October 23, 2019

Media Contact: 
Katelynn Burns, Sr. Public Information Representative
405-522-7266  |  katelynn.burns@okhca.org 

Oklahoma Health Care Authority expands virtual pharmacist program across the state

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Health Care Authority is expanding a pilot program statewide that works to improve the health of SoonerCare (Oklahoma Medicaid) members with chronic conditions by optimizing their medication.

The agency is collaborating with Arine, a health care technology company that combines data science with clinical expertise to make sure patients are on the safest and most effective medications for their conditions.

Arine’s secure platform, dubbed the Virtual Pharmacist, analyzes social, medical and behavioral data on an ongoing basis to identify health needs, barriers to care and dangerous gaps in care. It then uses artificial intelligence to generate personalized treatment plans according to clinical best practices. The treatment plans are then sent to providers caring for these members, and their implementation is monitored to ensure patients remain on track. Clinical pharmacists use Arine’s platform to improve the health of SoonerCare members with high-risk, high-cost conditions.

“Arine has demonstrated a commitment to the citizens of Oklahoma by providing valuable drug-related services to the individuals we serve. This program is an excellent example of leveraging technology to improve services to our SoonerCare members while controlling costs,” said OHCA CEO Kevin Corbett.

The original pilot enrolled SoonerCare members in Oklahoma and Tulsa counties with chronic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory conditions and serious mental illness. Enrollees receive personalized medication counseling, access improvement and treatment optimization services from clinical pharmacists using Arine’s Virtual Pharmacist platform.
 
“Arine is a program many providers will see great value in. Some of our patients have personal issues that prohibit them from good medication management. They find themselves mixing up medications with similar names, having their medications duplicated by their providers and sometimes even stopping their medications just because they are unsure if they are supposed to be taking them,” said Jamie Billingsley from My Family Clinic, an Oklahoma City clinic that provides care to SoonerCare members. “Arine plays the important role of medication overseer, tracking our patients’ prescriptions and alerting us when the patient may not be adhering to their prescribed medications or advising us on other medications available which may improve their overall health.”

For the expanded program, clinicians from the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy will use the Arine Virtual Pharmacist platform to provide services to members across all counties in Oklahoma. The expanded program began in October 2019.
 
“We are excited to partner with OHCA to extend access to this program for SoonerCare members across the entire state,” Arine CEO Dr. Yoona Kim said. “Within just six months, we were able to demonstrate that our scalable, technology-enabled approach can deliver significant results. We look forward to continuing to work in collaboration with existing services and providers in Oklahoma to improve the health of members, fulfilling our mission to reinvent medication management.”

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About the Oklahoma Health Care Authority

The Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) administers two health programs for the state. The first is SoonerCare, Oklahoma’s Medicaid program. SoonerCare works to improve the health of qualified Oklahomans by ensuring that medically necessary benefits and services are available. Qualifying Oklahomans include certain low-income children, seniors, the disabled, those being treated for breast or cervical cancer and those seeking family planning services. The second program OHCA operates is Insure Oklahoma, which assists qualifying adults and small business employees in obtaining health care coverage for themselves and their families. Currently, there are 814,606 Oklahomans enrolled in OHCA’s programs. The agency contracts with a network of approximately 60,000 providers. For more information, visit www.okhca.org or www.insureoklahoma.org.

About Arine

Arine is a healthcare technology company that combines data science with clinical expertise to ensure patients are on the safest and most effective medications for their conditions. The company’s proprietary platform, the Virtual Pharmacist, aggregates and analyzes clinical and behavioral data to identify gaps in patient care and uses artificial intelligence to address and resolve them on behalf of Arine’s partners. The company’s platform is being used to optimize treatment plans, monitor medication performance and improve outcomes for patients on multiple medications by leading healthcare organizations. For more information, visit https://www.arine.io/.