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WOONSOCKET, R.I. — Pointing to its expanding health care commitment in several sectors and its ability to drive innovations that will be needed in the future, CVS Caremark Corp. has changed its corporate name to CVS Health.
The announcement came last week, occurring on the same day that CVS halted tobacco sales in its drug stores.
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“CVS Health is changing the way health care is delivered to increase access, lower costs and improve quality,” noted president and chief executive officer Larry Merlo. “As a pharmacy innovation company at the forefront of a changing health care landscape, we are delivering breakthrough products and services, from advising on prescriptions to helping manage chronic and specialty conditions.”
CVS Health includes the company’s retail business (7,700 retail pharmacies), which continues to be called CVS/pharmacy; its pharmacy benefit management business, which is known as CVS/caremark; its 900 walk-in medical clinics, CVS/minuteclinic; and its growing specialty pharmacy services, CVS/specialty.
“Each year, CVS Health touches more than 100 million people by playing an active, supportive role in each person’s unique health experience and in the greater health care environment,” said Merlo. “Consumers are increasingly taking control of their own health and, through our 26,000 pharmacists and nurse practitioners, we are helping people on their path to better health.”
CVS Health has a portfolio of programs to help people manage chronic disease and connects patients with pharmacists who help them stay on their prescribed medications. Digital capabilities are supplementing these programs to give customers a full view of their prescriptions. CVS Health’s Specialty Connect and Maintenance Choice programs integrate the company’s mail and retail capabilities, providing choice and convenience for patients. CVS Health is also forging alliances with physicians and health plans via CVS/pharmacy and CVS/minuteclinic to provide clinical support, medication counseling, chronic disease monitoring and wellness programs.
The end of tobacco sales at CVS/pharmacy came nearly a month ahead of the targeted date of October 1. In February the company announced that it would end the sale of tobacco products at its drug stores, making CVS/pharmacy the first and only national pharmacy chain to take this step in support of the health and well-being of its patients and customers.
“By eliminating cigarettes and tobacco products from sale in our stores, we can make a difference in the health of all Americans,” Merlo declared.
Results of a new study from CVS Health, included in a Health Affairs blog, show that the enactment of policies to eliminate the sale of tobacco products at retailers with pharmacies in San Francisco and Boston was associated with up to a 13.3% reduction in purchasers of tobacco products.
“Today should mark a call to action by all retailers involved in health care,” said Matthew Myers, president of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “We urge other retailers with pharmacies to follow the powerful example set by CVS/pharmacy and end tobacco sales.”
CVS Health also kicked off a smoking cessation campaign to help millions of Americans quit smoking. Designed with input from national experts, the program combines the efforts of CVS/pharmacy, CVS/minuteclinic and CVS/caremark to help smokers quit. Components include an assessment of the smoker’s readiness to quit; information and tools smokers need to quit; medication support to help curb the desire to use tobacco; and coaching to help them stay motivated and prevent relapses.
“We learned following our announcement in February that nearly everyone has a tobacco story and was eager to tell it,” said CVS/pharmacy president Helena Foulkes. “We are launching a social campaign — #OneGoodReason — in which we are inviting everyone to share their personal stories of how smoking and tobacco use has affected their lives. Our hope is that through the sharing of these stories we can spark a movement that will make lasting improvements in health across our country.
“The path to becoming smoke-free doesn’t start in the same place for everyone: that’s why our program is designed to offer the interested quitter many ways to interact with our services.”
