WOONSOCKET, R.I., 2018-Mar-09 — /EPR Retail News/ — CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) announced today (March 7, 2018) that the Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute (PBMI) awarded the company the 2018 PBMI Excellence Award for Care Management Strategies. The award recognizes the ScriptPath Prescription Schedule, which was developed by CVS Health to help provide a consolidated view of a patient’s current CVS Pharmacy prescriptions with an easy-to-understand schedule showing how and when to take each medication.

“We are pleased to be recognized with this award for our industry-leading work to bring the ScriptPath Prescription Schedule to patients as we help them on their path to better health,” said Troyen A. Brennan, MD Chief Medical Officer, CVS Health. “For CVS Health, this award validates our efforts to develop innovative programs that improve patient engagement and medication adherence, better manage chronic diseases like diabetes and help clients keep their health care costs down.”

The average American adult fills nine prescriptions annually, with people older than 65 filling an average of 20 prescriptions a year. Unfortunately, approximately half of patients report being confused about how and when to take their medications, contributing to the 50 percent of patients with chronic conditions who stop taking their medications within the first year of diagnosis. Further, studies show a 5.7 percent to 6.8 percent decrease in adherence for each dose added to a medication regimen. For patients who are not optimally adherent to prescribed therapies, hospital readmission rates increase by as much as 69 percent, which can result in annual U.S. health care costs between $100 to $300 billion.

The ScriptPath Prescription Schedule offers patients with chronic conditions and complex regimens a personalized prescription schedule with easy-to-understand icons explaining which medication to take, when it should be taken and how much should be taken in each dose. It is designed to improve patient understanding and safety and help simplify how patients take their medications. The schedule is generated by our proprietary Clinical Engine, a robust scientific system created by CVS Pharmacy, which automatically reviews all of a patient’s current CVS Pharmacy prescription information and prescribers’ instructions. Using clinical data, the Clinical Engine slots a patient’s medications into up to four dosing times per day morning, midday, evening and bedtime and recommends dosing times for each medication based on the most effective times of day for the medications to be taken. Deborah Adler, a designer known for her past work on Target’s ClearRx prescription packaging system and the inventor and lead designer of the new ScriptPath system, worked with the CVS Health team to develop the easy-to-understand icons and an intuitive layout for each of the ScriptPath offerings.

In addition to the Prescription Schedule, CVS Pharmacy is in the process of rolling out the ScriptPath Prescription Label and Prescription Overview to all stores nationwide this spring. This will extend the use of the easy-to-understand design of the Prescription Schedule to the label on the prescription bottle as well as the prescription bag tag.

About CVS Health
CVS Health is a pharmacy innovation company helping people on their path to better health. Through its more than 9,800 retail locations, more than 1,100 walk-in medical clinics, a leading pharmacy benefits manager with more than 94 million plan members, a dedicated senior pharmacy care business serving more than one million patients per year, expanding specialty pharmacy services, and a leading stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, the Company enables people, businesses and communities to manage health in more affordable and effective ways. This unique integrated model increases access to quality care, delivers better health outcomes and lowers overall health care costs. Find more information about how CVS Health is shaping the future of health at https://www.cvshealth.com.

Media Contact: 
Christina Beckerman
CVS Health
401-770-8868

SOURCE: CVS Health

WOONSOCKET, R.I., 2018-Mar-08 — /EPR Retail News/ — CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) announced today (March 6, 2018) that the company has expanded its safe medication disposal program inside select CVS Pharmacy locations in Rhode Island to help facilitate proper and timely disposal of opioids and other medications that could be diverted or misused if left in people’s homes. Attorney General Peter Kilmartin, U.S. Attorney Stephen Dambruch, and Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves joined representatives from CVS Health at a Pawtucket CVS Pharmacy store to launch the program today.

“With a presence in nearly 10,000 communities across the country, we witness the impact of the alarming and rapidly growing epidemic of opioid addiction and misuse,” said Tom Davis, Vice President of Professional Services for CVS Pharmacy. “Expanding our safe medication disposal efforts in Rhode Island is an extension of the initiatives in place across our company to fight the opioid abuse epidemic and fulfil our purpose of helping people on their path to better health.”

The 14 new medication disposal units that will be installed inside CVS Pharmacy locations in Rhode Island will supplement an additional 14 units CVS Health has donated to police departments across the state. Nationwide, CVS Health has donated more than 850 units to local law enforcement, collecting more than 140 metric tons, or more than 300,000 pounds of unwanted medication.

Attorney General Kilmartin said, “I applaud CVS Health for recognizing that to effectively tackle and defeat the opioid epidemic in this country, all stakeholders need to work together in a coordinated effort. Expanding the company’s prescription drug disposal kiosks to stores across Rhode Island will make it easier for customers to safely dispose of expired, unused, and unwanted prescription opioids and other prescription drugs before they can be abused or diverted for illicit purposes.”

The expansion of the safe medication disposal program to 750 CVS Pharmacy locations across the U.S. was included among the enhancements to the company’s strategy to address and prevent opioid abuse announced in September 2017. As part of that effort, the company also said it would align opioid utilization management with CDC Guideline for CVS Caremark clients and members, complementing measures already in place.

This work builds on ongoing company initiatives, including the Pharmacists Teach program, which brings CVS Pharmacists to local schools to talk to teens and parents about the dangers of abusing prescription drugs. More than 300,000 teens nationally including more than 3,600 in Rhode Island have already participated in the program. CVS Health has also worked to expand access to the opioid overdose-reversal drug naloxone in 46 states, including Rhode Island.

About CVS Health
CVS Health is a pharmacy innovation company helping people on their path to better health. Through its more than 9,800 retail locations, more than 1,100 walk-in medical clinics, a leading pharmacy benefits manager with more than 94 million plan members, a dedicated senior pharmacy care business serving more than one million patients per year, expanding specialty pharmacy services, and a leading stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, the Company enables people, businesses and communities to manage health in more affordable and effective ways. This unique integrated model increases access to quality care, delivers better health outcomes and lowers overall health care costs. Find more information about how CVS Health is shaping the future of health at https://www.cvshealth.com.

Media Contacts:

Erin Shields Britt
Corporate Communications
(401) 770-9237
Erin.Britt@CVSHealth.com

Amy Lanctot
Corporate Communications
(401) 770-2931
Amy.Lanctot@CVSHealth.com

SOURCE: CVS Health

SPAR Croatia reduces amount of salt in its bread by 1.4%

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2018-Feb-28 — /EPR Retail News/ — SPAR Croatia has reduced the amount of salt in its bread baked daily at the INTERSPAR bakery by 1.4%, in line with the World Health Organisation’s dietary recommendations.

Customers can now find bread baked with a lower volume of salt on the shelves of all INTERSPAR and SPAR stores in the country. The amount of salt in all 30 bread varieties has been reduced by 2% to the recommended 1,4% and in some cases even lower than the recommended amount. All the other ingredients remain the same – no additives were used to replace the salt and the bread is of the same high quality and taste.

“Through revising the recipe, SPAR Croatia is enabling positive change in our customers’ eating habits,” said Helmut Fenzl, CEO of SPAR Croatia.

This is part of a larger strategic plan to reduce the consumption of kitchen salt in Croatia from the current daily intake of 11.6 grams to 9.3 grams by 2019. This will consequently reduce the prevalence of arterial hypertension, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

Read more news from SPAR Croatia

About SPAR Croatia

The first SPAR Hypermarket opened in Croatia in mid-2005, following the signing of the licence agreement between ASPIAG (a subsidiary of SPAR Austria AG) and SPAR International in 2004. As a member of the ASPIAG group, SPAR Croatia has access to a wide range of own brand products. Brand development has primarily taken place through SPAR Supermarkets and INTERSPAR Hypermarkets, both through the take-over of existing chains and the opening of new stores.

SOURCE: SPAR International

SPAR International
info@spar-international.com
+3120 626 6749