While adhering to medicines as prescribed can lower costs and help improve patient outcomes, the process can be burdensome for many patients. Today, half of Americans now regularly take a prescription medication.https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/drug-use-therapeutic.htm And many of these individuals are living with complex or chronic conditions that require them to take multiple medications simultaneously with different dosing schedules, instructions, and potential side effects.
What’s more, nearly one-third of people have stopped taking a prescription drug at some time without telling their health care provider, and about half of medications for chronic disease aren't taken as directed.https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/09/08/549414152/why-do-people-stop-taking-their-meds-cost-is-just-one-reason These numbers reinforce the importance of providing personalized solutions that help patients conveniently manage their medicines. That’s why CVS Health is committed to making it easier for patients to manage their medications through individualized counsel at the pharmacy counter or support through our digital pharmacy and telehealth tools.
Trusted Medication Guidance in 10,000 Communities
Research shows that the pharmacy is by far the most accessible care location. For individuals living with one or more chronic conditions, it is particularly important to have access to medication guidance and support from experts, like pharmacists, as these patients often juggle multiple medications and complex monitoring schedules. Our 30,000 pharmacists are trustworthy counselors to patients in communities.
Consider, for example, that diabetes patients require consistent monitoring of blood glucose levels with A1C tests along with anti-diabetic medications. Through our Transform Diabetes Care program, pharmacists provide counseling to enrolled members face-to-face at the pharmacy or over the phone. This counseling has proven highly effective. We have seen enrollees lower their A1C levels by one percentage point and maintain it over the course of six months, reducing adverse events and costlier health care interventions.
Tools to Help Patients Manage Medicines at Any Time or Place
In addition to being able to visit your local pharmacist in person, CVS Health also offers a variety of patient-centric mobile services and digital pharmacy tools to patients and caregivers to help them better understand and manage their medication regimens:
ScriptPath Prescription Schedule is an at-a-glance view of patients’ medications, telling them exactly what to take, when to take it, and how much to take in a clear and simple way.
ScriptSync® is a service that allows patients and caregivers to coordinate and schedule prescription refills so they can be picked up together at CVS Pharmacy.
Specialty Connect™ and the CVS Specialty App provide added support for patients taking specialty medications, offering choice and flexibility in how they access their medications, providing centralized, expert clinical support, and making it easier to manage treatment.
CVS Mobile App helps patients order and track prescription refills, check for drug interactions, and set medication reminders, as well as find CVS Health locations to receive support at the pharmacy or MinuteClinic. And patients can use the new virtual care offering to connect with MinuteClinic health care providers from their phone.
For more information about CVS Health’s efforts to improve access to quality care across the nation, visit our Quality & Access information center and the CVS Health Impact Dashboard. To stay informed about the latest updates and innovations from CVS Health, register for content alerts and our bi-weekly health care newsletter.