Using technology to ensure continuity in specialty pharmacy care throughout COVID-19

At CVS Health, we are actively managing the rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic and are focused on helping all of our customers access the important care and services they need while protecting the health and safety of all of those we serve. Across our enterprise, we’re adapting operations to ensure continuity of care against the backdrop of a rapidly changing landscape, and in CVS Specialty, we’re working hard to ensure that all of our patients have an adequate supply of their specialty medications, particularly during this period of extended social distancing and/or quarantine. People on specialty medications often have complex chronic or rare conditions that require additional support, and at CVS Specialty, we have built the technological infrastructure to deliver support to patients by phone and online, which is especially important now more than ever.

CVS Specialty patients have access to support through a care team of specially trained nurses and clinical pharmacists. Patients can connect with CVS Specialty and receive this care telephonically or by using integrated secure messaging via the CVS Specialty app or online via CVSspecialty.com.

Regardless of how patients access this support, we know that this type of care can make a difference in helping improve adherence to medications, help patients better understand their disease and also help them manage any side effects. In addition, we have enabled interactive voice recording technology to deliver relevant outbound health messages to patients, and we are posting pertinent COVID-19 updates on the CVS Specialty website and mobile app.

To ensure continuity of care for patients receiving infusion care through CVS Specialty Coram Infusion Services, we are now enabling Coram providers to use video conferencing technology to remotely train, educate and assess patients who require infusion care in inpatient or home settings when nurses are not able to enter a facility and/or or when a face-to-face visit is not required.

This can help minimize risk of exposure to COVID-19 for both patients and our Coram providers.

These are just a few examples of how we’re using our technological capabilities and infrastructure to support our specialty pharmacy patients throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We are continuing to evaluate how we can further leverage our technology and infrastructure to address the evolving health care challenges presented by this extraordinary public health event.

Originally published on LinkedIn Pulse