TriHealth plans to coordinate care between its doctors and local CVS pharmacies as well as four MinuteClinics in Greater Cincinnati, which provide care for walk-in patients at some CVS stores.
As part of the collaboration, CVS Pharmacy will provide prescription and visit information to TriHealth through secure electronic medical record systems. That will include messages and alerts from CVS to TriHealth doctors regarding medication non-adherence.
In addition, with a patient’s consent, MinuteClinics operated by CVS Health will electronically share visit summaries with a TriHealth primary care doctor. MinuteClinics are staffed by nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
“Through this collaboration, we believe our patients will have enhanced access to pharmacy care and coordinated, primary care support,” said Steve Mombach, vice president of ambulatory services for Cincinnati-based TriHealth, which operates Bethesda North Hospital in Montgomery, Bethesda Butler Hospital in Hamilton, TriHealth Evendale, Good Samaritan Hospital in University Heights and McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital in Oxford plus more than 130 other locations.
CVS Pharmacy has more than 320 pharmacies in Ohio. CVS Health operates 62 MinuteClinics in Ohio, which are open seven days a week and don’t require appointments. The nation’s second-largest drug store chain, Rhode Island-based CVS/Caremark, has more than 7,800 retail pharmacies in all and operates more than 900 MinuteClinics.
“By integrating our electronic medical records and information systems, we will collectively 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,” said Dr. Troyen Brennan, chief medical officer for CVS Health.
I reported last year on a similar collaboration between Mercy Health-Cincinnati and Walgreens drug stores with health clinics. In addition, UC Health announced in 2013 that it planned to expand its brand – and perhaps its patient base – through a collaborative agreement with the Little Clinics inside some Kroger grocery stores in Greater Cincinnati.
Dr. Diane Dolensky, medical director of TriHealth Physician Practices, said primary care doctors view themselves as the quarterbacks for patient care.
“When the immediate needs of our patients lead them to seek care outside of our practice, we want to provide options where we have quality, collaboration and continuity of care while still knowing we’re all on the same team,” Dolensky said. “By partnering with CVS, we can provide our patients with additional supplemental care options without sacrificing our ability to be a consistent champion for our patients’ overall health care.”
Date: August 27, 2015