CVS Caremark Hosts Grand Opening of State-of-the-Art Mail Service Pharmacy and Customer Center

WOONSOCKET, R.I., Aug. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS Caremark (NYSE:CVS) held a grand opening event today at its new state-of-the-art Mail Service Pharmacy and Customer Center in Mt. Prospect, IL. The 150,000 square foot facility, representing an investment of approximately $67 million, supports pharmacy inventory and fulfillment needs across the CVS Caremark Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) book of business, which serves approximately 60 million members throughout the United States.  With the capability to fill 50 million prescriptions annually, this new facility is an example of CVS Caremark's continued investment and commitment to the State of Illinois.

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CVS Caremark hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony and a tour of its new Mt. Prospect facility today. Company officials also took the opportunity to recognize and thank supporters from the state and region who helped make the development of the Mt. Prospect mail service pharmacy possible. In fact, 59 Illinois-based businesses were used during the construction of the facility.

The new facility, which will employ more than 400 people by the end of 2013 including pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, automation technicians and process improvement engineers, balances the best of high tech automation and human expertise to streamline prescription fulfillment. Proprietary technology at the facility enables 90 percent of prescriptions to be dispensed and 80 percent of prescriptions to be packaged for mailing, using full automation. In addition, in order to further assure safe and accurate dispensing, all prescriptions are visually checked by one of the on-site pharmacists before they are mailed.  

"This new CVS Caremark mail service pharmacy and Customer Center is a great example of our commitment as a pharmacy innovation company to helping people on their path to better health," said Larry J. Merlo, President and Chief Executive Officer, CVS Caremark.  "The combination of technologically advanced automation and the expertise of our highly qualified pharmacy teams help us ensure people have convenient access to affordable medications."

"We are pleased that CVS Caremark chose to build this new state-of-the-art facility in Mt. Prospect, Illinois," said Governor Pat Quinn. "I am happy to have the opportunity to participate in this ribbon cutting event today, and appreciate the role that CVS Caremark plays both as a national health care innovator and as an employer in our community."

The facility also includes a CVS Caremark Customer Center complete with a high-tech executive briefing room designed to introduce our clients and future partners to the full spectrum of CVS Caremark's integrated programs and services. Video and touch screen technology illustrate the CVS Caremark story and allows direct interaction with CVS retail pharmacists, specialty pharmacists and mail service pharmacists as well as Minute Clinic nurse practitioners via real-time telepresence technology.  

In combination with the advanced mail service pharmacy capabilities, the Customer Center offers opportunities to work with clients and partners to identify and develop industry-leading solutions that leverage the full CVS Caremark enterprise for improving access, cost and quality for patients and payers. Examples of CVS Caremark innovation in the marketplace include key offerings such as Maintenance Choice® and Pharmacy Advisor® Counseling which improve adherence, close gaps in care, streamline access to chronic medications and ultimately help reduce overall health care costs.

About CVS Caremark
CVS Caremark is dedicated to helping people on their path to better health as the largest integrated pharmacy company in the United States. Through the company's more than 7,500 CVS/pharmacy stores; its leading pharmacy benefit manager serving more than 60 million plan members; and its retail health clinic system, the largest in the nation with more than 600 MinuteClinic locations, it is a market leader in mail order, retail and specialty pharmacy, retail clinics, and Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans.  As a pharmacy innovation company with an unmatched breadth of capabilities, CVS Caremark continually strives to improve health and lower costs by developing new approaches such as its unique Pharmacy Advisor program that helps people with chronic diseases such as diabetes obtain and stay on their medications.  Find more information about how CVS Caremark is reinventing pharmacy for better health at info.cvscaremark.com.

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