Express Scripts launched an expanded research lab that incorporates artificial intelligence and machine learning to isolate how to improve service and lower costs.
Announced Tuesday, the revamped and reconstructed lab will be used by more than 160 experts that include physicians, nurses, pharmacists and data scientists to generate and explore ideas, officials said.
“We have painstakingly reconstructed the lab so our team, and our partners, can immerse themselves in the health experience and prepare for the dramatic changes in care that are on the horizon,” said Glen Stettin, senior vice president and chief innovation officer for Express Scripts.
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The expanded lab now includes the Voice of the Customer command center that will integrate artificial intelligence and billions of data elements to help researchers identify “precisely what patients, and their physicians, need to improve service, care, outcomes and lower costs,” the pharmacy benefit manager said in a release.
Express Scripts, which was acquired by Cigna, also created a Rapid Prototyping and Immersion space intended to illustrate how patients live with chronic and complex diseases and to test new technologies to improve their experience, the company added.
“In this rapidly changing health care landscape, there has never been a more important time to double down on our investment in research and technology,” said Tim Wentworth, president of Express Scripts and Cigna Health Services.
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The lab was responsible for putting together a digital health formulary intended to create a curated list of validated health and wellness apps. Each digital app will have to demonstrate a therapeutic value and meet strict safety and security standards.
The formulary is expected to launch next year.