Evio Pharmacy Solutions Established to Tackle Affordability, Outcomes, and Experience with Medications

Privately-funded venture will offer innovative medication solutions to patients, providers and customers; veteran health care executive Hank Schlissberg appointed president and CEO. 

Denver, Colorado (June 22, 2021) —The clinical benefits of today’s pharmacy and specialty drug offerings are truly miraculous. But the real world evidence to ensure a particular drug is the right medication for each unique patient, how these medications get into the hands of patients, and the costs accrued along the way, remain in need of reform.  

“Patient frustration with the system and disparities in health equity are higher than ever. And, the price of virtually every prescription drug is roughly double by the time a patient pays for it at the pharmacy counter than it was when the drug was shipped from its manufacturing site — without transparent benefits to the patient,” said Hank Schlissberg, Evio’s president and CEO. 

Evio, a new independent pharmacy solutions startup, will work to improve medication affordability and patients’ clinical outcomes and medication experiences.  Five not-for-profit, mission-driven Blue Cross Blue Shield plans have stepped forward, and each is providing significant funding to support the launch of this new venture. The five plans — Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Blue Shield of California, Highmark Inc., and Independence Blue Cross — in total provide coverage to more than 20 million members across the United States.  

Initially, Evio will offer services to each of the five investor health plans to complement other innovative medication services the health plans offer. At launch, core focus areas for Evio are:

• Using evidence and data from real patient experiences to ensure the right medication gets to every patient, where, when and how they need it. Evio will have the real-world evidence to show how a drug is actually performing for patients in their own context, across the drug’s indications, different patient types and combinations of other comorbidities.
• Developing new, and enhancing existing, partnerships that leverage the innovation happening in the pharmacy and broader healthcare, technology, and analytics sectors today — to improve affordability, outcomes, and experience for patients. Evio will help those innovations get to more patients and integrate those solutions with what the health plans are already doing for patients.
• Continuing the evolution toward value-based care and enhancing outcomes-based contracting in the pharmacy space, especially on high cost drugs.

“We will assemble the best talent, derive greater evidence-based insights from expanded data, capabilities, and resources, and implement new approaches. We will form innovative partnerships across the value chain and vendor community — all to ensure the right medications get to every patient, simply, affordably, and with superior clinical outcomes,” said Schlissberg. 

“Evio has a real opportunity to change the trajectory of pharmacy costs, improve clinical outcomes and make it easier for patients to access the medications and treatments they need,” said Sandra Clarke, Evio board chair and chief financial officer of Blue Shield California. “We are investing in this innovative venture as part of our ongoing efforts to reduce costs and improve patient experience, and we will continue working alongside our local providers to achieve these goals. We’re excited to have a health care veteran of the caliber of Hank Schlissberg, who has 20 years of expertise in health care strategy, operations, and growth, join us as CEO.” 

“I’m thrilled to bring my health care experience, both professionally and with my family as a long-time specialty pharmacy user, to help lead this venture,” said Schlissberg. “We must innovate and begin to transform the pharmacy system.”