CVS extends community outreach through Project Health initiative

With more than 9,500 retail pharmacies (including 1, 672 Target pharmacies acquired in mid-December) and more than 1,100 retail clinics, CVS Health has leveraged its scale and market penetration to become a prime community health resource nationwide.



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To that end, said David Casey, VP workforce strategies and chief diversity officer at CVS Health, “CVS/ pharmacy locations host various events to educate our patients about their health and the healthcare coverage options available to them. We also have partnered with others to make meaningful commitments to public health through digital tools that conveniently reach our patients online.”



Through an initiative dubbed Project Health — or Proyecto Salud in Spanish — the chain hosts hundreds of in-store events each year to provide customers with a battery of free health-risk assessments, including screenings for blood pressure, body mass index, glucose levels and cholesterol. “In 2015, the events also featured our comprehensive and uniquely personalized smoking cessation program and offered participants information about their health insurance options throughout the open enrollment period,” Casey said. “Participants received on-site consultations with bilingual nurse practitioners and CVS pharmacists, and referrals to nearby no-cost or low-cost medical facilities if follow-up care was needed.”



Practitioners at the events analyze patients’ results and refer those who require additional medical attention to no-cost or low-cost medical facilities nearby, or to their primary care physician if additional follow-up care is necessary. In addition, CVS pharmacists are also available to conduct one-on-one medication reviews and answer any questions patients may have.



Between October 2015 and January 2016, the company hosted nearly 750 Project Health events at select CVS/pharmacy stores in 20 markets, delivering more than $10 million worth of free health services to multicultural communities with a significant number of uninsured or underinsured individuals across the United States, a spokesman noted. “Since 2006, Project Health has delivered more than $80 million worth of free healthcare services to more than 845,000 people,” Casey said.



The screenings have provided something of a litmus test for the general health — or lack thereof — of the U.S. population. The results are sobering, and they underscore the importance of retail pharmacy as a convenient access point for community health resources.



“Project Health screenings have detected that 29% of patients, for example, had abnormal glucose readings, compared to Centers for Disease Control averages” Casey said. “So, to help customers and patients with diabetes manage their condition, in 2015 some Project Health events began to offer diabetes-specific information and resources to patients, including diabetes educators who are available to provide attendees with one-on-one guidance and support. Other results indicated 53% of patients were overweight or obese, 42% had abnormal blood pressure readings, and 41% had abnormal cholesterol levels, all ranges higher than CDC national averages.”



Those results, CVS told DSN, “demonstrate the need for and importance of the Project Health screenings, which will continue in the fall of 2016.”