By: Shawn W. Bates, General Manager, Commercial Solutions Division
A patient start rarely depends on a single team. Field engagement, payer requirements, case work, and pharmacy fulfillment all shape whether someone begins therapy, so improving only one step in the process can often have little-to-no impact on the overall goal. That problem shapes how I think about AI agents in commercial pharma.
The organizations that create real value won’t be the ones with the most AI tools. They will be the ones that connect decisions across functions.
Since starting at ConcertAI, I have become a big believer that AI should be designed around decisions that cross functions. The goal is to carry the evidence, the proposed action, and the responsible owner through the entire decision.
A real-world example I have seen several times in my 25+ years working in pharma: imagine leadership sees paid starts falling behind plan in a particular segment. The first job is to work out whether the constraint is demand, access, fulfillment, or incomplete data. Connecting hub, pharmacy, and payer evidence might reveal a new documentation requirement. Market access confirms the policy and the affected population. Patient access prioritizes cases and helps specialists complete the required work. The brand team sees which provider and payer segments need support and adjusts resources.
Each team needs a view suited to its role and permissions, but they should share one understanding of the situation, who owns the next step, and which dependencies remain open. That prevents duplicate or premature outreach. It also helps improve efficiency and coordination: often a problem detected by one function needs action from another function.
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