WOONSOCKET, R.I. — William Shrank has been hired as chief scientific officer and chief medical officer for provider innovation and analytics at CVS Caremark Corp.
CVS said Tuesday that in the new role, Shrank will focus on developing pharmacy solutions that improve the quality of care and lower costs, helping health care providers deliver services to distinct patient populations.
He also will oversee the company’s overall research and clinical program development, with the goal of delivering new methods of evaluating innovative programs and initiatives.
"I look forward to working with the team at CVS Caremark to find new ways to further the company’s research efforts," stated Shrank, who has been one of the lead researchers in a multiyear, medication adherence research collaboration between CVS Caremark, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Harvard. "To date, CVS Caremark has built a strong reputation as a leader in medication adherence research, and we look forward to expanding upon this focus and uncovering new learnings to help our clients improve outcomes while managing cost."
Before joining CVS, Shrank was a practicing physician at Brigham Internal Medicine Associates and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. Previously, he served as director of research and rapid-cycle evaluation for the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
CVS noted that Shrank has extensive experience in pharmaceutical outcomes research and has published extensively on such topics as pharmacy benefit designs, the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit, medication adherence for chronic conditions, and patient communications on the risks and benefits of prescribed medications.
"As CVS Caremark continues to focus on identifying and developing innovative pharmacy care programs that improve outcomes and reduce overall costs, Will’s depth of experience as a researcher make him uniquely qualified to oversee our research agenda," Troy Brennan, executive vice president and chief medical officer at CVS Caremark, said in a statement. "His insights and expertise will enable us to continue to develop new solutions to improve care and quality for patients dealing with chronic disease."
