Leaning In on Innovation: When Pharmacy Technology Is Worth the Risk

Investing in new pharmacy and drug technology is a hot topic. Technology is meeting demand, but at a high financial cost. The question for plan sponsors is where to lean in and where to slow-walk coverage. One area of smart investment is type 1 diabetes, provided there is sound clinical logic and meaningful potential benefit behind the technology. The opportunity to reduce downstream medical costs is significant and may justify the risk of investing in solutions that do not ultimately produce a perfect return. Recent research supports this approach. Adults with type 1 diabetes using a continuous glucose monitor paired with a smart insulin pen achieved substantially higher time in range when they responded consistently to missed dose and high glucose alerts. Participants who responded to alerts 75% to 100% of the time had time-in-range levels between 67% and 72%, compared with 43% to 50% among those who responded 25% of the time or less (Laurenzi et al., 2025). Improved time in range is strongly associated with better glycemic control and fewer complications. For employers and risk-bearing organizations, targeted investment in clinically sound diabetes technology may lower long-term costs and improve outcomes, making the potential benefits outweigh the risks.

Laurenzi, A., Edd, S. N., Adolfsson, P., Di Piazza, F., Voelker, B., Im, G., van den Heuvel, T., & Cohen, O. (2025). Insights into the effective use of the Smart MDI system: Data from the first 1852 type 1 diabetes users. Diabetic Medicine, 42(12). https://doi.org/10.1111/dme.70161