Annesha White and Fredrick Manasseh on AI readiness in managed care pharmacy | AMCP Nexus 2026

Many AI tools in managed care are being used without a formal readiness review. Organizations should vet these tools before adoption and keep checking them afterward, according to two pharmacists who presented this week at AMCP Nexus 2026, the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy's annual meeting.

Annesha White, Pharm.D., M.S., Ph.D., senior associate dean and professor at the University of North Texas Health College of Pharmacy and Health Professions, and Fredrick Manasseh, Pharm.D., MBA, BCGP, senior vice president of pharmaceutical strategies at USI Insurance Services, are co-leading a session on AI in managed care pharmacy at the meeting. In the second of two interviews with Managed Healthcare Executive, they discuss how leaders can tell whether an AI tool is ready to use and what skills pharmacists will need to oversee it.

Checking whether a tool is ready

White said the session will review readiness frameworks, including a checklist called Trust AI and one from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. These tools help organizations judge whether a product meets standards such as transparency and explainability. No single framework is standard yet, she said, so organizations can try several and see which fits best.

White said she would like to see more organizations formally assess AI tools before use and keep monitoring them, since people tend to get comfortable with a tool over time. “I do think it's important to do those one-year checks, two years out,” she said.

Manasseh agreed. “The framework, the oversight, the governance, again, transparency, explainability, all those elements are just crucial,” he said.

AI literacy as a core skill

White said pharmacy students are increasingly interested in where AI fits in healthcare. Educators are stressing responsible use and governance, and the session will make the case that “AI literacy is now a competency” that healthcare professionals should add to their toolkit. She said that skill is being promoted within schools of pharmacy as students prepare to use AI in practice.

Questions clinicians should ask

Manasseh, who advises employers on selecting pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), said health plans and PBMs are starting to adopt AI. Clinicians should be able to explain why a recommendation was made, what data was used and how performance is monitored, he said. They should also be willing to challenge whether the right data was used.

“AI is not replacing their role,” Manasseh said of clinicians. “It's almost an enhancement or a tool to be used to make better decisions.”