WOONSOCKET, R.I. — MinuteClinic has entered into a clinical affiliation with Sharp HealthCare, one of Southern California’s largest integrated health systems.
The CVS Caremark retail health clinic subsidiary said Monday that under the agreement, which covers the San Diego area, Sharp-affiliated doctors will supervise MinuteClinic nurse practitioners, and if more comprehensive follow-up care is needed, patients can elect to see a Sharp-affiliated physician or another primary care doctor.
The affiliaition also encourages collaboration among Sharp and MinuteClinic providers to improve coordination of care for patients.
MinuteClinic has 10 walk-in medical clinics inside CVS/pharmacy stores in San Diego County.
"It was important for us to develop a clinical affiliation with a system like Sharp HealthCare that delivers high-quality services throughout San Diego County and overlaps with our clinic sites which span from Oceanside to El Cajon," MinuteClinic president Andrew Sussman, who also is senior vice president/associate chief medical officer at CVS Caremark, said in a statement. "We look forward to working with them to integrate our electronic medical record systems and develop collaborative programs that improve patient outcomes, lower costs and help people on their path to better health."
Plans also call for MinuteClinic and Sharp to collaborate on patient education and disease management efforts as well as inform patients of the services that each offers.
Sharp is San Diego’s largest integrated health system, with 2,600 affiliated physicians and multiple facilities throughout the county. The Sharp health system includes four acute care hospitals, three specialty hospitals, two affiliated medical groups and a health plan.
"Increasing access to care is indeed important, especially in this era of health care reform," stated Mike Murphy, chief executive officer of Sharp HealthCare. "MinuteClinic plays an important role in providing patients with timely care at an affordable price, and we are pleased to be part of this effort to help deliver the kind of care that patients want."
