CVS Health Announces New Initiatives to Fight National Opioid Epidemic
CVS Health announced earlier this month it’s new enterprise-wide initiatives aims at fighting the national opioid abuse epidemic. Key components include:
- Expanding their drug disposal collection program, with the addition of kiosks at 750 CVS retail pharmacies nationwide, adding to the more than 800 units previously donated to law enforcement;
- Strengthening counseling for patients filling an opioid prescription;
- Enhancing utilization management through their pharmacy benefit manager, CVS Caremark, to encourage clinically appropriate use, consistent with CDC guidelines, including;
- A seven-day limit on the supply of opioids dispensed for certain acute prescriptions for patients who are new to therapy,
- A daily dosage limit of opioids dispensed based on the strength of the opioid, and
- Use of immediate-release formulations of opioids before extended-release opioids are dispensed.