For many of us, the COVID-19 crisis served as a wakeup call when it comes to personal health management. To gain a better understanding of how the pandemic changed the way consumers approach health and wellness, CVS surveyed over 1,000 U.S. consumers and 400 healthcare providers about “what kind of healthcare experience they want and what barriers may hinder their ability to achieve desired health outcomes.”

The result? People want more holistic, personalized and digitally-enabled healthcare experiences. And CVS Health is HERE FOR IT. In 2022 alone, they expect to invest upwards of $3 billion dollars optimizing and expanding their digital footprint, amongst other things. Here’s a look at some of those initiatives. 

Transformation Starts With Efficiency 

A pioneer of hyperautomation, CVS Health has long leveraged RPA, AI and other business process automation tools to optimize its support functions. For example, Using a combination of AI, RPA, machine learning, data analytics and natural language processes (NLP), CVS Health was able to automate its prescription intake, benefits administration and revenue cycle management processes.  

As CEO Karen Lynch explained in a August 2021 earnings call, ““Our technology-driven programs are leveraging blockchain, driving cloud migration, and intelligent automation, and streamlining processes, to accelerate results and generate greater impact. One example is a specialty pharmacy script automation program that uses artificial intelligence to yield better results more quickly, while eliminating more than 30 manual steps, such as benefit verification and prior authorization.”

Personalized Healthcare 

With competition from digital pharmacy startups mounting, CVS Health is developing new ways to use its extensive enterprise data assets strategically. For example using AI and machine learning, CVS can sync multiple prescriptions to be ready on the same day, suggest side-effect counseling and further accelerate the refill process. 

They also partnered with IBM Watson to build an AI tool to promote flu vaccine awareness. In an interview last year, Norman de Greve, CVS Pharmacy’s senior VP and chief marketing officer, explained, “Our work with the ‘Flu Insights with Watson’ tool on The Weather Channel app achieved our goal of reaching and engaging customers in high-risk flu areas to drive awareness of flu shot offerings, as well as cough, cold and flu medications.  

The campaign targeted consumers as they checked The Weather Channel app, presumably to make decisions about upcoming activities and travel, with messaging about flu shot offerings as well as cold and flu remedies available at nearby CVS Pharmacy locations nationwide.

By connecting with consumers when and where it mattered, we drove more than 59 million impressions of CVS media to our “Daily Details” page. The campaign also included a flu sponsorship designed to alert communities of their risk of contracting the flu and provide reminders to prioritize vaccinations and take proactive measures to stay healthy during the flu season.” 

The company is even, reportedly, using AI to help patients make better, more informed lifestyle and health decisions. For example, its Transform Diabetes Care program “brings together our advanced data analytics with our clinical, brick-and-mortar and digital assets to provide a comprehensive solution that is personalized, predictive, and prioritized.” Using this tool, 50% of its members with uncontrolled diabetes were able to move to controlled status. 

The Future of Health is Digital

If CVS Health’s most recent C-level hire is any indication, it looks like their digital journey is only just beginning. In July 2022 the company announced the hiring of a new chief data, digital and technology officer, Tilak Mandadi. 

As reported in the Wall Street Journal, “Before Mr. Mandadi’s appointment, technology leadership at CVS was divided among the president of data and analytics, the chief information security officer, the CIO, the senior vice president of digital engineering and architecture and the SVP of digital products, user experience and operations, each of them reporting to different business leaders.

The creation of the new role is meant to bring those spheres together, eliminate silos and take a more integrated company approach to technology. “

There’s even rumblings that CVS plans to build its own healthcare metaverse. Already a member in the Decentralized Identity (DID) Alliance, in March 2022, CVS Health filed a trademark application for virtual goods, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and digital collectibles. Essentially all of the components needed for a metaverse health clinic. 

Could a healthcare metaverse help expand and democratize patient care? It certainly has the potential to.