NEWS - Health & Hospitals

by Lou Phelps
SBJ Staff

Oct. 3, 2011 – Across America, two pharmacy chains – both of which have a growing presence in the Savannah and Coastal Georgia region – are battling for market share in the business of pharmacy clinics.

They are CVS and Walgreen. Both companies have added or modernized their stores in the region over the past few years and Walgreens has been offering immunization clinics in Savannah and across the U.S.

But CVS has just upped the competition in Savannah, adding medical clinics in two of its stores in the area to complement its pharmacies which will offer a vast array of medical services in addition to immunizations. The in-store clinics will be located at the CVS on Ogeechee Rd. and in Richmond Hill. Also, they are studying two additional locations in the area, including one in the Wilmington Island area on the way to Tybee Island, for a possible opening in the Spring of 2012, according to Holly McDonald, regional manager for CVS's medical clinics system in Georgia.

Each of clinics will be staffed with a Family Nurse Practitioner (Masters Prepared) who will see all patients, and each clinic will have an additional physician partner for referrals.

The 'MinuteClinics' are a wholly-owned subsidiary of the CVS Corporation, not an outsource to an independent vendor. CVS launched a new TV ad campaign in Savannah last week to promote the clinics.

The clinics will be open seven days a week. Monday to Friday hours will be 8:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m., closed from 1:30-2:30 p.m., approximately, for lunch. Saturday hours will be 9 a.m.-5 p.m., closed from 1:30-2:30 p.m., approximately, for lunch; and Sunday hours will be 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m., closed for lunch from 1:30-2:00 p.m.

In addition to flu shots, the clinics will treat almost all common family illnesses such as strep throat, ear infections, minor skin infections and strains and sprains, as well as offering some wellness services. If someone has a strain or sprain that cannot be treated, they will be referred to a Savannah-partner physician for further care.

Nurse practitioners can prescribe medication, such as antibiotics, when indicated. However, they will not treat anxiety disorders or chronic pain issues, according to McDonald.

CVS will accept most major insurances, and pricing will generally run 40 percent to 80 percent less than most urgent care facilities in the area, such as at emergency rooms and primary care offices, she states. In the Savannah area, services will begin at $79 to $89, depending on the issue and whether tests must be run. Payments or co-pays will be required at time of service.

CVS believes in total transparency, according to the company, and all prices for services are posted for customers to review in advance.

The MinuteClinics will be able to run some tests immediately, such as strep throat screenings.

CVS will always encourage its patients to go into the primary care system to be followed up, if indicated, McDonald added.

To help customer's offset service costs, if they have no insurance, CVS will be offering a $5 gift card to use in the store while supplies last, even for flu shots which cost $ 29.92.

No appointment is necessary and most visit times are about 20 minutes.

CVS now has 600 plus clinics in the U.S. in 26 states, and opened its first clinic in 2000. Clinics have been open in Atlanta since 2005 where the pharmacy company now has 30 clinics in the metro area.

On the heels of strong demand for immunizations in the past couple of years, Walgreen (NYSE:WAG) has expanded its immunization offering across all of its 7,700 stores including Duane Reade pharmacies and its 350 ‘Take Care’ clinics in the U.S. The company, however, has not opened any of its clinics in the Savannah area.

Each CVS clinic will have one nurse practitioner on duty but larger clinics will have two nurses as volume warrants.

The CVS stores with new MinuteClinics have new signage so that customers are aware that there is a MinuteClinic inside.

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