WOONSOCKET, R.I., Aug. 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS
Health (NYSE: CVS) announced today it has entered into new clinical
affiliations with two leading health systems, St. Luke's University
Health Network in Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania and TriHealth in Cincinnati, Ohio. 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
health care organizations by enabling communication between our
secured electronic health record (EHR) systems, which will help
enhance clinical care for patients. 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.
"We are pleased to work with St. Luke's University Health
Network and TriHealth to enhance access to patient care, improve
health outcomes and lower health care costs in communities
throughout Pennsylvania and
Ohio," said Troyen A. Brennan, MD,
Chief Medical Officer, CVS Health. "By allowing our electronic
health records and information systems to communicate and share
important information about the patients we collectively serve, we
will 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 also nearly 1,000 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/or
physician assistants who provide treatment for common illnesses and
administer wellness and prevention services, including
health-condition monitoring for patients with chronic
diseases.
Health care providers at 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. Through this collaboration, the
affiliate organizations and MinuteClinic practitioners will also
work together on planning strategies around chronic care and
wellness. If more comprehensive care is needed, patients can follow
up with their primary care provider and have access to affiliates'
services 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 health systems
will begin to work toward streamlining and enabling communication
through their EHR systems. This will include the electronic sharing
of messages and alerts from CVS/pharmacy to 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 an
affiliate organization 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
these participating health care organizations via fax or mail, with
patient consent.
The new affiliations announced here bring the total number of
clinical collaborations for CVS Health and MinuteClinic to more
than 60 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 its 7,800 retail
drugstores, nearly 1,000 walk-in medical clinics, a leading
pharmacy benefits manager with more than 70 million plan members,
and expanding specialty pharmacy services, the Company enables
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@cvshealth.com
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SOURCE CVS Health