PHOENIX, April 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today a new
initiative between the Phoenix VA Health Care System (PVAHCS),
TriWest Healthcare Alliance, and MinuteClinic, the retail medical
clinic of CVS Health (NYSE: CVS), that will expand access to high
quality and convenient health care services for Veterans in
Phoenix and surrounding
communities. Through this initiative, Phoenix VA HCS nurses, when
clinically appropriate, will now be able to refer Veterans to
MinuteClinic through the Veterans Choice Program for the treatment
of minor illnesses and injuries.
"Our number one priority is getting Veterans access to care when
and where they need it. The launch of this partnership will enable
VA to provide more care for Veterans in their neighborhoods," said
Dr. Baligh Yehia, the Deputy
Undersecretary for Health for Community Care.
Dr. Yehia is leading the VA in its transformational journey to
provide Veterans with easy access to personalized care from a
robust network of federal and private providers. "Partnerships
between VA and private providers are essential to delivering care
in the diverse geographies where Veterans live," he said.
This sentiment is echoed by TriWest, one of VA's partners in
administering the Veterans Choice Program. President and Chief
Executive Officer of TriWest, David J.
McIntyre, Jr. states, "TriWest values greatly the
partnership with community providers who share our commitment to
providing Veterans timely, high quality, and convenient health
care."
"This new public-private collaboration between CVS, TriWest and
the VA is an important step forward in enhancing choice and
flexibility in Veterans' health care," said Senator John McCain. "I've long believed that Veterans
in need of routine health care services should not have to wait in
line for weeks to get an appointment when they can visit community
health centers like MinuteClinic to receive timely and convenient
care. Thanks to the leadership of CVS Health and the VA,
Phoenix's nearly 120,000 Veterans
will now be served at 24 different area MinuteClinic locations for
minor health care services."
This innovative program provides Veterans with more options and
access points for receiving care for a wide array of minor
illnesses and injuries. "We are thrilled to have this new
partnership for Phoenix area
Veterans. Increasing access and availability of care is crucial. In
sending Veterans out into the community, however, we are always
conscious of providing the best care coordination we can. We are
working to leverage technology to share important clinical
information and ensure care continuity," said Dr. Maureen McCarthy, PVAHCS Chief of Staff.
To facilitate care coordination, the partnership will share
electronic health information in the same manner that proved
successful in a similar program launched in 2016 with the Palo Alto
VA Health Care System. MinuteClinic visit summaries will be sent to
a Veteran's VA primary care physician. This ensures the VA
physician has the clinical information necessary for follow-up
services in the VA, if appropriate.
Veterans who call the Phoenix VA Health Care System Help Line at
602-222-6550 or 800-574-7174 (toll free) can be referred to one of
the 24 MinuteClinic locations in the Phoenix area for treatment of common acute
illnesses.
"We believe in the MinuteClinic model of care and are excited to
offer our health care services as one potential solution for the
Phoenix VA Health Care System and its patients with minor illnesses
and injuries," said CVS MinuteClinic Chief Medical Officer,
Tobias Barker, M.D. "We're looking
forward to working with the Phoenix VA Health Care System team to
ensure that their patients have additional options for high-quality
acute care at times and locations that are convenient for
them."
Media Contact:
Amy Lanctot
CVS Health
(401) 258-9216
amy.lanctot@cvshealth.com
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/phoenix-va-health-care-system-triwest-and-cvs-health-partner-to-increase-veteran-access-to-health-care-services-300440626.html
SOURCE CVS Health