CVS Seeks Approval for Massachusetts In-Store Clinics

BOSTON — CVS/pharmacy, Woonsocket, R.I., has asked Massachusetts health officials for approval to open the first of 20 to 30 planned MinuteClinics in Boston-area stores. Company executives said they would open the first clinic in a CVS in Weymouth. They would not disclose the other planned locations, according to a report yesterday in the Boston Globe. State public health commissioner John Auerbach said his agency, which has the authority to approve the clinics — which would be the first retail medical clinics in the state — will take at least a month to make a decision, the newspaper reported. Minneapolis-based MinuteClinic is a subsidiary of CVS/Caremark Corp. and provides nurse practitioners and physician assistants to treat common conditions for about $59 a visit.