CVS Health’s MinuteClinic recognized for age-friendly care system

Age-Friendly visits at MinuteClinic include questions that are part of the 4Ms Framework, a series of practices focused on addressing four essential elements of care for older patients.

Sandra Levy

2/17/2022

MinuteClinic, the retail health clinic inside select CVS Pharmacy and Target stores, has received major recognition.

CVS Health shared that its health clinic has been recognized for achieving “Age-Friendly Health Systems-Committed to Care Excellence” in all of its 74 regions across the United States.

Currently, MinuteClinic is the largest retail clinic network in the United States to adopt Age-Friendly care system-wide, the company said.

In 2020, The John A. Hartford Foundation sponsored a partnership between MinuteClinic, Case Western Reserve University Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement to produce training tools and resources to be used at MinuteClinic to further improve and evolve how MinuteClinic cares for older adults. This training has enabled MinuteClinic to adopt Age-Friendly care in every clinic nationwide for patients aged 65 years old and older.

Research shows that providing the older adult population with specific, Age-Friendly care has significant benefits, including a reduction in the number of emergency department visits, hospitalizations and hospital readmissions, improved mobility, a reduction in medication-related problems, and early identification of memory loss and depression, the company said.

Age-Friendly visits at MinuteClinic include questions that are part of the 4Ms Framework, a series of practices focused on addressing four essential elements of care for older patients. This includes:

What Matters: Know and align care with each older adult's specific health outcome goals and care preferences including, but not limited to, end-of-life care, and across settings of care;

Medication: If medication is necessary, use Age-Friendly medications that do not interfere with What Matters to the older adult, Mobility or Mentation across settings of care;

Mentation: Prevent, identify, treat, and manage dementia, depression and delirium across settings of care; and

Mobility: Ensure that older adults move safely every day in order to maintain function and do What Matters.

MinuteClinic providers also share healthy aging tips and suggestions older patients can implement in their everyday life. For those opting to seek care through E-Clinic visits, providers are able to assess the "4Ms" while patients are in the safety and comfort of their own home, the company said.

"As MinuteClinic continues to evolve to meet the needs of patients of all ages, we remain committed to implementing the latest best practices in health care," chief nurse practitioner officer at MinuteClinic, Angela Patterson, said. "The Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative is an important part of our overarching vision to transform patient care."

The Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative was launched in 2017 by The John A. Hartford Foundation and IHI, in partnership with the American Hospital Association and Catholic Health Association of the United States.

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