The partnership, and investment from Shields, aims to enhance workflows for high-touch medications with innovative pharmacy operations technology, improving patient experience and reducing administrative burden

Shields Health Solutions (Shields), the nation’s leading specialty pharmacy accelerator, and Foundation Health, a healthcare technology company delivering comprehensive AI‑powered workflows across pharmacy operations and care coordination, today announced a strategic partnership to integrate Foundation Health’s AI-powered pharmacy technology into the full suite of specialty pharmacy services Shields offers its network of health system partners. This partnership aims to advance and elevate specialty pharmacy care nationwide.

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Through this partnership, Foundation Health’s AI technology will further enable Shields’ best-in-class specialty pharmacy workflows across its robust national footprint. The partnership will initially focus on prior authorizations (PA), with plans to expand AI-enabled workflows across additional pharmacy use cases, including medication adherence, patient experience, financial assistance, and care coordination.

By integrating AI-driven tools to streamline and automate PA processes, Shields and Foundation Health will reduce administrative burden and enable pharmacy and clinical teams to remain focused on meaningful patient interactions. The combination of Shields’ deep clinical and operational expertise and Foundation Health’s AI technology underpins a differentiated approach for modernizing pharmacy operations while upholding the highest standards of patient care.

“This partnership will combine Foundation Health’s robust experience in pharmacy technology with Shields’ mission to keep the human touch at the core of what we do best – taking care of complex patients,” said Michael Ham, CEO of Shields Health Solutions. “After evaluating nearly every AI enablement solution on the market, we believe Foundation Health is the premier partner to deliver measurable and scalable results. It was paramount for us to identify a partner that shares our values and purpose: caring for patients with compassion, kindness, and integrity. This partnership allows us to start addressing ways AI can meaningfully optimize workflows without sacrificing the human touch that is central to our differentiated care model.”

Prior authorizations continue to be one of the biggest obstacles to timely medication access, with 94% of providers reporting care delays tied to these requirements, according to the American Medical Association (AMA). By applying AI to streamline PA workflows, the partnership will enhance treatment access for specialty patients and expand the capacity to care for more individuals.

Additionally, Shields will make a significant investment in Foundation Health to advance and expand the role of technology across specialty pharmacy workflows, financial assistance programs, and other key areas—helping form new digital capabilities that will shape the future of integrated specialty pharmacy care. This investment and collaboration position the organizations to accelerate innovation, anticipate emerging needs, and advance care for millions more patients with complex conditions.

“Driven by a shared commitment to elevating patient care and easing the administrative burden on care teams, we’re thrilled to partner with Shields Health Solutions to transform how prior authorization challenges are solved. By harnessing the power of AI and our technology across Shields’ national network of health system partners, we can free clinicians to focus on what matters most — delivering exceptional care to their patients,” said Umar Afridi, Founder and CEO of Foundation Health.

Shields currently partners with nearly 80 health systems nationwide, helping patients receive medications faster, reduce co-pays, and improve health outcomes. For more information, visit www.shieldshealthsolutions.com.

About Shields Health Solutions

Shields Health Solutions (Shields) is the premier specialty pharmacy accelerator in the country. The Shields Performance Platform--an integrated set of solutions, services, and technology--is intentionally designed to elevate payer and drug access for specialty pharmacies, elevate health outcomes for complex patients, and elevate growth throughout the entire health system. As the foremost experts in the health system specialty pharmacy industry, Shields has a proven track record of success including access to over 90% of all limited distribution drugs (LDDs) and most payers in the nation, and clinical model proven to lower total cost of care by 13%. In partnership with nearly 80 health systems across the country, Shields is committed to delivering measurable clinical and financial results. For more, follow us on social media via LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.

About Foundation Health

Foundation Health is a pioneering healthcare technology company on a mission to power the next generation of consumer healthcare experiences. By delivering affordable, tech-enabled pharmacy and telehealth experiences at scale, Foundation Health empowers clients to take control of healthcare delivery, streamline operations, and redefine the consumer healthcare experience worldwide. The company's PAIGE AI platform enables healthcare organizations to automate patient communications and prior authorizations while maintaining the human touch essential to quality care. With enterprise-grade infrastructure designed for seamless integration and robust security compliance, Foundation Health is backed by industry leading investors including Define Ventures, Vanderbilt University, Intermountain Ventures, Garry Tan (CEO, Y Combinator), Transpose Platform, Tuesday VC, Alt Capital, Box Group, Liquid Ventures, Exceptional Capital, Calm/Storm Ventures, and PageOne Ventures, with support from additional prominent angel investors. For more information, visit www.foundationhealth.com.

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