Opportunities to Innovate: CVS, MinuteClinic and HCA Announce Clinical Partnership in TN

MinuteClinic and TriStar Health Form Clinical Affiliation in Middle Tennessee

Agreement Includes Electronic Medical Record Integration and Clinical Collaboration to Increase Access to Care

Feb. 24, 2012 –

MinuteClinic, the retail health care are division of CVS Caremark, and HCA’s TriStar Health, the largest and most comprehensive health system in Middle Tennessee, have entered into a clinical affiliation to enhance access to high quality, affordable health care services in the Nashville metropolitan area. MinuteClinic has 14 walk-in medical clinics open seven days a week inside select CVS/pharmacy stores in Middle Tennessee. The clinics are staffed by nurse practitioners who provide treatment for common family illnesses and administer wellness and prevention services, including health condition monitoring. The partners will be collaborating in electronic medical record technology, integrating systems and developing collaborative programs that improve patient outcomes. TriStar Health in Middle Tennessee includes 11 hospitals and two ambulatory surgery centers supported by about 2,800 physicians.

The expanded clinical coordination is a natural partnership providing basic primary care at the time of day and at locations that are convenient for each patient. In addition, MinuteClinic and TriStar Health will collaborate on patient education and disease management initiatives and will inform patients of the services each offers. TriStar Health will accept patients who need a level of care that is not provided at MinuteClinic. Both will begin to work toward fully integrating their electronic medical record systems to streamline communication around all aspects of each individual’s care. With patient permission, MinuteClinic will electronically share medical histories and visit summaries with other TriStar Health locations in Middle Tennessee. In the meantime, MinuteClinic will continue its standard practice of sending patient visit summaries to primary care providers via fax or mail, typically within 24 hours.

Lesson: Innovate, Partner, Integrate and Develop New Business Models

Behavioral health providers are encouraged to study examples such as the one illustrated above for indications of ways they might innovate clinically, technologically and financially. Business partners, business models, processes, systems and payment reforms need research and development now more than ever as the landscape of collaborators and competitors becomes more complex and accelerates its pace of change.

NOTE the Important Characteristics of this Partnership:

1. Shared revenue – not a merger or acquisition so each partner retains autonomy
2. New clinical workflow, tools and process
3. Integrated information technology
4. Strengths-based solution, leveraging and preserving assets of each partner
5. Responsive to consumer demand for convenience
6. Focused on triple aim variables of outcome, quality, access and population disease management