Home Industries Health Services CVS curtails infusion business, plans to close or sell 29 pharmacies

CVS curtails infusion business, plans to close or sell 29 pharmacies

Updated at 12:11 p.m.

By

Katie Castellani

-

10/15/2024

CVS Pharmacy — CVS HEALTH Corp. is planning to exit its core infusion business and close or sell 29 regional pharmacies, none of which are located in Rhode Island./ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO / GENE J. PUSKAR

WOONSOCKET – CVS Health Corp. is planning to cut back its core infusion business and close or sell 29 regional pharmacies, none of which are located in Rhode Island. CVS purchased the drug infusion services provider, Coram, for $2.1 billion in 2013, according to a Reuters report. CVS will discontinue infusion services for antibiotics, inotropic

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WOONSOCKET – CVS Health Corp. is planning to cut back its core infusion business and close or sell 29 regional pharmacies, none of which are located in Rhode Island. CVS purchased the drug infusion services provider, Coram, for $2.1 billion in 2013, according to a Reuters report. CVS will discontinue infusion services for antibiotics, inotropic medications total parenteral nutrition along with other acute home infusion therapies, Shelly Bendit, a CVS spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday. New patient referrals for these treatments are no longer accepted beginning Oct. 8. The company plans to coordinate with patients, their providers and health plans to help transition to a new provider. “Ensuring continuity of care for our patients is our number one priority,” Bendit said. “We have a comprehensive transition plan in place for any patient affected by these changes.” The pharmacy retailer will continue providing infusion services for specialty medications and enteral nutrition nationwide, Bendit said. Coram has three national hub pharmacies located in Minnesota, Pennsylvania and California to serve as centers for specialty medication infusion and enteral nutrition services. CVS will also continue to provide infusion nursing services across the U.S. offering patients to get treated at home or in an infusion suite. The 29 regional pharmacies are set to close over the coming months, but CVS is also considering selling these assets, Bendit said. No workforce reductions at Coram have been announced. Any affected worker would be notified in mid-November and job cuts would not happen until late January, Bendit said. Bendit said this is not related to CVS’ plan to cut 2,900 corporate jobs – including 632 positions that report to the Woonsocket headquarters. “Providers of infused medications have continued to face a challenging environment for their most highly specialized, complex services, and Coram has not been immune to these challenges. As such, we have reevaluated our service offerings,” Bendit said. (UPDATE: Clarifies CVS plans to curtail its infusion business in both headline and lead paragraph) Katie Castellani is a PBN staff writer. You can reach her at Castellani@pbn.com.