Foundation Health Secures $20M to Revolutionize Pharmacy Operations with AI

Foundation Health, a startup founded by Truepill co-founder Umar Afridi, has raised $20 million in a Series A funding round to bring artificial intelligence to pharmacy operations. The company aims to provide an AI-powered infrastructure spanning pharmacy operations, care coordination, and direct-to-patient delivery.

AI-Driven Pharmacy Assistant

At the heart of Foundation Health's offering is PAIGE AI, an in-house AI pharmacist assistant designed to automate patient communication and prior authorization workflows across medical and pharmacy benefits. Integrated with major electronic health records, including Epic, PAIGE AI handles various tasks such as refill processing, adherence outreach, benefits verification, medication onboarding, and prior authorization submissions.

The AI tool promises to reduce care team workload by up to 75%, improving patient adherence while allowing pharmacists to focus on complex clinical care. This automation of high-volume, repetitive tasks is expected to significantly streamline pharmacy operations.

Comprehensive Digital Pharmacy Platform

Foundation Health has developed a digital pharmacy platform that offers patients a seamless front-end experience. From creating accounts to managing refills and copays, as well as facilitating mail order and home delivery, the platform aims to provide a comprehensive, white-label digital experience for healthcare providers.

The company's offering also includes a pharmacy dashboard that unifies fragmented workflows, encompassing benefit verification, prescriptions, orders, prior authorization workflows, and delivery logistics. Additionally, Foundation Health has built a direct-to-patient solution tailored for pharmaceutical manufacturers and consumer health brands.

Industry Partnerships and Future Plans

Foundation Health is already working with major health systems, including Intermountain Health and Hackensack Meridian Health. Eboney Hadnott, network director of ambulatory care pharmacy services at Hackensack Meridian Health, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating that it will help streamline administrative tasks and allow a greater focus on patient care.

The company plans to use the fresh funding to scale its sales and operations teams and accelerate the development of its pharmacy solution suite. With a pipeline of about 50 health systems in various stages of discussion, Foundation Health is poised for significant growth in the healthcare sector.

Afridi also sees opportunities to work with pharmaceutical manufacturers, aiming to eventually connect health systems, pharma manufacturers, and payers. Unlike his previous venture, Truepill, Foundation Health does not operate pharmacies, instead focusing solely on software development and implementation.