CVS Health uses technology to engage patients, improve outcomes
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health on Wednesday announced a suite of new digital tools aimed at helping customers manage their health with more ease and efficiency, including the use of beacon technology to deliver in-store pharmacy messaging.
"Our digital innovation model is the synthesis of strategic partnership and rapid experimentation, and this new suite of tools – some of the first to emerge from our digital innovation lab – shows how effective our approach can be," said Brian Tilzer, SVP and chief digital officer for CVS Health. "By addressing real problems, including medication adherence, through digital tools that are designed to make tasks easier and more convenient, we're supporting our overall company strategy—to help people live healthier lives."
"Our research shows that digital and online tools help make adherence easier and more accessible for our customers across the enterprise, and evidence suggests that better adherence improves patient health outcomes while reducing health care costs," stated William Shrank, SVP and chief scientific officer for CVS Health.
Preliminary research from the CVS Health Research Institute shows that those patients who enrolled online at CVS.com, Caremark.com or CVSspecialty.com were more likely to fill their prescriptions and adhere to their medications. Among CVS/caremark members with common chronic conditions such as hypertension, 10% more members improved their medication adherence to optimal levels after enrolling online at Caremark.com compared to members who did not enroll. In addition, CVS/caremark clients could save up to $2.3 million in medical cost avoidance annually per 100,000 registered users.
A new suite of digital tools, developed specifically to address issues facing CVS Health customers, include:
Apple Watch App Integration. The CVS/pharmacy mobile app is now Apple Watch compatible, to help notify customers when prescriptions are ready, and make it easy to refill prescriptions and check information at a glance. The app is also supported on mobile phones and tablets – making it accessible wherever CVS customers are;
Scan Paper Script. According to CVS Health research, it is estimated that a third of prescriptions are never filled. This tool enables customers to quickly and conveniently start the prescription fill process by capturing a photo of their written prescription through the CVS/caremark mobile app;
Insurance Card Scan. Customers can easily share new insurance information with their pharmacist by taking a photo of their insurance card, instantly updating data across our store systems. This tool not only removes the hassle for customers, but also frees up thousands of hours for our pharmacists, who can focus on speaking with patients instead of entering insurance information;
MedRemind. This function, which is now deployed in the CVS/pharmacy iPhone mobile app, helps customers stay on track with their medication schedules by enabling them to customize reminders to take their prescriptions at the right time and notifications to caregivers when a dose is missed. It also includes text reminders and the ability to receive reminders on the Apple watch. This solution directly aims to combat forgetfulness, a common reason for non-adherence; and
In-Store Pharmacy Messages. As the retailer with the largest deployment of beacon technology, customers who have the CVS/pharmacy app installed on their mobile phone and who opt in to receive push notifications will be notified if their prescription is ready for refill or pickup when they enter the store. By providing customers with actionable reminders when and where they are most effective, we are finding new ways to drive adherence.