CVS 2000 Annual Report Download - page 9

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CVS’ Technological Edge
We have positioned CVS to capture a growing share
of the expanding pharmacy market by achieving an
industry leadership position and utilizing technology
to enhance our capabilities. A cornerstone of our phar-
macy strategy is our Excellence in Pharmacy Innovation
and Care (EPIC) project, which will help us maintain our
pharmacy leadership as the industry low-cost provider
of prescriptions. Through workflow improvements and
proprietary technology, we are able to let pharmacy tech-
nicians who have completed a comprehensive training
program perform many of the tasks related to filling a
prescription.This frees our pharmacists to spend more
time doing what they were trained to do—counsel
patients and oversee drug interaction reviews. We are
also adding pill-counting automation to our higher-
volume stores to improve productivity and reduce wait
times for customers. As we continue to roll out the EPIC
program throughout our stores, we expect to see
improved quality assurance and customer service, while
reducing labor costs throughout the Company.
We were the first in the industry to introduce Drug
Utilization Review (DUR) technology that checks for
harmful interactions between prescription drugs, over-
the-counter products, vitamins and herbal remedies.
Our DUR system reduces the risk of adverse drug
interactions by cross-checking each prescription
against other medications that a patient may be
taking. It is unique in that it also looks for potential
incompatibilities between prescriptions and over-
the-counter medications. As a result of DUR, custo-
mers who fill their prescriptions at CVS can be confi-
dent that the latest technology is working to improve
their health and safety.
Programs like EPIC underscore our role as the
clear industry leader in introducing new technologies
as well as our commitment to quality assurance. We
were also the first in the industry to install a chain-
wide automated prescription refill system. We call it
the Rapid Refill System because it lets customers
renew prescriptions, 24 hours a day over the phone,
without having to speak directly to someone in our
store.This provides greater convenience for our custo-
mers by eliminating wait time, and benefits CVS by
reducing labor costs and improving our productivity.
The aggressive rollout of EPIC, our state-of-the-art pharmacy
workflow modernization program, began in 2000. EPIC will help
streamline the prescription filling process by using new
information technology hardware and software systems.
7
2000 Annual Report