Tackling industry challenges, one episode at a time
The pharmaceutical industry is constantly changing and it’s hard to stay on top of it. The Pharmacy Insights Podcast is here to help you stay current, diving deep into the complex topics that are challenging your pharmacy benefit plan and give you solutions to control your rising costs.
Join our host, Optum Rx Chief Clinical Officer, Dr. John Wig, as he interviews our resident experts on pressing topics and the industry challenges every plan sponsor is facing.
John Wig
Chief Clinical Officer, Optum Rx
Dr. John Wig is a healthcare executive and board member with more than two decades of experience leading clinical strategy and operations, transformation, and innovation across some of the nation’s largest healthcare organizations spanning payer, provider, pharmaceutical, and retail sectors. He brings expertise in enterprise operations, quality and safety governance, workforce development, enterprise transformation, and long-term strategic planning to the boards he serves.
Currently serving as chief clinical officer and senior vice president at UnitedHealth Group, Dr. Wig oversees clinical pharmacy operations, product and drug trend for more than 70 million members and 3,000 clients, leading initiatives focused on specialty drug strategy and transformation, medication affordability, and clinical innovation including artificial intelligence. Previously, he held senior leadership roles at Walmart, where he built a national quality and safety framework across 5,000 pharmacies and 3,000+ optical centers, dental clinics, and virtual care operations, supporting healthcare delivery for 1.6 million employees and 160 million weekly customers (including 20 million pharmacy members).
Earlier in his career, Dr. Wig served as chief medical officer at Cigna/Express Scripts, where he helped reposition clinical operations toward value-based care models and novel analytic frameworks in drug utilization and outcomes. He held a similar role at DaVita, where he led enterprise technology initiatives and strengthened patient safety and care. Prior to that, at Fresenius Medical Care, he created and expanded novel care delivery partnerships and reimbursement strategies to drive sustainable growth.
Dr. Wig currently serves on the boards of the American Diabetes Association, the Milken Institute, and Nephroceuticals and was formerly a board member for the National Kidney Foundation. His governance experience reflects a strong focus on financial performance oversight, talent management, strategic growth, and innovation-driven value creation.
Dr. Wigneswaran holds an M.D. from Tufts University School of Medicine and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management. He is board-certified in Nephrology, completing his training at New York-Presbyterian Cornell with active medical licensure in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Ohio.