CVS plans 26 Oak Street Health clinics inside CVS stores

CVS said it plans to open about 26 Oak Street Health clinics inside existing CVS stores in 14 states by the end of this year.

The retailer has opened eight of the dual-branded locations since January, and another 18 are slated to open by the end of 2024, a spokesperson for CVS told Supermarket News. The 26 new combined Oak Street Health/CVS pharmacy sites are all opening inside existing CVS stores, in addition to two that opened last year,  the spokesperson said. 

Two of the co-located outlets opened last month in the Chicago neighborhoods of Belmont Cragin and West Lawn, along with another in the Chicago suburb of Cicero. Additional combined drugstore/clinic outlets are planned for New York City, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Columbus, Ohio, according to a report in Forbes magazine.

In addition, CVS is planning to open 25 stand-alone Oak Street Health clinics by the end of the year.

The combined clinic/pharmacy locations feature an expanded pharmacy area and a curated selection of health and wellness products alongside an Oak Street Health clinic. Oak Street Health offers primary care for Medicare-eligible adults and specializes in services for older adults. Last year, CVS acquired the chain, which now has more than 200 stand-alone locations, for $10.6 billion.

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“Coupling these two powerful CVS Health assets advances the company’s strategy to deliver personalized health care experiences in a more integrated way, especially for senior patients with complex or chronic health conditions,” said Mike Pykosz, executive VP and president of health care delivery for CVS Health. “We are already seeing the benefits of Oak Street Health’s value-based model lowering the total cost of care for patients.”

The move comes as other retailers, including Walgreens and Walmart, have scaled back their expansion plans for their respective primary-care clinics. Walmart recently said it has shuttered all 51 of its Walmart Health primary-care clinics, and Walgreens has closed dozens of its VillageMD locations.

The CVS initiative is part of CVS Healthspire, the drugstore operator’s recently rebranded health services division.

Oak Street Health centers offer services that older adults, who often have chronic illnesses, need in a primary care center. The company said Oak Street Health has reduced patient hospital admissions by approximately 51%, and driven a 42% reduction in 30-day readmission rates and a 51% reduction in emergency department visits compared to Medicare benchmarks.

The combined Oak Street Health/CVS Pharmacy locations have integrated care teams that allow pharmacists to work collaboratively with providers to improve outcomes, CVS said.

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“Given our scale and unique set of integrated capabilities, this innovative new format is one of the many ways we are looking to connect care to help patients more seamlessly navigate a complicated system and help ensure they’re getting the care they need to stay healthy,” said Michele Mitchell, executive medical director, Oak Street Health.

The CVS pharmacies at these locations will remain open to the public.

CVS also operates the MinuteClinic walk-in healthcare chain, which has more than 1,100 locations in 33 states.