CVS Launches Vendor Benefit Management

Jack Brock

CVS Health has rolled out Vendor Benefit Management, a new service developed to help CVS Caremark PBM clients more easily contract, implement, and manage their choice of available and emerging third-party health and wellness benefit solutions, both digital and non-digital.

Big Health, a digital therapeutics company, the first participating vendor, makes the cognitive behavioral therapy-based sleep app Sleepio, a personalized digital sleep improvement program.

Poor-quality sleep and insomnia affect approximately 30% of adults and is a condition that can impact a wide variety of mental health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, depression, and heart disease.

“It’s exciting to see these new technologies and platforms emerging, like an app based on cognitive behavioral therapy for better sleep. I’m certain we’ll see more of these types of developments soon, with growing attention being paid to a large organization with millions of plan members promoting this type of technology,” says Jack Brock, senior vice president and chief technology officer at NTT DATA Services, a division of NTT DATA Corporation, a global business and IT services provider, headquartered in Plano, Texas.

“Big Health's commitment to clinical evaluation and research aligns with our focus on applying evidence-based medicine to provide our clients and their members with access to appropriate health solutions and services, and many of our clients are interested in adopting this platform to help increase member access to these types of solutions, including Sleepio,” Troyen A. Brennan, MD, chief medical officer, CVS Health, said in a press release.

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Market shifts in healthcare, along with rapid advances in technology, are leading to more organizations like CVS partnering with innovative start-ups introducing digital solutions to expand access to care, empower consumers, reduce costs and improve clinical outcomes, according to Brock.

“In our industry, we’ve seen advancements in digital health and therapeutics for years, but often with limited adoption,” Brock says. “However, healthcare providers and health plan leaders will need to pay close attention to what’s happening in the market. Historical clinical challenges and financial barriers in healthcare are coming down. Convenient and affordable solutions that enable more individualized patient care and monitoring are emerging quickly. This partnership is another step towards widespread development and mainstream adoption of digital therapies.”