Omnicell launches EnlivenHealth to aid retail pharmacies, health plans in improving patient outcomes
Mountain View, Calif.,-based Omnicell, is bidding adieu to its Population Health Solutions name and introducing a new brand identity for the division. The provider of medication management solutions and adherence tools is launching EnlivenHealth, which is dedicated to enabling retail pharmacies and health plans to improve patient outcomes while reducing costs through innovative Software-as-a-Service technology solutions.
Danny Sanchez, vice president and general manager of EnlivenHealth, said that while Omnicell has been well known for over two decades for its medication dispensing technologies, and is still focusing on population health, the new branding reflects the direction the company is taking in partnering with leading retail pharmacies as well as payers to bring value-based care forward to improve health outcomes for patient and health plan populations.
“Pharmacists spend a good part of their day answering the phones and answering questions that could be easily taken care of by technology. Artificial intelligence can reduce that administration time, so that the pharmacist can be empowered to work at top of their license and provide more value-based care,” Sanchez said.
Walgreens’ Save a Trip Refills program, which is powered by EnlivenHealth’s medication synchronization technology, is a case in point. The initiative, which was started as a pilot in a small number of stores four years ago, is now chain wide with four million patients enrolled.
Justin Coyle, Walgreens senior director of pharmacy and retail operations, explained that the goal of the program is to make it easier for patients to get their medications, as well as giving Walgreens’s pharmacy team members a place where they can engage and interact and support patients in a different way.
“Ultimately what Walgreens was able to do, which is pretty remarkable, is improve patient adherence, and make it easier for patients to take their medications when their medications are synchronized. It makes it easier to take your medication, it makes coming to the pharmacy easier, it makes getting your medication delivered easier, and it makes coming to the drive- thru easier. In the process, we’re actually improving the experience. We’re allowing pharmacy teams to have these much more meaningful conversations and meaningful opportunities to listen to patients, to learn, and then to help those patients develop a plan that works for them,” said Coyle.
Save a Trip Refills, which saves patients three trips to the pharmacy a year, also is making it easier for patients amid the pandemic, particularly for patients who live in communities that have health disparities where they may be at risk for poorer health outcomes.
“Their transportation has changed, as well as the way they come in and out of stores, and the way they shop, so having solutions that simplify their experience really helps,” Coyle said.
Finally, Coyle is buoyant about Omnicell’s new direction with EnlivenHealth. “It’s exciting for us as a partner to see that Omnicell is really doubling down and looking to build out how they support their partners, like Walgreens, to engage with our patients in a meaningful way so we can ultimately make it a better experience and make it easy for our patients to get their pharmacy needs. It’s also exciting to see that there’s a lot of alignment around improving patient outcomes and improving patient experience, and that Omnicell is taking a visible step in doing that through EnlivenHealth,” he said.