WOONSOCKET, R.I., March 31, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS Health
(NYSE: CVS) announced today it has entered into new clinical
affiliations with Rush University
Medical Center in Chicago,
Illinois and Tucson Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona and their accountable care
organization, Arizona Connected Care. These affiliations will help
enhance access to high-quality, affordable health care services for
patients. Through these clinical affiliations, CVS Health will
provide prescription and visit information to the participating
providers through the integration of secured electronic health
record (EHR) systems, which will help enhance clinical care for
patients served by these affiliates. In addition, patients will
continue to have access to clinical support, medication counseling,
chronic disease monitoring and wellness programs at CVS/pharmacy
stores and MinuteClinic, the retail medical clinic of CVS
Health.
"In this era of health care reform, we are pleased to work with
these health care providers to develop collaborative programs that
enhance access to patient care, improve health outcomes and lower
health care costs in the communities they serve," said Troyen A.
Brennan, MD, Chief Medical Officer, CVS Health. "By integrating our
electronic health records and information systems, we will
collectively have a more comprehensive view of our patients, which
can aid in health care decision making and help ensure patients
adhere to important medications for chronic diseases."
CVS/pharmacy currently has more than 7,800 retail pharmacy
locations across the U.S. where CVS pharmacists provide counseling
to patients to help them be adherent to their chronic disease
medications. In addition, MinuteClinic also plays an important role
by providing patients with timely, affordable and high-quality
walk-in health care. There are more than 900 MinuteClinic walk-in
medical clinics available at CVS/pharmacy retail stores.
MinuteClinic locations are open seven days a week, offering evening
hours with no appointment necessary and most health insurance is
accepted. The clinics are staffed by nurse practitioners and
physician assistants who provide treatment for common family
illnesses and administer wellness and prevention services,
including health-condition monitoring for patients with chronic
diseases.
Health care providers at the participating affiliates will
receive data on interventions conducted by CVS pharmacists to
improve medication adherence for their patients. The affiliation
also encourages collaboration between the health care providers and
MinuteClinic providers to improve coordination of care for patients
seen at MinuteClinic locations. Physicians affiliated with the
participating medical centers will collaborate with MinuteClinic
nurse practitioners to work closely on joint clinical programs and
care coordination activities. If more comprehensive care is needed,
patients can follow up with their primary care provider and have
access to the services at the medical center as appropriate. For
those patients who do not have regular access to health care,
MinuteClinic provides information to help patients in finding a
primary care physician and a greater opportunity for continuity of
health care services.
MinuteClinic, CVS/pharmacy and the participating medical centers
will begin to work toward integrating EHR systems to streamline and
enhance communication. This integration will include the electronic
sharing of messages and alerts from CVS/pharmacy to the affiliates'
physicians regarding medication non-adherence issues. In addition,
MinuteClinic will electronically share patient visit summaries with
the patient's primary care physician when they are part of a
clinical affiliation and with the patient's consent. MinuteClinic
will continue its standard practice of sending patient visit
summaries to primary care providers who are not affiliated with one
of these participating groups via fax or mail, with patient
consent.
The new clinical affiliations announced here bring the total
number of health system and health care provider affiliations for
CVS Health and MinuteClinic to more than 50 major health systems
and health care providers across the country.
About CVS Health
CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) is a pharmacy
innovation company helping people on their path to better
health. Through our 7,800 retail pharmacies, more than 900
walk-in medical clinics, a leading pharmacy benefits manager with
nearly 65 million plan members, and expanding specialty pharmacy
services, we enable people, businesses and communities to manage
health in more affordable, effective ways. This unique
integrated model increases access to quality care, delivers better
health outcomes and lowers overall health care costs. Find
more information about how CVS Health is shaping the future of
health at www.cvshealth.com.
Contact:
Christina Beckerman
CVS Health
(401) 770-8868
christina.beckerman@cvscaremark.com
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SOURCE CVS Health