CVS MinuteClinic expands into New Hampshire

WOONSOCKET – CVS Caremark Corp. has launched MinuteClinic locations in Concord and West Lebanon, N.H., making New Hampshire the 28th state to offer the walk-in medical clinics inside select CVS/pharmacy stores.

An additional MinuteClinic will open in Salem, N.H., on Dec. 11, with three more locations slated to launch in Hampton, Manchester and Nashua in early January.

“As we have experienced in other states, MinuteClinic can support the primary care model in New Hampshire by helping to improve access to affordable care at convenient locations close to where patients live and work,” said Dr. Andrew Sussman, president of the MinuteClinic divison and senior vice president and associate chief medical officer of CVS Caremark.

With the opening of six MinuteClinic locations in New Hampshire, CVS also announced a new clinical collaboration with Dartmouth-Hitchcock, the Granite State’s largest health care system with a network of nearly 1,500 physicians.

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“Our affiliation with Dartmouth-Hitchcock, which has a national reputation for clinical quality and patient-centered care, will help us extend the best treatment at the lowest overall cost for patients and employers,” Sussman said.

Under the agreement, Dartmouth-Hitchcock physicians will serve as medical directors for MinuteClinic in New Hampshire, providing support and quality review of care provided by MinuteClinic’s licensed nurse practitioners. Dartmouth-Hitchcock will also act as a liaison between community physicians and the MinuteClinic sites, and collaborate with CVS Caremark on patient education and disease-management initiatives.

“Our commitment to creating a sustainable health system for the people and communities of our region requires that we deliver care in new ways that are convenient, accessible, high-quality and lower-cost,” said Dartmouth-Hitchcock CEO and President Dr. James N. Weinstein. “This partnership with MinuteClinic exactly fits our strategic priorities of improving the health of our population, providing value-based care, and using different payment models to reduce costs.”

MinuteClinic’s entry into New Hampshire is part of its plan to open 150 clinics nationwide in 2013. MinuteClinic launched its first clinics in 2000 and now numbers more than 750 locations in 28 states and the District of Columbia.

As part of the collaboration between MinuteClinic and Dartmouth-Hitchcock, the two entities will work toward integrating their electronic medical record systems, CVS said. With patient permission, MinuteClinic will electronically share medical histories and clinic-visit summaries with other Dartmouth-Hitchcock locations in New Hampshire to better coordinate primary care for Dartmouth-Hitchcock patients.

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