CVS’ Denton: We have a ‘lot of tools in our tool chest to differentiate ourselves’

MIAMI — CVS Health’s integrated pharmacy model arms the retailer with “a lot of tools in our tool chest to differentiate ourselves” from the competition, David Denton, EVP and chief financial officer, stated Wednesday during the Barclays Global Healthcare Conference at the Lowes Miami Beach Hotel here.

One “tool” delivering excellent growth is CVS Specialty Connect, he said. CVS Health’s Specialty Connect is a specialty prescription services program offers patients choice and flexibility in how they access their specialty medications, while providing centralized, expert clinical support. Patients have the option to bring their specialty prescriptions to any CVS Pharmacy. After dropping off their prescription at the pharmacy, patients receive insurance guidance and dedicated clinical support by phone from a team of specialty pharmacy experts, trained in each therapeutic area, who are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Once the prescription is ready, the program also makes it easy for patients to receive their specialty drugs. Patients can choose between in-store pickup at any of the many CVS Pharmacy stores nationwide, or they can receive their medications by mail.

“We’ve seen great share gain [with Specialty Connect],” Denton remarked during the event.

Denton also cited MinuteClinic, the retail medical clinic of CVS Health, as another tool showing excellent growth that is differentiating itself from competitors.

Other notes from Denton during the question-and-answer format included:

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  Regarding changes in the pharmacy benefit manager portion of the business, the market has changed dramatically during the past five years as $100 million worth of products has lost patent protection in this time.


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  CVS has experienced operational success regarding Medicare Part D. “Our platform is extremely stable,” said Denton. He added that adherence is very important in this space.


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  Likewise, the retailer has also enjoyed managed care plan success regarding Medicare Plan B.