CVS Health Forms New Clinical Affiliations with Four Health Systems
CVS Health Corp. has announced four new clinical affiliations with John Muir Health in California, University of Chicago Medical Center in Illinois, Novant Health in the Winston-Salem area of North Carolina and the University of Michigan Health System in Michigan.
Under the agreements, CVS Health pharmacists can provide health system providers with patients’ prescription history and nurse practitioners and physician assistants at MinuteClinic locations, CVS Health’s retail medical clinics, can electronically share information from patient visits with health system providers via its secured electronic medical record (EHR) systems.
MinuteClinic, CVS/pharmacy and the participating healthcare providers 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.
“We are pleased to work with these exceptional health care providers throughout the country to develop collaborative programs that enhance access to patient care, improve health outcomes and lower health care costs in the communities they serve,” Troyen Brennan, M.D., chief medical officer, CVS Health, said in a statement. “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.”
"We're always searching for new opportunities to provide our patients with the absolute best patient care possible," David Spahlinger, M.D., executive associate dean for clinical affairs at U-M Medical School and president, U-M Hospitals, said in a U-M Health System press release. "This affiliation presents us with a unique opportunity to collaborate with CVS health care providers and enhance our system of care for our patients to better meet their needs."
Healthcare providers at participating affiliates will receive data on interventions conducted by CVS pharmacists to improve medication adherence for their patients.
The partnerships also encourage collaboration between the health systems and MinuteClinic providers to improve coordination of care for patients seen at MinuteClinic locations and “plan strategies around chronic care and wellness.”
Health system patients will have access to clinical support, medication counseling, chronic disease management and wellness programs at CVS/pharmacy stores and MinuteClinics. The latest four affiliations bring the total number of clinical collaborations for CVS Health to nearly 70.
