CVS 2015 Annual Report Download - page 7

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2015 Annual Report
MinuteClinic, and we operate more retail clinics than all
our competitors combined. CVS MinuteClinic plays an
important, complementary role with traditional medical
practices. Through our 2015 implementation of the Epic
electronic health record platform, we are now sharing
information with approximately 275 health systems
and provider organizations. The Epic platform has also
allowed us to expand the CVS MinuteClinic scope of
services to cover 28 of the 50 most common primary
care diagnoses.
CVS MinuteClinic has been exploring a number of
transformative digital offerings, such as telehealth, to
improve access and convenience. This is just one of the
many ways in which we have been working to enhance
our digital capabilities across the enterprise to strengthen
engagement with patients and providers. For example,
we’ve added several features to the CVS Pharmacy
app that have improved the customer experience in
the pharmacy as well as the front of the store. Benefits
include improved adherence as well as savings of both
time and money.
The aging population has created new growth opportu-
nities and was a key driver of our Omnicare acquisition
The nation’s aging population will play a major role in the
evolving health care market, and it will create new oppor-
tunities for CVS Health. The number of people 65 or
older is expected to grow 18 percent in just the next five
years—and 38 percent through 2025. This demographic
utilizes more than double the number of prescriptions
of the under-65 population, creating a long-term tailwind
for the industry. Increased utilization, combined with
growth in specialty medications, is expected to fuel a
6 percent rise in prescription expenditures annually over
the next decade.
With this projected growth in prescription expenditures,
it’s important to keep in mind that pharmacy care remains
the most cost-effective way of reducing overall health
care costs. Getting and keeping patients on the neces-
sary medications to manage chronic diseases can drive
billions of dollars in costs out of the system. Compared
with our peers, we have more ways in which we can
touch patients to help drive adherence and improve out-
comes—from our retail, mail, and specialty pharmacies
to our MinuteClinic locations and now through Omnicare.
Approximately 70 percent of people over age 65 are
likely to require some form of long-term care service and
support. The Omnicare acquisition bolsters our ability to
serve this population across the continuum of senior care.
Omnicare’s nationwide footprint includes a significant
presence in both the assisted living and skilled nursing
facility settings, giving us broad reach and an ability to
leverage clinical insights to improve care.
Through our combined enterprise assets, we will also
bridge some of the historic gaps in Omnicare’s offerings
to better address the unmet needs of these high-risk
populations. For example, Omnicare’s robust offering
for the skilled nursing facility market did not include a
complete solution to address care coordination issues
during a patient’s admittance or discharge. With roughly
9,600 retail locations, we can ensure the timeliness of
medication adherence through first-fill and emergency
prescriptions, reducing the potential for costly hospital
readmissions. In addition, we’ve launched an integrated
discharge solution that will coordinate care and offer the
CVS Health suite of services to patients returning home.
We are developing integrated solutions for the assisted
living, independent living, and home care markets as well.
Before signing off, I must note with pride the more
than $80 million we contributed to our communities in
2015 through the CVS Health Foundation, CVS Health
Charity Classic, corporate grants, gifts in-kind, and
employee giving. That total also includes the more than
$7.5 million raised for the American Lung Association’s
LUNG FORCE as well as Stand Up to Cancer through
our two in-store campaigns. Moreover, our remarkable
colleagues volunteered their time to a broad range of
community outreach programs and donated nearly
$1 million to the causes they care most about. They also
supported the CVS Health Employee Relief Fund that
helps colleagues who have suffered significant hardship
as a result of a natural disaster, family death, medical
emergency, or other unforeseen events.
In closing, I am confident that our leadership across the
pharmacy spectrum will help us continue to drive supe-
rior value for our health care partners and shareholders.
As we expand our core pharmacy business, we will
also broaden our reach into new health care channels
and make investments to drive sustainable enterprise
growth. On behalf of our board of directors and our
more than 240,000 colleagues who work hard each and
every day to help people on their path to better health,
thank you for investing in CVS Health.
Sincerely,
Larry J. Merlo
President and Chief Executive Officer
February 9, 2016