Anita Allemand of Elevance Health: The Rule of Balancing AI Speed with Clinical Empathy in Modern Healthcare

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to advance and integrate into various aspects of business, decision-makers at the highest levels face the complex task of determining where AI can be most effectively utilized and where the human touch remains irreplaceable. This series seeks to explore the nuanced decisions made by C-Suite executives regarding the implementation of AI in their operations. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Anita Allemand, Chief Growth Officer at Elevance Health.

Anita M. Allemand is the Chief Growth Officer at Elevance Health, where she leads market expansion strategies, cross-business growth, strategic partnerships, and product innovation to meet evolving member needs. She oversees Marketing, External Corporate Communications, and Consumer Experience, working closely with product leaders to drive whole-health solutions and business growth.

A healthcare executive with over 25 years of experience, Anita previously held leadership roles at Walgreens Boots Alliance, Optum, and CVS Health. Beginning her career as a clinical provider, her expertise spans value-based care, pharmacy and PBM services, digital health, and population health management, consistently driving a consumer-focused, results-driven approach.

She holds a Doctor of Pharmacy from Midwestern University and a B.S. in Biology from the University of Illinois.

Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?

I began my healthcare career in college, working part-time at a nursing home caring for individuals with Alzheimer’s and dementia. Working with people who were struggling to remember their own names or recognize their loved ones was tough, but it also ignited my passion for healthcare. After graduating from pharmacy school, I enjoyed working as a pharmacist and witnessing firsthand the impact pharmacists have on their patients’ lives. Wanting to improve the broader healthcare system, I transferred to the pharmacy benefit management (PBM) side of healthcare and later took on leadership and ultimately executive roles for major health insurance and healthcare organizations. Through each step of my career, and particularly now as inaugural Chief Growth Officer for Elevance Health, I’ve had the opportunity to serve members, strengthen the industry as a whole, and drive innovative solutions.

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

My first professional job was in a pharmaceutical research lab, and I was practicing for my first CDC audit — a major milestone for our product approval. My task was to run an antimicrobial test, which sounded simple enough until I opened the petri dish. The smell was so strong it triggered an instant sneezing fit, right into the dish. In that moment, I learned two things: First, I was definitely not destined for a career in R&D and second, and more importantly, you always practice before the real thing. It’s a lesson I’ve carried forward: no matter how senior you get, testing, learning, and laughing through your missteps are all important parts of growth.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

At Elevance Health, our goal is to make healthcare simpler, more connected, and more personal, with people at the center of everything we do because we want our work to ultimately help people improve their health. A key part of this effort is leveraging digital technologies, including AI, to transform the healthcare experience through three focus areas: simplifying how we work to better serve our customers, creating a personalized and more seamless experience, and empowering care providers to enhance health outcomes.

One of the projects I’m most excited about is our AI-powered Virtual Assistant, which helps bridge gaps in the digital healthcare journey. Available through the Sydney Health app and anthem.com, it delivers conversational, personalized insights into the topics that matter most to members — whether they’re trying to understand benefits, find care, or manage claims. By the end of 2025, more than 10 million of our health plan members will have access to this tool. We’re also investing in our own associates by enhancing benefits, including education and professional development opportunities, which includes increasing their AI fluency. As such, we have a partnership with OpenAI, which will give associates the opportunity to earn formal certifications in AI fluency, ranging from foundational skills like prompt engineering to advanced AI-enabled work.

Thank you for that. Let’s now shift to the central focus of our discussion. In your experience, what are some of the most important factors to keep in mind when integrated AI into your business operations, and how have you balanced these with the need to preserve human-centric roles?

It’s important to understand how AI enhances and complements the human touch that is so essential to healthcare. At Elevance Health, we recognize that AI tools improve operational efficiency across the organization, allowing our associates to focus more on supporting members, while also enhancing experiences for other stakeholders. For example, AI-powered systems help accelerate approvals for care providers and reduce administrative burden across the board, not only streamlining internal workflows but also contributing to better outcomes and experiences for customers and care teams. This includes our AI-powered call center tools that automate post-call summaries and assist with smart routing, which frees up our customer services representatives to focus more on empathy and problem solving with our consumers. We also maintain human oversight in all clinical decision-making processes and balance innovation and high-quality data with humanity through a strong governance framework with embedded responsible AI principles — like fairness, transparency, and accountability — into every stage of development.

As part of our efforts to help ensure a solid data foundation, we’ve developed Health OS, our interoperability platform that integrates clinical data from multiple sources, giving our organization, consumers and providers, easier access to more complete healthcare information.

Can you share an example where AI and human expertise worked together to achieve a better outcome than either could alone? How do you ensure that human judgement remains central in your AI strategy?

Two areas where we’ve seen AI and human expertise work hand-in-hand to improve outcomes are in utilization management and proactive member engagement. For utilization management, AI helps accelerate clinical review by identifying relevant information in a member’s medical record and matching it to clinical guidelines. When the criteria are met, requests can be approved automatically, reducing delays for clinically appropriate services. However, AI never makes denial decisions — those are always handled by licensed clinicians through our peer review process, ensuring that while AI improves speed and efficiency, human oversight remains central to protecting patient safety and ensuring appropriate care.

Similarly, in our proactive member engagement, AI helps identify members who may have gaps in care and initiates outreach through digital channels like texts, app alerts, and emails. However, it’s our care teams — nurses, health coaches, and customer service reps — who follow up with personalized support to help members take action. This combination allows us to reach more people with timely, relevant information while maintaining the empathy and context that only humans can provide.

These examples show that AI is a powerful enabler, but human judgment and compassion are irreplaceable — especially in healthcare, where trust and nuance are essential.

How do you approach the ethical use of AI in your company, especially in ways that support your workforce and ensure responsible implementation?

We take a proactive and transparent approach to responsible and ethical AI. Our responsible AI program is aligned with industry standards, such as the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, and includes oversight from legal, privacy, security, and clinical teams. Furthermore, every AI solution we deploy is evaluated for fairness, explainability, and compliance with evolving regulations.

Supporting our workforce is a key part of responsible AI implementation, which is why, through our partnership with OpenAI, we offer AI fluency courses that help associates understand how to use AI tools responsibly, including guidance on privacy and data protection. We’ve also introduced internal AI productivity tools like Spark, which help our associates reduce repetitive tasks so they can focus on higher-value work.

How is AI better helping you understand and anticipate member needs through data insights?

We use AI to analyze millions of customers interactions — from phone calls to chats — to uncover why members reach out and how we respond. These insights help us identify common friction points and proactively address them, often before a member even needs to contact us. For example, if we notice a spike in questions about a specific benefit, we can update our digital tools or proactively communicate with members to clarify. This approach not only improves the member experience but also helps our employees be better prepared to support members with the right information at the right time.

AI alone isn’t enough — our employees play a key role in interpreting those insights and taking action, and together, the combination of AI and human empathy allows us to truly meet members’ needs.

Based on your experience and success, what should one keep in mind when deciding where to use AI and where to rely only on humans, and why?

Using AI to power your workforce is the first example that comes to mind. We use AI to empower our workforce by reducing administrative burden and giving our teams tools and training that eliminate repetitive tasks and build AI competency. We’re not just increasing productivity through AI — we’re investing in people and maximizing human potential.

AI is a tool that can empower our workforce, engage employees, and help them get on board. Utilizing multiple internal productivity tools, including one powered by ChatGPT, helps associates reduce administrative tasks and focus on higher-value, human-centered work. We also recently formed an educational partnership with OpenAI for associates, and our data scientists are developing and utilizing AI models to help associates develop more personalized care plans for our health plan members.

This technology can be utilized to help solve real healthcare challenges, ultimately creating measurable value while elevating the human impact behind everything we do.

Looking towards the future, in which areas of your business do you foresee AI making the most significant impact, and conversely, in which areas do you believe a human touch will remain indispensable?

We anticipate AI having the most significant impact on operational efficiency and simplifying navigation for our members. Tools like our digital claims examiner are helping automate manual processes, improve data accuracy, and reduce administrative burden — all of which contribute to a better experience for members and providers alike.

Additionally, our AI-enabled virtual assistant will be available to over 10 million members by year-end, helping them find information, understand benefits, and take action more easily. Still, the human touch is essential in moments that require empathy or clinical judgement, and our goal is to use AI to elevate those human interactions vs. replacing them.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

If I could start a movement, it would be one that redefines how we think about health — starting early, starting young, and starting with awareness. I’d call it Health Empowerment, aimed at giving every child and young adult the knowledge, tools, and confidence to take charge of their well-being and health long before illness occurs.

Too often, our healthcare system is designed to react to disease rather than prevent it. This movement would start in elementary schools, where children can begin learning that health isn’t just about avoiding sickness but about understanding their bodies, mental well-being, nutrition, sleep, and the impact of lifestyle choices.

As children turn into teens and young adults, we must meet them where they are — through the digital tools, platforms, and communities that shape how they learn and live — turning knowledge into daily choices instead of a diagnosis.

By combining early education, data-driven insights, and personalized digital tools, we can turn passive patients into active participants. Only then can we fundamentally shift the trajectory of health in this country and change lives and communities for generations. When people feel informed, equipped with resources, and in charge of their health, prevention becomes not just possible but natural.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Anita Allemand, PharmD | LinkedIn

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Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!