Latest News & Updates

September 15, 2026

Foundation Health Powers the AI Layer Behind Shields Health Solutions' Connected Specialty Care Model

STOUGHTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Shields Health Solutions (Shields), the leading specialty pharmacy operating partner to over one-third of health systems nationwide, announced today the evolution of its integrated care model. The enhanced model introduces a new layer of AI and informed automation to its industry-leading clinical expertise to improve patient outcomes and care coordination, simplify operational complexity, and help deliver a more connected specialty care experience.As specialty medications represent more than half of U.S. drug spending, patients face increasingly complex treatment journeys that require greater coordination, access, and clinical intervention. Shields serves as a single accountable partner for end-to-end specialty pharmacy and patient support. Through its pharmacist-led care model, Shields consistently delivers measurable clinical, financial, and operating results for health systems. In 2025, Shields clinical pharmacists engaged with more than 130,000 patients, providing always-on clinical care, and produced differentiated clinical outcomes that have outperformed industry benchmarks for more than a decade.Health systems are facing growing financial, regulatory, and workforce pressures, with many turning to technology to address these headwinds. However, many technology-only solutions increase fragmentation, create disconnected workflows, and require health systems to coordinate across multiple vendors with competing priorities. Unlike point solutions focused on disparate workflows, Shields delivers connected performance by integrating clinical expertise, advanced technology, and embedded support teams.“Health systems deserve a partner that connects the people, technology, and insights required to improve performance across the specialty care continuum," said Michael Ham, Chief Executive Officer of Shields Health Solutions. “That's what we've built at Shields. By combining purpose-built technology with embedded clinical expertise, we help health systems identify opportunities, act with conviction faster, and deliver better experiences and outcomes for patients. As one accountable partner, we drive results and growth across every stage of the specialty care continuum.”“We needed a partner who could help us grow our specialty pharmacy program while keeping patients at the center of everything we do,” said Jim Coleman, CEO of Erlanger. “This partnership will help Erlanger expand access to essential medications and clinical support for thousands of patients throughout the greater Chattanooga area. Together, we've built a program designed to improve access, strengthen care coordination, and support better outcomes. We're excited to continue partnering with Shields as they advance a care model designed to meet the evolving needs of both patients and health systems.”Connected Performance Across the Specialty Care ContinuumShields’ teams and capabilities deliver connected performance across the specialty care journey for health systems to:

• Accelerate Program Expansion – As specialty care extends to more sites of care, health systems face greater challenges in maintaining continuity, coordinating treatment, and driving program growth. By unifying specialty patient support across care settings and coverage types, health systems can deliver a more seamless patient experience. RxTriage®, Shields’ new specialty care coordination and optimization solution, extends the same high-quality patient and provider experience regardless of where therapy is administered. RxTriage enables health systems to maximize the clinical and financial value of their specialty care programs by retaining specialty patient volume, expanding services regardless of coverage type (pharmacy or medical benefit), reducing time to therapy, and improving care coordination across all sites of care.
• Optimize Patient Experience – Navigating care for complex or chronic conditions is time consuming and overwhelming for patients. Through end-to-end, AI-enabled workflow automation, powered by Foundation Health, and a connected communication suite, Shields supports patients across the entire specialty medication journey—trusted experts supporting patients when they need it most. By streamlining prior authorizations and enabling timely engagement through refill reminders and adherence check-ins, Shields helps health systems get patients on therapy faster, while empowering pharmacists and liaisons to focus on high-touch care.
• Enhance Intelligent Clinical Intervention – Shields transforms fragmented, manual pharmacy workflows into a connected, AI-enabled experience that helps health systems scale clinical services while maintaining high-quality care. Through predictive insights, real-time quality monitoring, automated documentation, and coordinated care workflows, Shields’ clinical intelligence reduces administrative burden and improves operational performance across the patient journey. The result is more time for pharmacists to focus on patient care, contributing to an approximate 35% increase in time spent with high-risk patients while supporting better outcomes, patient safety, and quality at scale.
• Simplify Operational Complexity – High-touch patient care is proven to improve outcomes, but resource and administrative demands often make it difficult for health systems to scale efficiently. Complex program management and changing 340B requirements compound operational challenges. Through 340B IQ™, Shields' proprietary 340B program management solution, health systems gain the compliance oversight, real-time operational support, and actionable reporting needed to reduce administrative burden and enable teams to focus more on patients.

“Innovation at Houston Methodist is focused on identifying and implementing solutions that address real challenges for patients and clinicians,” said Daniel Metzen, PharmD., Senior Director of Pharmacy at Houston Methodist. “By bringing together technology, clinical expertise and operational alignment, this model has helped improve coordination across the patient journey and support more timely access to therapy, contributing to better care and experiences for both patients and providers.”Shields’ 15 years of experience informs technology that empowers care teams to turn automation and intelligence into action. The impact of automation should go well beyond cost reduction or workforce efficiency. Shields believes more time should be spent caring for patients, and value to health systems should be measured by superior patient outcomes and financial performance to support their mission.The Shields model has helped achieve:

• Time-to-therapy in less than 48 hours, compared with 7 to 10-day industry average
• 91% of patients reported improvement in well-being since initiating therapy and 93% medication adherence rate (PDC), compared to the industry average of 80%
• A 200% increase in prior authorization throughput
• 13% reduction in total cost of care, including 35% fewer physician and ED visits
• $2 billion in financial assistance secured for patients in 2025; $9 billion since 2019
• Improved Shields’ team’s efficiency by 43%, leading to $200M of cost avoidance for Shields health system partners

“Health systems are being asked to do more with less, and while many see the opportunity to innovate in specialty pharmacy, they often face challenges managing multiple vendors at once,” said Jake Gaffey, President of Shields Health Solutions. “We're bringing together people, technology, and insights into a single operating model – from referral to refill and beyond – for a more connected, accountable approach to specialty care. As our health system partners have come to expect from us, the Shields team will continue driving innovation and value for them across the full specialty continuum.”For more information about Shields Health Solutions capabilities, visit its website.Foundation Health is proud to be part of this evolving journey with Shields Health Solutions. Shields' connected care model brings together clinical expertise with AI-enabled automation and intelligent workflows, and our AI operating system powers a piece of that: helping streamline prior authorizations, refill reminders and adherence check-ins so pharmacists and liaisons can focus on high-touch patient care.It's a model we believe in. Health systems need a strategic partner supporting end-to-end pharmacy workflows, not another point solution to manage. We're excited to collaborate with the Shields team on this connected approach and help improve clinical and patient outcomes.We are proud of what this partnership has built so far to keep that care connected and excited for what's next.Read the full press release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260914058468/en/Shields-Health-Solutions-Brings-Clinical-Teams-and-AI-Together-To-Deliver-Connected-Performance-Across-the-Specialty-Care-Continuum

March 17, 2026

A new Becker’s Healthcare article takes a closer look at the partnership between Shields Health Solutions and Foundation Health

Shields Health Solutions and Foundation Health Partner to Bring AI to a Rapidly Evolving Specialty Pharmacy LandscapeWhen 94% of providers report care delays tied to prior authorization requirements (AMA), specialty pharmacy leaders face a defining question: how do you scale without losing high-quality patient care and the human touch?For Shields Health Solutions, which integrates specialty pharmacy operations across nearly 80 health systems nationwide, that question naturally moved to the forefront. Built on a care model that balances clinical excellence and operational efficiency, Shields saw an opportunity to help health systems scale thoughtfully without adding staff or compromising patient care.Technology was the obvious answer. While Shields’ connected performance platform already links health systems, clinicians, and patients, the next step was finding a technology partner that could bring advanced AI capabilities into that platform while keeping human touch at the core of what they do.After evaluating nearly every pharmacy AI solution on the market, Shields selected Foundation Health. The framework that led to that decision, along with early results demonstrating up to 50% reduction in manual prior authorization effort, provides a practical roadmap for other health system leaders navigating AI adoption.The Selection Framework: Three Non-negotiable CriteriaShields approached AI adoption as an infrastructure decision rather than a software purchase. Leadership defined upfront what a long-term partner would need to deliver across a complex, multi-health system environment, centering on three non-negotiable criteria:1. Deep Specialty Pharmacy Expertise: Many AI solutions addressed isolated workflow steps rather than end-to-end specialty pharmacy operations. Shields required a partner with proven health system deployments and deep understanding of the full patient access journey.2. Workflow-Native EHR Integration: The solution had to embed directly into Epic, Cerner, and other leading EHR platforms across 80 diverse health system environments, operating inside existing clinical workflows, not alongside them.3. Partnership Structure with Shared Accountability: Beyond software licensing, Shields made a strategic investment in Foundation Health, establishing a co-development model where both organizations are aligned around long-term performance and measurable outcomesFoundation Health emerged as the partner that best aligned with this framework, reflecting Shields’ belief that technology should enhance, not replace, the specialized expertise of pharmacy teams.“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.” said Michael Ham, CEO of Shields Health Solutions. “Our partnership with Shields reflects a shared commitment to building durable systems that improve patient access while supporting the teams delivering care every day,” said Umar Afridi, Founder and CEO of Foundation Health.Partnership in Practice: AI that Works Alongside Clinical Teams and Within Specialty Pharmacy WorkflowsTogether, Shields and Foundation Health are addressing one of specialty pharmacy’s most persistent challenges: the administrative burden and delays that slow patient access to therapy.With the long-term roadmap extending across the entire patient access journey, the initial focus centers on prior authorization (PA) automation.In practice, Foundation Health’s platform:

• Pulls relevant patient and clinical data directly from the EHR
• Streamlines payor specific forms and documentation
• Submits and tracks prior authorization requests
• Surfaces status updates within the systems pharmacy teams already use

By automating high-volume administrative tasks, pharmacy and clinician teams can devote more of their time to direct patient care instead of paperwork. Meanwhile, Shields and Foundation Health continue using implementation experience and performance data to refine workflows, with a shared focus on metrics such as time to therapy, denial rates and staff time spent on administrative tasks.A New Model for AI-Enabled Specialty PharmacyThe Shields-Foundation Health partnership demonstrates what purposeful AI adoption looks like in specialty pharmacy: grounded in workflow integration, clinical expertise, and partnership structures built around long-term performance.For health system and pharmacy leaders, the message is clear. As AI becomes a standard part of specialty pharmacy operations, success will depend not simply on adopting new tools, but on integrating them into existing clinical workflows at scale – all without losing the human touch at the center of care.🔗 Read the full Becker’s article here

March 2, 2026

This month at Foundation Health: February 2026 Product Update

Pharmacy teams are good at taking care of patients. The problem is how little time they actually get to do it. Every co-pay call, every delivery to coordinate, every intake form filled out by hand - these are hours that could go somewhere else.This month, the Foundation Health team shipped new capabilities to address these problems:

• Guide pharmacy teams through smarter, more complete patient onboarding
• Automate high-volume patient touchpoints with Paige AI, from co-pay confirmations to delivery scheduling

See how each update works and what it could mean for your team, or book a demo to see Paige AI in action.
Guided Onboarding WorkflowsMissing information at intake creates delays that compound. Our new guided onboarding walks technicians through a dynamic set of questions at the point of intake, from clinical history to shipping preferences, so every critical detail is captured accurately the first time.More consistency across teams. Better experience for patients and staff.Coming soon to specialty pharmacy teams
Voice AI: Handling the Calls So Your Team Doesn't Have ToRoutine patient calls such as co-pay confirmations and delivery scheduling are necessary, but they don't need to be manual. This month, Paige expanded its Voice AI capabilities to handle both.Automated Co-pay Confirmations Paige now proactively calls patients to confirm co-pay amounts before dispensing, reducing delays and eliminating manual follow-up for every prescription.Delivery Logistics Coordination Paige's outbound calling manages medication delivery scheduling end-to-end, coordinating directly with patients without tying up your pharmacy phone lines.Your team stays focused on the patients who actually need them.Now available for specialty pharmacies
Every update we ship is designed with the same goal in mind: give pharmacy teams the automation they need, so they can spend more time on the patients and clinical decisions.Questions about this month's updates or what's coming next? We'd love to hear from you.

January 13, 2026

Foundation Health Partners with Shields Health Solutions to Advance AI Specialty Pharmacy Care

We’re excited to share a new milestone for Foundation Health: a strategic partnership with Shields Health Solutions, to bring AI pharmacy solutions to health systems nationwide.Read more on: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260112702332/en/Shields-Health-Solutions-Partners-with-Foundation-Health-the-Leading-Pharmacy-AI-Platform-to-Improve-Patient-and-Provider-Experience-in-Specialty-Pharmacy-Care-NationwideThis partnership brings together Shields’ deep clinical and operational expertise across health system specialty pharmacies with Foundation Health’s AI operating system. Together, we’re focused on reducing administrative burden, accelerating access to therapy, and supporting pharmacy teams as they deliver high-quality, patient-centered care at scale.Modernizing Prior Authorization with AIThe partnership initially focuses on prior authorization (PA) - one of the most persistent sources of delay, manual work, and frustration across specialty pharmacy operations.By embedding AI directly into existing pharmacy workflows, Foundation Health helps health systems:

• Reduce manual PA submissions and follow-ups
• Streamline status tracking and coordination
• Improve speed to therapy while remaining compliant and auditable
• Free pharmacy and clinical teams to focus on high-touch patient care

Rather than adding another point solution, Foundation Health’s platform integrates seamlessly within existing health system infrastructure - modernizing workflows without disrupting day-to-day operations.Built for Health System Specialty PharmacyShields currently partners with nearly 80 health systems nationwide, supporting specialty pharmacy programs that improve access, affordability, and outcomes for patients with complex conditions. This partnership enables deeper investment in Foundation Health’s platform and accelerates our ability to scale best-in-class specialty pharmacy workflows across a broader range of real-world use cases.Over time, the collaboration will expand beyond prior authorization to additional workflows, including:

• Medication adherence
• Patient experience and communication
• Financial assistance programs
• Care coordination

Together, we’re building a more connected, efficient foundation for specialty pharmacy operations - one that preserves the human touch while enabling teams to operate at scale.“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.“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.”What’s AheadThis partnership represents another step forward in Foundation Health’s mission to power the next generation of AI-enabled healthcare infrastructure. By working closely with health systems and partners like Shields, we continue to build technology that is operationally sound, scalable, and designed for the realities of healthcare delivery.We’re excited about what’s ahead - and grateful to the pharmacy teams and health systems we support every day.

October 10, 2025

Foundation Health Raises $20M Series A to Scale AI-Powered Healthcare Infrastructure

We’re thrilled to share another major milestone in our journey: Foundation Health has raised $20 million in Series A funding to accelerate our mission of transforming how healthcare organizations deliver pharmacy, care coordination, and direct-to-patient services.

Read the article: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/10/09/3164291/0/en/Foundation-Health-Secures-20M-Series-A-to-Scale-AI-Powered-Infrastructure-for-Pharmacy-Operations-Care-Coordination-and-Direct-to-Patient-Delivery.htmlThis round was led by Define Ventures, with participation from Vanderbilt University, Intermountain Ventures, and our existing investors. It brings our total funding to $26 million since our founding in 2023 - and it’s a huge step forward in building the infrastructure that will power the next generation of connected, AI-driven healthcare.Powering the Future of Pharmacy OperationsAt Foundation Health, we’re redefining what healthcare operations look like. Our PAIGE AI pharmacist assistant automates time-intensive tasks like refill processing, adherence outreach, benefits verification, and prior authorizations - reducing manual workloads by up to 75% and freeing pharmacists to focus on what matters most: patient care.Integrated with major EHR systems like Epic, PAIGE AI helps organizations move faster, communicate better, and deliver higher-quality care with less friction.“Pharmacy’s operational backbone hasn’t evolved to meet today’s patient expectations or system-level complexity,” said Umar Afridi, Founder and CEO of Foundation Health. “We built Foundation to be a modern infrastructure layer that helps care organizations deliver high-quality care with less friction. This funding enables us to scale rapidly and serve a broader range of partners.”Backed by Leaders in Healthcare Innovation“Foundation Health is redefining what the pharmacy experience should look like in modern healthcare,” said Lynne Chou O’Keefe, Founder and Managing Partner at Define Ventures. “Their approach is comprehensive, scalable, and AI-native - and solves real pain points for both pharmacists and patients. We’re thrilled to back Umar and the team as they lead the next wave of AI-powered pharmacy operations.”Our technology is already making an impact across leading health systems:

• At Intermountain Health, Foundation Health automates specialty pharmacy communications - supporting patients with complex therapies while reducing staff workload.
• At Hackensack Meridian Health, our platform accelerates order-to-fulfillment workflows and digitizes payment and copay processes, freeing care teams to focus on patients.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Foundation Health and their amazing technology,” said Eboney Hadnott, Network Director of Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Services at Hackensack Meridian Health. “This collaboration helps us streamline administrative tasks and focus more on what truly matters - our patients.”Building the Infrastructure for What’s NextUnlike point solutions that solve one workflow at a time, Foundation Health provides a comprehensive, end-to-end platform for pharmacy and care operations. Our solution suite includes:

• PAIGE AI Pharmacist Assistant – Automating patient communication and prior authorizations
• Digital Pharmacy Platform – A white-labeled experience for onboarding, refills, and delivery
• Pharmacy Dashboard – Real-time visibility across benefits, prescriptions, orders, and logistics
• Direct-to-Patient Platform – Connecting patients directly to therapies through diagnostics, telehealth, and home delivery

What’s AheadThis new funding allows us to expand our team, accelerate product development, and continue building intelligent infrastructure that helps healthcare organizations deliver care that’s fast, connected, and patient-first.We’re just getting started - and we couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead.

September 23, 2025

Foundation Health Brings AI-Powered Patient Communication to Intermountain Health’s Specialty Pharmacy

We’re excited to announce a new partnership that marks a big step forward in our mission to transform healthcare: Foundation Health’s PAIGE AI will soon be powering patient communication at Intermountain Health’s specialty pharmacy - serving more than 14,000 patients.Read more on Yahoo Finance: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/foundation-health-bring-ai-powered-123000118.htmlWhy This MattersIntermountain Health is a national leader in care delivery, and their specialty pharmacy team supports patients with some of the most complex conditions. By introducing PAIGE AI into their workflows, we’re helping automate the routine-but-critical tasks like:

• Patient assessment calls
• Refill reminders
• Benefits verification
• Medication onboarding

That means patients get consistent, timely communication, while care teams are freed up to focus on what they do best: delivering personalized, high-touch support.A Shared Vision for Better Care“Our partnership with Foundation Health is a pivotal step in advancing pharmacy services for patients with complex conditions,” said Mason Hilton, System Director, Pharmacy Operations at Intermountain Health. “By integrating these innovative tools, we’re closing care gaps, improving timely access to therapies, and strengthening our ability to deliver personalized care.”And for us, this is just the beginning. As our CEO and founder Umar Afridi shared:
“AI has the power to transform healthcare delivery by automating routine tasks and enabling more meaningful patient connections. PAIGE AI doesn’t replace the human touch - it amplifies it.”Looking AheadOver the next six months, this collaboration will help Intermountain’s specialty pharmacy scale operations while maintaining best-in-class care. Together, we’ll also be exploring expanded voice-enabled solutions and AI-driven prior-authorization workflows to tackle some of healthcare’s most time-intensive processes.Building What’s Next in HealthcareAt Foundation Health, we believe technology should simplify care - not complicate it. This partnership is proof of what’s possible when innovation and clinical expertise come together. We couldn’t be more excited to support Intermountain Health in advancing care for thousands of patients.

March 21, 2025

🚀 Foundation Health Secures $6M in Seed Funding to Accelerate Our Mission

We’re thrilled to share a major milestone in Foundation Health’s journey: we’ve officially closed a $6 million seed funding round! This is a huge vote of confidence in the work we’re doing—and a pivotal moment that will help propel us into our next phase of growth.Backed by Visionary InvestorsThis round includes investments from some of the most respected names in tech and healthcare, including Garry Tan (CEO of Y Combinator), Transpose Platform, Tuesday VC, Alt Capital, Box Group, Liquid Ventures, Exceptional Capital, Calm/Storm Ventures, and PageOne Ventures. We're also honored to have angel investors like Paul Johnson (founder and former CEO of Lemonaid Health) and Meghan Fitzgerald (Grey Ghost Advisors) joining us on this journey.Building the Future of Consumer HealthcareAs many of you know, Foundation Health exists to redefine how healthcare is delivered—making it faster, simpler, and more accessible for everyone. Our technology empowers clients to launch digital-first pharmacy and telemedicine experiences with speed and scale. We’re focused on three core pillars:

• Powerful APIs for telehealth prescribing and pharmacy workflows
• Virtual pharmacy infrastructure that simplifies the logistics
• Direct-to-consumer capabilities that let companies launch care experiences in days, not months

This funding is about more than just capital—it’s about momentum. It allows us to double down on product development, rapidly onboard customers from our growing waitlist, and continue scaling with intention. Our goal is to be the go-to platform for powering complex consumer healthcare operations globally.A Message from Umar“Our vision is to grow Foundation Health into the definitive tech platform for powering and managing complex consumer healthcare operations globally. With this funding, we are equipped to accelerate product development, onboard customers currently on our waitlist, and continue engaging with new customers to ensure we're delivering precisely what the market needs.
— Umar Afridi, Founder & CEOWhat’s Next?For the team, this means more opportunities to innovate, collaborate, and scale. We’re investing in the tools, talent, and infrastructure we need to deliver world-class products—and we’ll be leaning on each of you to help us build what’s next.Let’s take a moment to celebrate—and then get back to doing what we do best: transforming healthcare from the ground up.