Aetna’s chief digital and technology officer on how the insurer is using AI for patient engagement
Aetna’s chief digital and technology officer on how the insurer is using AI for patient engagement
Publish Date: 2026-05-19 09:57:00
Source Domain: www.healthcaredive.com
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Healthcare is not known for its amazing customer experience. The nation’s health system is notoriously complex, requiring plenty of administrative work from patients to sift through their benefits, find available providers or collect their health data.
But artificial intelligence could begin to ameliorate some of the sector’s complexity, according to Nathan Frank, chief digital and technology officer at Aetna. The CVS Health-owned insurer has rolled out new digital tools that aim to help beneficiaries navigate their care, like a conversational AI assistant and a product called Care Paths that guides patients with specific conditions through their benefits and next steps.
“We believe that it’s going to change the consumer healthcare experience,” he said. “We think it’s going to continue to advance the clinical experience and really improve the ability for us to meet our members and provide better clinical outcomes.”
Frank sat down with Healthcare Dive to discuss how Aetna is using AI to engage members, how the insurer thinks about risks associated with the technology, and the importance of monitoring the products’ performance and soliciting feedback.
This interview was edited for clarity and length.
HEALTHCARE DIVE: How is Aetna thinking about using AI to communicate with your members? I know you recently rolled out a conversational AI assistant.
Nathan Frank, chief digital and technology officer at Aetna
Permission granted by CVS Health
NATHAN FRANK: So, we took a little bit of a different approach to that. We also have the ability to have a chat experience through our digital properties, but we actually embedded the Ask Anything…
