WOONSOCKET – The MinuteClinic division of CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS) today opened its first in-store health care center in Massachusetts, the company said.
The new clinic, in a CVS/pharmacy store in Medway, will be open seven days a week. And it will take part in the upcoming CVS-MinuteClinic drive – slated to begin Oct. 1 – to deliver 1 million influenza vaccines nationwide via 7,500 in-store events for patients 2 years and older. (READ MORE)
Four more clinics are slated to open “in the near future,” in Bridgewater, Danvers, Taunton and Tewksbury, Mass., and as many as 22 more MinuteClinics may be opened in the state by year’s end, bringing the Bay State total to 28, the company said. Hours for its Massachusetts clinics will be Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“Through our conveniently located store-based clinics, we will be expanding access to high-quality, affordable care for common family illnesses,” Chip Phillips, president of the Minneapolis-based MinuteClinic division, said in a statement today.
MinuteClinic is the first and so far only retail health-care provider to gain accreditation by The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), the independent agency that evaluates and certifies nearly 15,000 health care organizations and programs nationwide. (READ MORE)
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Each in-store walk-in clinic is staffed by board-certified nurse practitioners, “who specialize in family health care and are trained to diagnose, treat and prescribe medication … for common family illnesses such as strep throat and ear, eye, sinus, and bronchial infections,” the CVS division said.
“The health care centers also offer treatment for insect bites, minor burns, rashes and other skin conditions,” and administer vaccines against common illnesses such as flu, tetanus, hepatitis A and B and pneumonia.
No appointments are necessary, the company added. But, it stressed, “MinuteClinic nurse practitioners stress the importance of a medical home. If a patient doesn’t have a primary care provider, [the nurse] provides a list of physicians in the area who are accepting new patients.”
And patients with severe or chronic conditions are referred to their own physician or the nearest urgent care or emergency room, MinuteClinic said.
“We are committed to making our innovative model of care part of Massachusetts’ precedent-setting efforts to broaden access to quality health services,” Phillips said.
CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS) – the nation’s largest provider of prescription medications – operates the CVS/pharmacy stores; the CVS.com online pharmacy; Caremark Pharmacy Services; and the MinuteClinic retail-based health care subsidiary. Additional information is available at investor.cvs.com or www.minuteclinic.com.
