WOONSOCKET, R.I., Sept. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS Caremark
Corporation (NYSE: CVS) announced today that it is changing its
corporate name to CVS Health to reflect its broader health care
commitment and its expertise in driving the innovations needed to
shape the future of health.
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"For our patients and customers, health is everything and CVS
Health is changing the way health care is delivered to increase
access, lower costs and improve quality," announced Larry J. Merlo, President and CEO, CVS
Health. "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, which
continues to be called CVS/pharmacy; its pharmacy benefit
management business, which is known as CVS/caremark; its walk-in
medical clinics, CVS/minuteclinic; and its growing specialty
pharmacy services, CVS/specialty. With 7,700 retail pharmacies, 900
walk-in medical clinics, a leading pharmacy benefits manager with
nearly 65 million plan members, and expanding specialty pharmacy
services, CVS Health enables people, businesses and communities to
manage health in more affordable, effective ways.
"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 strategic alliances with physicians and
health plans through both CVS/pharmacy and CVS/minuteclinic to
provide clinical support, medication counseling, chronic disease
monitoring and wellness programs for their members.
As a further demonstration of its commitment to health, CVS
Health also announced the end of tobacco sales at CVS/pharmacy as
of September 3, nearly a month ahead
of the previously targeted date of October
1. In February, the company announced that it would end the
sale of cigarettes and tobacco products at its CVS/pharmacy 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.
"Along with the start of CVS Health, the sale of cigarettes and
tobacco products at CVS/pharmacy ends today. By eliminating
cigarettes and tobacco products from sale in our stores, we can
make a difference in the health of all Americans," Merlo
declared.
"The sale of tobacco in a retail pharmacy conflicts with the
purpose of the health care services delivered there," added Troyen
A. Brennan, M.D., M.P.H., Chief Medical Officer, CVS Health. "Even
more important, there is evidence developing that indicates that
removing tobacco products from retailers with pharmacies will lead
to substantially lower rates of smoking with implications for
reducing tobacco-related deaths."
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
percent reduction in purchasers of tobacco products.
"Today should mark a call to action by all retailers involved in
health care," said Matthew L. Myers,
President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "We urge other retailers
with pharmacies to follow the powerful example set by CVS/pharmacy
and end tobacco sales."
In addition to removing cigarettes and tobacco products for
sale, CVS Health kicked off a comprehensive and uniquely
personalized smoking cessation campaign to help millions of
Americans to quit smoking.
"Quitting smoking is one of the most important things you can do
to improve your health and protect the health of your family, but
quitting isn't easy," said Helena
Foulkes, President, CVS/pharmacy.
The CVS Health smoking cessation program, designed with input
from national experts, combines the efforts of CVS/pharmacy,
CVS/minuteclinic and CVS/caremark to help smokers quit and includes
four critical components: an assessment of the smoker's readiness
to quit, education to give smokers the information and tools they
need to quit, medication support to help curb the desire to use
tobacco and coaching to help individuals 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," Foulkes
continued. "So, today 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."
"Today, as CVS Health, we are tobacco-free, reinventing pharmacy
and taking our place among leaders in the health care community,"
Merlo concluded.
About CVS Health
CVS Health is a pharmacy innovation
company helping people on their path to better health.
Through our 7,700 retail pharmacies, 900 walk-in medical clinics, a
leading pharmacy benefits manager with nearly 65 million plan
members, and expanding specialty pharmacy services, we enable
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.
Media Contacts:
Carolyn Castel
Corporate Communications
(401) 770-5717
Carolyn.Castel@cvscaremark.com
Mike DeAngelis
Corporate Communications
(401) 770-2645
Michael.DeAngelis@cvscaremark.com
To view the multimedia assets associated with this release,
please click
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7308951-cvs-caremark-announces-corporate-name-change-to-cvs-health/
SOURCE CVS Health