An Innovation in Health Care Opens at CVS/Pharmacy Stores in the Hartford Metro Area
HARTFORD, Conn., Sept. 25 /PRNewswire/ — Quick, convenient, quality medical care is now available at CVS/pharmacy stores in the Hartford metro area. Two MinuteClinic health care centers have opened in CVS locations in Avon, next to Avon Marketplace, and Rocky Hill, at Cromwell & New Britain avenues. Two additional MinuteClinic health care centers will open at CVS locations in the metro area later this week: Windsor, Windsor Center, on Sept. 26; and West Hartford, 1240 Farmington Ave., on Sept. 29. MinuteClinic is open Mon.-Fri. from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sat.-Sun. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
MinuteClinic health care centers are staffed by certified family nurse practitioners and physician assistants who are trained to diagnose, treat and write prescriptions (when clinically appropriate) for common family illnesses such as strep throat and ear, eye, sinus, bladder and bronchial infections. MinuteClinic health care centers also offer common vaccinations, such as flu shots, tetanus, MMR and Hepatitis A & B.
MinuteClinic health care centers in Connecticut are operated by MC Diagnostic of Connecticut, P.C. In addition to the Hartford metro area, MinuteClinic opened a health care center in Stamford last week at the Newfield Shopping Plaza.
MinuteClinic, a subsidiary of CVS Corporation , is the pioneer and largest provider of retail health care in the United States with 95 health care centers in 14 states. In addition to the Hartford area, MinuteClinic health care centers are located in the following metro areas: Atlanta, Baltimore, Charlotte, Columbus, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Nashville, Orlando, Providence, Raleigh-Durham, Seattle, Stamford, and the Maryland area markets of the Nation’s Capital.
Because examinations typically take 10-15 minutes and no appointment is necessary, MinuteClinic health care centers are an ideal solution for professionals and working parents who cannot afford time away from the workplace.
“MinuteClinic health care centers are an answer to consumers’ overwhelming demand for more patient-centric health care,” said Michael Howe, chief executive officer for MinuteClinic. “As more patients look to take control of their health care options, we provide a fast, convenient and affordable service for common maladies that is available seven days a week.”
MinuteClinic is working closely with the larger insurance carriers in Connecticut to be a participating provider in their networks. For patients who are a member of Aetna, Anthem BlueCross BlueShield of Connecticut, Beechstreet, CBSA, CIGNA HealthCare, Connecticare, First Health, HealthNet of Northeast, Medicare, TRICARE, and UnitedHealthcare, MinuteClinic will accept as payment the office visit co-pay indicated on their insurance card. Treatment prices are posted outside each health care center. Most treatments cost $59.
“MinuteClinic offers customers convenient, high quality health care services and is a natural extension of our mission to be the easiest pharmacy retailer for customers to use,” said Chris Bodine, executive vice president for merchandising at CVS/pharmacy. “Along with their reputation for high quality health care, MinuteClinic has proven its ability to work collaboratively with physicians in the prompt diagnosis and treatment of patients.”
MinuteClinic has achieved accreditation from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), the national evaluation and certifying agency for nearly 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including hospitals, hospice services, nursing homes, laboratories, rehabilitation centers and behavioral health care organizations.
To ensure quality and personal attention for patients, MinuteClinic health care centers are staffed by physician assistants and nurse practitioners who are Registered Nurses (RNs) with college degrees and have two additional years of graduate-level training in family practice medicine. Nurse practitioners work in collaboration with physicians and may prescribe medication. Claire Nadeau, nurse practitioner and manager of operations, will oversee MinuteClinic locations in the Hartford metro area.
MinuteClinic nurse practitioners use a software program that at the conclusion of each visit, generates educational material, an invoice and a prescription for the patient, as well as a diagnostic record that is automatically sent to the patient’s primary care provider’s office. A collaborating physician is on call during all hours of operation.
“Every MinuteClinic patient assessment and treatment follows nationally established clinical practice guidelines from the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Academy of Pediatrics that are embedded in our electronic medical records system,” said James Woodburn, M.D., chief medical officer for MinuteClinic.
Individuals with illnesses outside MinuteClinic’s scope of services or who exhibit signs of a chronic condition are referred to their physician or, if critical, the nearest urgent care or emergency room. Patients who can’t be treated are not charged for their visit. MinuteClinic health care centers only serves patients over the age of 18 months.
“Our services are a complement to primary care providers,” Woodburn explains, “and our nurse practitioners make it a point to stress the importance of a regular medical exam with every patient they see. If the individual doesn’t have a medical home, we provide a list of physicians in the area who are accepting new patients.”
Treatments: (most services cost $59 or an insurance co-pay) Common Illnesses – Allergies (ages 6+) $59 – Pink Eye & Styes $59 – Bladder Infections (Female, ages 12-65) $69 – Bronchitis (ages 10-65) $59 – Ear Infections $59 – Sinus Infections (ages 5+) $59 – Strep Throat (with 48-72 hour culture add $19) $69 – Swimmer’s Ear $59 Additional Treatments – Flu Diagnosis (ages 10-65) $93 – Mononucleosis $69 – Pregnancy Testing $49 Skin Conditions – Athlete’s Foot $59 – Cold Sores $59 – Deer Tick Bites (ages 12+) $59 – Impetigo $59 – Minor Burns $59 – Minor Skin Infections & Rashes $59 – Minor Sunburn $59 – Poison Ivy (ages 3+) $59 – Ringworm $59 – Wart Removal $69
Vaccines: (Prices vary; vaccines generally have a $0 co-pay for most insurance plans)
– DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis) $65 – Flu (Oct-Dec) $30 – Hepatitis A (adult) $85 – Hepatitis A (child) $54 – Hepatitis B (adult) $65 – Hepatitis B (child) $50 – Meningitis $110 – MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) $65 – Pneumonia (Oct-Dec) $30 – Polio (IPV) $80 – Td (Tetanus, Diphtheria) $45
In addition to CVS/pharmacy stores, MinuteClinic health care centers are located in Bartell Drugs stores (Seattle), Cub Foods stores (Minneapolis-St. Paul) and Quality Food Centers (Seattle). In Minneapolis/St. Paul, MinuteClinic health care centers are also located in office buildings, on corporate and college campuses, and in shopping centers.
About MinuteClinic
MinuteClinic, a subsidiary of CVS Corporation , was founded in May 2000. The Minneapolis-based company has provided more than 550,000 patient visits with a 99 percent customer satisfaction rating. It has produced substantial savings of health care expenditures and also reduced the time spent by patients seeking treatment for conditions it addresses. For more information, visit http://www.minuteclinic.com/.
About CVS Corporation
CVS is America’s largest retail pharmacy, operating approximately 6,200 retail and specialty pharmacy stores in 43 states and the District of Columbia. With more than 40 years of dynamic growth in the retail pharmacy industry, CVS is committed to being the easiest pharmacy retailer for customers to use. CVS innovatively serves the healthcare needs of all customers through its CVS/pharmacy stores; its online pharmacy, CVS.com; its retail-based health clinic subsidiary, MinuteClinic; and its pharmacy benefit management, mail order and specialty pharmacy subsidiary, PharmaCare. General information about CVS is available through the Investor Relations portion of the Company’s website, at http://investor.cvs.com/, as well as through the pressroom portion of the Company’s website, at http://www.cvs.com/pressroom.
MinuteClinic
CONTACT: Brent Burkhardt, +1-410-986-1303, or bburkhardt@tbc.us, orNicole Khoury, +1-410-986-1317, or nkhoury@tbc.us, both of TBC PublicRelations for MinuteClinic
Web Site: http://www.minuteclinic.com/http://www.cvs.com/http://www.cvs.com/pressroomhttp://investor.cvs.com/