CVS Caremark to highlight importance of Rx adherence at 2013 Annual American Society on Aging Conference
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark has announced that it will highlight how medication adherence plays a vital role in helping older Americans on their path to better health at the 2013 Annual American Society on Aging Conference, which is being held in Chicago this week.
CVS Caremark, a Titanium Sponsor of the conference, also will be participating in a number of general sessions and panels and will highlight its efforts to ensure customers and patients receive quality care and guidance as they age. David Casey, the company's VP of workforce strategies and chief diversity officer, will open the March 12 general session: Mysteries of Population Aging.
By advancing the understanding of medication adherence through research collaborations, CVS Caremark is gathering information about why some patients take their medications as prescribed and why others do not. CVS Caremark also is refining the ways it interacts with patients through such programs as iPharmacy Advisor and Maintenance Choice, which help patients stay on their medications and improve health outcomes.
"People age 65 years and older typically take two or three times as many medications as younger Americans," Casey said. "As we reinvent pharmacy care, we will continue to be a trusted healthcare partner to all of our customers, but particularly to aging Americans who are more likely to have chronic conditions and require more guidance."
CVS Caremark stated that it is not only committed to its older customers and patients, it also is committed to recruiting mature workers and supporting older colleagues who are already part of the company.
"At CVS Caremark, we believe talent is ageless. Our mature colleagues' knowledge and experience are important assets to our company. They provide us with insight into the best ways to serve our mature customers and sometimes become mentors to their younger colleagues," Casey said.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4.7% of the nation's workforce is age 60 years and older. Currently, 6.9% of CVS Caremark's workforce is age 60 years and older, higher than the national rate. The number of CVS Caremark colleagues who are age 50 years and older has grown from approximately 6% in 1990 to nearly 20% in 2013. To continue this upward trend, CVS Caremark stated that it is cultivating public and private partnerships at the local, state and national level, with the goal of recruiting more mature workers into all areas of its workforce.