Starting next year, Columbia, Md.-based MedStar Health's EHRs will be integrated with patient records at CVS pharmacies and Minute Clinics, allowing for enhanced care coordination.
The integration means MedStar providers will receive alerts when CVS pharmacy records suggest a patient isn't adhering to their medication regimen as well as visit summaries following a patient's visit to a Minute Clinic.
According to Kaiser Health News, CVS now has 41 such partnerships with hospitals and health systems across the country. These partnerships tend to be beneficial for both parties as providers are more likely to refer patients to retail clinics for chronic disease management and similar care, knowing the records from these visits will be accessible, Christopher Kerns, managing director for research and insights at the Advisory Board Company, told KHN.
In turn, having information from retail pharmacies and clinics helps providers identify adherence or management issues before they escalate into an unnecessary hospital admission, according to the report.
More articles on CVS:
CVS Health enters into clinical affiliations with 3 academic medical centers
Surescripts adds 4 pharmacies, 3 EHR vendors to immunization network
CVS Caremark's 9 latest clinical affiliations