CVS Health to Invest $325 Million in Digital Health Initiatives in 2019

On February 27, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) learned from foreign media that U.S. pharmaceutical retail giant CVS Health (hereinafter referred to as CVS) is expected to spend $325 million to $350 million on technology in 2019 to support its provision of more convenient medical services.

CVS, founded in 1892 in Rhode Island, USA, is a healthcare innovation company. CVS provides customers with services including prescription consultation, chronic and specialty disease management, home healthcare, and pharmacy benefit management. Through its network of 7,700 retail pharmacies, more than 900 walk-in clinics, 65 million pharmacy benefit management plan members, and expanding specialty pharmacy services, CVS enables individuals, businesses, and communities to manage health in a more affordable and effective manner. The company’s unique business model increases patients’ access to high-quality medical care and reduces overall healthcare costs.

Regarding specific plans for digital health investment, Eva Boratto, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of CVS, stated that CVS would focus on enhancing patients’ mobile experience. Ms. Boratto said, “I would categorize our spending into two major areas. On one hand, we will continue or expand our investments in the digital domain to improve digital and mobile experiences for all our business members and customers, with this category primarily involving investments in the Health Cloud software platform. On the other hand, the mobile experience also encompasses the expansion of CVS’s telehealth products; these funds will be invested in our clinical platform to help us more effectively deliver chronic care programs and other initiatives aimed at improving outcomes and reducing costs.”

CVS CEO Larry Merlo stated, “CVS will create a new model of healthcare engagement that combines data-driven insights with the convenience of community-based care, delivering highly personalized healthcare experiences to patients, supporting the establishment of patient-centered medical homes in primary care, improving patient outcomes, and reducing costs.”

In November 2018, following its acquisition of Aetna, CVS launched healthcare e-commerce and omnichannel solutions. One such initiative was the CarePass pilot program in Boston. CarePass is a new pilot membership rewards program designed to address customers’ health needs through a range of in-store and online benefits.

“Boston’s CarePass pilot program provides customers with additional benefits and services, saving them time and money while delivering the pharmacy care they need,” said Kevin Hourican, Executive Vice President of CVS and President of CVS Pharmacy.

Following CVS’s $70 billion acquisition of Aetna, the company has pledged to invest $100 million over the next five years to improve community health. The “Building Healthier Communities” initiative will be carried out over a five-year period and funded by the newly merged entity and its affiliated foundation. CVS announced that investments under this initiative, focused on social determinants of health, will include providing disease screenings and encouraging employee volunteerism in local communities. Larry Merlo stated that CVS has long been committed to leveraging its diverse capabilities to improve community health, and this project represents a natural extension of those efforts. Additionally, CVS is piloting its HealthHUB store format, which aims to transform stores into convenient community healthcare destinations, enabling customers to access better care more easily and at lower costs.

Aetna, founded in 1853 and headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, is a diversified healthcare benefits company that provides innovative benefits, products, and services to individuals, employers, healthcare professionals, producers, and others.