CVS Caremark honored for consumer health improvement

WOONSOCKET, R.I. CVS Caremark was awarded platinum honors for consumer health improvement by leading health care accreditation organization, URAC. The honor was announced at the 2009 Best Practices in Health Care Consumer Empowerment and Protection Awards Gala on April 1 to 2 in Orlando, Florida.

CVS Caremark was honored for its Drug Therapy Management program, which was developed to improve the outcome of drug therapy by providing patients with access to specially trained clinical pharmacists for one-on-one medication counseling. Patients with complex pharmacy needs -- those on multiple medications who have prescriptions from a number of different health care providers -- are encouraged to participate in an individualized counseling session with a clinical pharmacist to review their pharmacy health needs and identify any potential issues with compliance, efficacy, dosing and interactions. Once enrolled in the program, a comprehensive electronic record is developed and kept up-to-date for the patient, along with an individualized care plan and regular follow-up appointments via phone with their assigned clinical pharmacist.

"The Drug Therapy Management program provides those patients with complex pharmacy needs with access to personalized support from a clinical pharmacist who ensures coordinated communication and care between the patient and their health care providers," said Howard McLure, president CVS Caremark Pharmacy Services. "This program is another concrete example of how CVS Caremark applies our Proactive Pharmacy Care approach to engage the patients we support in their pharmacy health care and provide them with the information they need to make educated choices."