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Deborah Simonson, PharmD, serves as vice president and chief pharmacy officer of Ochsner Health. She leads innovative pharmacy strategies that improve clinical outcomes and access to medications across Ochsner’s systems.
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Transforming Pharmacy Operations at Ochsner Health Through AI
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Ochsner partners with Latent Health to utilize clinical artificial intelligence (AI), speeding prior authorizations, improving pharmacy efficiency, and increasing patient access to medications.
Ochsner Health’s recent partnership with Latent Health is revolutionizing how patients access medications by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI). This integration has streamlined prior authorization workflows, improving both patient care and operational efficiencies across all Ochsner pharmacies. By employing AI-driven tools, pharmacy teams are able to rapidly retrieve data from medical records and generate clinical documentation with reduced administrative delays. Through this collaboration, Ochsner has prioritized what matters most—timely care for patients.
Since its implementation in Ochsner Specialty Pharmacies in early 2024, the team has reported undeniable success. Within a short time, the solution was scaled across the system, engaging a large number of users while delivering consistent productivity improvements. The results speak for themselves:
- Clinical review times for prior authorizations in the specialty pharmacy dropped to an average of 4 minutes while maintaining approval rates in the mid-80% range.
- Monthly throughput for specialty prior authorizations surged by 96%, transforming workflows for staff and empowering them to shift their focus to patient-centered activities.
- A 50% reduction in annual reauthorization cycle times has made faster access to patient medication a reality.
The true power of this partnership lies not only in its efficiency but in its scalability. Ochsner’s pharmacy teams across specialty, retail, and infusion services quickly embraced the platform, recognizing improvements to their workflows and morale. By reducing the administrative burden on staff, Ochsner has fostered an environment where innovation drives excellence, and team engagement flourishes.
“At Ochsner Health, we collaborate with partners who share our vision for exceptional care and innovative solutions,” said Amy Trainor, CIO of Ochsner Health. “This partnership exemplifies how AI can transform health care by streamlining workflows, improving outcomes, and elevating team morale.”
Pharmacist scanning medication at pharmacy. Image Credit: © Mirjana - stock.adobe.com
This success underscores the versatility of Latent Health’s AI, which integrates directly into Ochsner’s Epic system to ensure seamless usage. The system has significantly reduced the time and effort required by pharmacy staff by streamlining tasks, such as completing disease-specific prior authorizations and automating access to the correct portals for procedure submissions.
Given the program’s overwhelming success, Ochsner Health is now expanding the AI-supported workflows across its entire pharmacy network. By standardizing these processes across their system, Ochsner aims to set a new standard for pharmacy operations, enhancing care quality across the board.
This partnership is a testament to the transformative potential of AI in health care. Ochsner and Latent Health are investigating how targeted process enhancements can create meaningful impacts for both patients and health care providers, and they plan to continue to develop AI solutions for pharmacy. This collaboration not only highlights the potential of AI to revolutionize health care but also serves as a model for other systems seeking to achieve similar results.
REFERENCES
Ochsner Health partners with Latent Health to accelerate AI-driven medication access. Ochsner Health. June 16, 2025. Accessed June 20, 2025. https://news.ochsner.org/news-releases/ochsner-health-partners-with-latent-health-to-accelerate-ai-driven-medication-access/
Latent Health. Ochsner Health pharmacy 96% more efficient with Latent. Latent Health; 2025. Available from: https://latenthealth.com/case-study/ochsner-case-study-2025
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