CVS Health Earns URAC Accreditations in Health Call Center for Pharmacy Advisor, Pharmacy Benefit Management and Drug Therapy Management

PRESS RELEASE

WOONSOCKET, R.I., Nov. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) announced today that pharmacy benefits manager CVS Caremark has earned URAC accreditations in Health Call Center for its Pharmacy Advisor counseling program as well as in Pharmacy Benefit Management and Drug Therapy Management. By achieving this status, CVS Health has demonstrated a comprehensive commitment to quality care, improved processes and better patient outcomes. URAC is the independent leader in promoting health care quality through accreditation, certification and measurement.

"At CVS Health, we are proud to earn accreditations from URAC in these three categories, which emphasize our commitment to providing high quality pharmacy benefit management support including coordinated patient care and outstanding customer service to our millions of members," said Jonathan Roberts, President of CVS Caremark. "These services are especially important for our members with complex, chronic conditions who may struggle with their medication regimens and disease management."

CVS Caremark works with employers, health insurance companies, the government and other health benefit program sponsors to design and administer prescription coverage plans. This includes formulary management, discounted drug purchase arrangements and clinical services and drug therapy management. In addition, CVS Caremark's Pharmacy Advisor program call center offers personalized care to members with chronic conditions through a combination of targeted live outbound calls and inbound call access. Members have the opportunity to have a discussion with a clinical pharmacist about topics that include the rationale behind prescribing the medication and potential issues that may affect adherence, such as side effects.

"URAC accreditation shows that CVS Health is a pharmacy benefit management organization able to adhere to standards that cover important aspects of care such as claims processing, developing proper drug formulary and consumer access," said URAC President and CEO Kylanne Green. "Quality policies and procedures are paramount as the price and complexity of medications rise. CVS Health chose to demonstrate their performance through URAC's independent accreditation of their services."

The URAC accreditation process demonstrates a commitment to quality services and serves as a framework to improve business processes through benchmarking organizations against nationally recognized standards. URAC's Health Call Center Accreditation ensures that registered pharmacists or other validly licensed individuals perform the clinical aspects of health education services in a manner that is timely, confidential, and includes medically appropriate care and treatment advice. In addition, URAC's Pharmacy Benefit Management Accreditation sets standards for pharmacy distribution channels, customer service and drug use management. The Drug Therapy Management Accreditation standards also assess a range of professional activities, including formulating medication treatment plans, monitoring efficacy and safety of medication therapy and enhancing medication adherence through patient education.