After a trial run of the concept in Houston that the company calls a success, CVS Health Corp. is planning to have more than 1,500 in-store HealthHUB facilities up and running by the end of 2021.
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CVS will begin by adding more facilities in Houston, as well as new ones in Atlanta, Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey and Tampa this year. The expansion in 2019 will add about 50 locations.
Helping drive the expansion, at least in terms of site selection, will be the big data now available to CVS on healthcare trends, which the company obtained from its acquisition of Aetna last year.
"These new store formats illustrate how CVS Health is evolving ... to address the changing healthcare landscape," CVS President and CEO Larry Merlo said during the company's most recent earnings call last month. "And while it is early, we are very encouraged by the initial results in our Houston stores. The various product and service offerings are performing at or above our expectations."
During the same call, CVS Pharmacy President Kevin Hourican said HealthHUB makes CVS stores more compelling places to shop — a reason for the consumer to want to come into the store.
"That HealthHUB format is achieving that objective," he said. "The consumer reaction has been quite strong."
"The healthcare retailization trend will continue because consumers are demanding a better experience, similar to what they see today in retail," Microsoft Vice President U.S. Health & Life Science Chris Sakalosky told Bisnow late last year.
HealthHUBs, which take up about 20% of the space of the CVS locations where they operate, represent an upgrade compared with the chain's current health concept, MinuteClinic, by offering additional services. Currently the company has about 1,100 MinuteClinics among a total of 9,800 CVS locations.
HealthHUBs include health-related digital tools, health kiosks and chronic care management services for store customers. Also, an in-house dietitian offers nutrition counseling at the facilities.
Some of CVS' MinuteClinics will be converted into HealthHUBs, although the company hasn't said how many, Modern Healthcare reports. MinuteClinics usually have one or two exam rooms, while HealthHUBs will have three or four.
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