott Draeger welcomed Marissa Schlaifer, Vice President of Policy for Optum and Sara Strothman, Vice President of Policy for Optum Rx for a wide-ranging discussion on the Pharmacy Insights Podcast.
On this episode of the Pharmacy Insights podcast, host Scott Draeger welcomes Optum Rx SVP of Industry Relations, Jamey Millar and Optum Rx SVP of formulary management, Savitha Vivian to discuss the implications of new biosimilar alternatives to expensive biologic drugs.
While the operational side of the pharmacy care services business rarely garners headlines, the efforts of operations teams are vital to making prescription medications accessible and affordable. Optum Rx Senior Vice President of Clinical Consulting, Scott Draeger recently welcomed Jason Greenberg, Optum Rx Chief of Operations, and Katie Schumacher, Vice President of digital products at Optum Rx to discuss how ongoing innovations in operations are helping to help improve the pharmacy benefit management experience for plan sponsors, providers, and members.
Host Scott Draeger welcomes Optum Rx Vice President of Trend Insights & Analytics Michelle Kamprath and Optum Rx Senior Director of Drug Pipeline & Surveillance Bill Dreitlein for a lively discussion of the year ahead in pharmacy. Find out which trends are expected to make noise in 2024 including the ongoing obesity drug dilemma facing plan sponsors, the impact of the profusion of biosimilars on drug costs, and some noteworthy drug candidates currently advancing through the pipeline.
Gene therapies represent a true revolution in the way certain genetic diseases are treated. They are also the most expensive drugs in history. In this episode, Optum Rx Senior Vice President of Clinical Consulting Scott Draeger welcomes Nick Cashman, Specialty Clinical Consultant for Optum Rx, and Arash Sadeghi, Clinical Pharmacist, Pipeline & Drug Surveillance at Optum Rx. They dive in on the science of gene therapies and discuss what measures plan sponsors can take to prepare as these formerly rare medicines begin to be used for more diseases.
Affording everyone a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health is an ongoing challenge. To better understand the issue, Optum Rx Senior Vice President of Clinical Consulting Scott Draeger welcomed Dr. Sumit Dutta, Chief Medical Officer for OptumRx, and Corey Coleman, Vice President of OptumRx Health Equity and Strategic Partnerships for a recent episode of the Pharmacy Insights Podcast. Together they discussed the challenges of achieving Health Equity and the steps the Optum Rx is taking to make an impact.
As increasingly expensive medications continue to enter the market and questions about prescription drug affordability become everyday topics of conversation, the pharmacy benefit management space is undergoing profound changes. To get a sense of the forces driving these changes, Optum Rx Senior Vice President of Clinical Consulting, Scott Draeger welcomed Optum Rx president and Chief Operating Officer Jon Mahrt for a recent episode of the Pharmacy Insights Podcast. Together they discuss how issues of access, affordability, and transparency have become the new imperatives for pharmacy benefit management and the innovations addressing these challenges.
One of the most pronounced changes in the pharmacy landscape over the past year has been the rapid emergence of a new class of medications for weight loss known as GLP-1 agonists. Dr. Ana Bhatnagar, Optum Rx Associate Chief Medical Officer, and Dr. Travis Baughn, Optum Rx Vice President of Clinical Solutions join us to discuss what broader use of these promising but expensive medications for weight loss means for both patients and plan sponsors.
Guest: Sr. Vice President, Optum Rx Clinical and Formulary Services, Savitha Vivian. Long established in Europe, biosimilar alternatives to popular and costly biologic drugs are finally poised to make an impact in the U.S. With biosimilar alternatives to Humira now launching, what does that mean for prescription drug spending?
Guest: Optum Rx Chief Pharmacy Officer, Michael Einodshofer.Specialty medications continue to be the single largest driver of prescription drug spending. What separates specialty from traditional pharmacy and what specifics steps can be taken to mitigate rising specialty spend? What do new advances such as gene therapies mean for future specialty costs?