CVS Caremark Hosts Live Facebook Chats for American Diabetes Month

WOONSOCKET, R.I., Nov. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its broad support for patients with diabetes, and in recognition of American Diabetes Month, CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) will be hosting live Facebook chats to answer patients' questions about diabetes and chronic condition management.  Among other topics, the discussions will address how diabetes patients and their families can best manage their disease. CVS pharmacists and MinuteClinic nurse practitioners will offer helpful insights to diabetes patients on filling their prescriptions on time, continuing to take their medications as prescribed and monitoring their conditions regularly.

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MinuteClinic will host a live online event with a MinuteClinic nurse practitioner on November 8, from 12:30 to 2 p.m. ET that can be accessed through the MinuteClinic Facebook page at www.facebook.com/MinuteClinic.  CVS/pharmacy will host a live online event with a CVS pharmacist on November 15, from 12 to 1:30 p.m. ET that can be accessed by logging on to the CVS/pharmacy Facebook page at www.facebook.com/cvs.  

"As a pharmacy innovator, we have created a number of programs to help the nearly 26 million Americans who have diabetes manage their condition and find new and effective ways to put them on a path to better health," said Troyen A. Brennan, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, CVS Caremark.  

Many patients are drawn to social media to share information and to find support and strategies for living with chronic disease, but recent CVS Caremark research showed great variability in the standards used to ensure sites effectively provide information and answers to important health-related questions. "We are committed to providing high quality, accurate information through this medium," Brennan added.

Also, nearly two million patients have joined CVS/pharmacy's ExtraCare Advantage for Diabetes program that helps patients with diabetes keep costs down on an ongoing basis through discounts on hundreds of supplies to help them successfully manage their condition.  In addition, CVS pharmacists are always available to counsel patients on ways to lower medication costs, such as switching to generics from brand-name medications.  CVS pharmacists also play a role in helping diabetes patients manage their medications by counseling on side effects, dosage timing and interactions in efforts to improve adherence. More information about resources available for diabetes patients at CVS/pharmacy is available at www.cvs.com/diabetes.

At MinuteClinic walk-in medical clinics inside select CVS/pharmacy stores across the country, nurse practitioners and physician assistants are also playing a role in efforts to help patients better manage diabetes.  Patients can get routine lab tests, such as hemoglobin A1c and blood glucose screening, instant results and expert help from MinuteClinic practitioners on disease management and medication adherence.  Now through the end of the year patients coming in to MinuteClinic for diabetes monitoring will receive a free portable organizer kit for transportation of diabetic supplies. Certain program restrictions apply. For details, please visit www.minuteclinic.com/diabetes.

Through CVS Caremark's pharmacy benefit management business, employers and other health plan sponsors can select the Pharmacy Advisor program to provide plan members who have diabetes with enhanced interaction with pharmacists including educational information, pharmacist-initiated phone calls, or face-to-face counseling with a pharmacist at a local CVS/pharmacy.  

About CVS Caremark

CVS Caremark is the largest pharmacy health care provider in the United States with integrated offerings across the entire spectrum of pharmacy care. We are uniquely positioned to engage plan members in behaviors that improve their health and to lower overall health care costs for health plans, plan sponsors and their members. CVS Caremark is a market leader in mail order pharmacy, retail pharmacy, specialty pharmacy, and retail clinics, and is a leading provider of Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans. As one of the country's largest pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs), we provide access to a network of approximately 65,000 pharmacies, including more than 7,200 CVS/pharmacy® stores that provide unparalleled service and capabilities. Our clinical offerings include our signature Pharmacy Advisor™ program as well as innovative generic step therapy and genetic benefit management programs that promote more cost effective and healthier behaviors and improve health care outcomes. General information about CVS Caremark is available through the Company's website at http://info.cvscaremark.com/.

Contacts:
Carolyn Castel
CVS Caremark
[email protected]
401.770.5717

Mike DeAngelis
CVS/pharmacy
[email protected]
401.770.2645

SOURCE CVS Caremark