How Ochsner's specialty pharmacy serves more patients with the same team
As Ochsner Health’s pharmacy network expanded, so did the complexity of its medication access workflows. Prior authorizations were delaying treatment, draining clinical resources, and overwhelming workloads across specialty, infusion, and retail settings.
To address these systemic challenges, Ochsner turned to Latent. Ochsner’s two-year partnership with Latent has driven transformative improvements across pharmacy operations, significantly enhancing patient care, provider morale, and productivity.
At Ochsner Health, we choose like-minded partners to help us deliver exceptional care and drive innovation. Together, we are shaping a future of enhanced patient outcomes and streamlined workflows for our providers. From day one, Latent has exemplified what it means to be a trusted partner, aligning with our long-term vision for success. It is a privilege to work with Latent, and we are excited to further strengthen this collaboration, building new efficiencies and setting new standards of excellence across our system.”
RN, Chief Information OfficerOchsner Health
Throughout 2024, Ochsner and Latent have driven incredible pharmacy results:
- 20,177 patients across all Ochsner clinics gained accelerated medication access, shortening time from prescription to therapy.
- +39% more prior authorizations completed per pharmacist, per month.
- Overall prior authorization review completed in 4-5minutes, 75% faster than industry norms.1
By implementing Latent, morale among the pharmacy staff improved dramatically, since repetitive tasks were automated. Prioritizing impact over busywork removed significant sources of frustration and burnout, allowing pharmacists and technicians to dedicate more time to direct patient care.
Our specialty pharmacy was spending too much time doing administrative tasks, and morale started slipping. Once Latent took that body of work off their plates, our team’s energy skyrocketed. That enthusiasm—‘the Big Mo’—is invaluable. With a reinvigorated team, we’ve been able to focus on what matters most: delivering exceptional care to more patients in need.”
Deborah SimonsonVice President, Chief Pharmacy OfficerOchsner
Looking ahead
Ochsner is positioning Latent as the backbone of medication access across the enterprise.The platform now extends beyond specialty pharmacy to infusion, revenue-cycle workflows and the 22-store retail network, routing every request through a single, streamlined path. At the same time, Latent’s AI-driven appeals module will give staff the same chart-level efficiency when overturning denials.
The teams are co-building a real-time eligibility audit that pinpoints criteria encounter-by-encounter and embedding Latent in pre-service and post-claims denials management. Together, these initiatives will let Ochsner handle growing volume, protect margin, and keep clinicians focused on patients—not paperwork.
References
1 Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare. 2024 CAQH Index: From Transactions to Trust:Building Better Care Through Healthcare Automation. 2024, www.caqh.org/hubfs/Index/2024%20Index%20Report/CAQH_IndexReport_2024_FINAL.pdf.
Published: June 16, 2025
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