Pharmacy Insights Podcast

Introducing the Pharmacy Insights Podcast from Optum Rx. This ongoing series features our most experienced leaders examining the topics currently challenging pharmacy benefit plan sponsors. Join Optum Rx Senior Vice President of Clinical Consulting Scott Draeger as he interviews leading experts to uncover the emerging solutions needed to control rising prescription drug costs and ensure the best possible quality of care.

Episodes

The Impact of AI on Today's Pharmacy Benefits

June 25, 2025 • 17 mins

The use of artificial intelligence has exploded into the public consciousness in recent years. While people are becoming more accustomed to the presence of AI in their personal lives, what does it mean for pharmacy care services?

On the latest episode of the Pharmacy Insights Podcast, Optum Rx Senior Vice President of Clinical Consulting Scott Draeger welcomed Santiago Abraham, Chief Information Officer at Optum Rx and Sid Sahni, Se...

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The Big Picture on Pharmacy

May 5, 2025 • 17 mins

As we exit the first quarter of the 21st century, what are the big trends defining prescription drugs and how pharmacy benefits are administered? On the latest episode of the Pharmacy Insights Podcast, Optum Rx Senior Vice President of Clinical Consulting Scott Draeger welcomed Dr. John Wig, Chief Clinical Officer of Optum Rx, to discuss everything from new indications for GLP-1 medications to emerging biosimilar options for popula...

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New solutions to help bend the cost curve

March 10, 2025 • 21 mins

The array of challenges faced by sponsors of the pharmacy benefit are constantly evolving. To help plan sponsors get a sense of the emerging options available to help them, Optum Rx Senior Vice President of Clinical Consulting Scott Draeger welcomed Mike McGinnity, Senior Vice President of Growth and Retention at Optum Rx and Sid Sahni, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Innovation at Optum Rx to discuss the current state of inn...

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The State of Pharmacy Regulations

November 14, 2024 • 19 mins

Pharmacy Benefit Managers have long been subject to a broad array of regulatory requirements. Yet, a flurry of new legislation and rulemaking has emerged in recent years – some of which threatens to undermine longstanding practices PBMs use to save members and plan sponsors money and ensure quality of care. To help bring clarity to this burst of activity and sort through the implication for patients and plan sponsors alike, Optum...

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Biosimilars boom: The next era of adoption

September 13, 2024 • 17 mins

On this episode of the Pharmacy Insights podcast, host Scott Draeger welcomes Optum Rx SVP of Industry Relations, Jamey Millar and Optum Rx SVP of formulary management, Savitha Vivian to discuss the implications of new biosimilar alternatives to expensive biologic drugs.

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Connections that count: Redefining the PBM experience

April 30, 2024 • 22 mins

While the operational side of the pharmacy care services business rarely garners headlines, the efforts of operations teams are vital to making prescription medications accessible and affordable. Optum Rx Senior Vice President of Clinical Consulting, Scott Draeger recently welcomed Jason Greenberg, Optum Rx Chief of Operations, and Katie Schumacher, Vice President of digital products at Optum Rx to discuss how ongoing innovations i...

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The New Drugs Plan Sponsors Need to Watch For

February 13, 2024 • 33 mins

Host Scott Draeger welcomes Optum Rx Vice President of Trend Insights & Analytics Michelle Kamprath and Optum Rx Senior Director of Drug Pipeline & Surveillance Bill Dreitlein for a lively discussion of the year ahead in pharmacy. Find out which trends are expected to make noise in 2024 including the ongoing obesity drug dilemma facing plan sponsors, the impact of the profusion of biosimilars on drug costs, and some noteworthy drug...

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Preparing For the Gene Therapy Era

November 7, 2023 • 22 mins

Gene therapies represent a true revolution in the way certain genetic diseases are treated. They are also the most expensive drugs in history. In this episode, Optum Rx Senior Vice President of Clinical Consulting Scott Draeger welcomes Nick Cashman, Specialty Clinical Consultant for Optum Rx, and Arash Sadeghi, Clinical Pharmacist, Pipeline & Drug Surveillance at Optum Rx. They dive in on the science of gene therapies and discus...

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Making the Invisible Visible: Why Health Equity Matters

October 4, 2023 • 27 mins

Affording everyone a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health is an ongoing challenge. To better understand the issue, Optum Rx Senior Vice President of Clinical Consulting Scott Draeger welcomed Dr. Sumit Dutta, Chief Medical Officer for OptumRx, and Corey Coleman, Vice President of OptumRx Health Equity and Strategic Partnerships for a recent episode of the Pharmacy Insights Podcast. Together they discu...

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How Choice and Transparency are Changing the PBM Industry

May 31, 2023 • 18 mins

As increasingly expensive medications continue to enter the market and questions about prescription drug affordability become everyday topics of conversation, the pharmacy benefit management space is undergoing profound changes. To get a sense of the forces driving these changes, Optum Rx Senior Vice President of Clinical Consulting, Scott Draeger welcomed Optum Rx president and Chief Operating Officer Jon Mahrt for a recent episo...

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The Seismic Shift in Weight Loss Medicines

March 29, 2023 • 24 mins

One of the most pronounced changes in the pharmacy landscape over the past year has been the rapid emergence of a new class of medications for weight loss known as GLP-1 agonists. Dr. Ana Bhatnagar, Optum Rx Associate Chief Medical Officer, and Dr. Travis Baughn, Optum Rx Vice President of Clinical Solutions join us to discuss what broader use of these promising but expensive medications for weight loss means for both patients a...

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What you can and can’t expect from biosimilars.

October 26, 2022 • 12 mins

Guest: Sr. Vice President, Optum Rx Clinical and Formulary Services, Savitha Vivian. Long established in Europe, biosimilar alternatives to popular and costly biologic drugs are finally poised to make an impact in the U.S. With biosimilar alternatives to Humira now launching, what does that mean for prescription drug spending?

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