MinuteClinic Recognized for Bringing Innovation in Health Care Delivery to New England

MINNEAPOLIS, July 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Retail-based health care provider MinuteClinic has received the 2007 Connecticut Quality Improvement Award's entry level CQIA Innovation Prize for bringing more affordable, convenient and accessible health care solutions into consumers' daily lives. The Connecticut Quality Improvement Award is the oldest state-level award in America that uses the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award criteria for performance excellence.

The CQIA Innovation Prize recognizes accomplishments during the first stages of the quality journey for all organizations located in Connecticut. It is meant to stimulate interest in organizations to implement quality while fostering recognition of innovative improvements.

Past winners of the prestigious CQIA awards include Pfizer, Inc., MassMutual Financial Group, Honeywell Life Safety and Pratt & Whitney.

MinuteClinic is the pioneer and largest provider of retail-based health care centers in the United States with locations in 20 states. MinuteClinic opened its first locations in Connecticut in 2006. Presently, there are seven MinuteClinic health care centers in the Hartford metropolitan area, Stamford and Southbury. All are located in CVS/pharmacy stores. MinuteClinic hopes to add up to a dozen more locations in Connecticut by the end of the year.

"MinuteClinic is an example of how creativity and innovation can be brought to our struggling health care system to affect change and make basic care more accessible and affordable for today's consumer," said Michael C. Howe, MinuteClinic chief executive officer. "We are extremely proud of this recognition which validates our efforts to foster a new patient-centered approach to health care delivery."

MinuteClinic health care centers are staffed by masters-prepared, board-certified nurse practitioners and physician assistants who specialize in family health care and are trained to diagnose and treat patients for common illnesses such as strep throat and ear, eye, sinus, bladder and bronchial infections. MinuteClinic also offers common vaccinations, such as influenza, tetanus, MMR, and Hepatitis A & B. Practitioners work in collaboration with physicians and may prescribe medication when it is part of the treatment plan.

MinuteClinic health care centers are open seven days a week, no appointment needs to be made in advance and visits typically take 10-15 minutes.

MinuteClinic practitioners utilize nationally recognized evidence-based clinical guidelines that are adopted from recommendations published by major professional organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians to diagnose and treat health conditions. With the patient's consent, treatment information is shared with his or her primary care provider to facilitate continuity of care.

About CQIA
The Connecticut Quality Improvement Award Partnership, Inc., a Connecticut nonprofit 501(c)(3) tax exempt corporation, is an active partnership among the private sector, state and municipal government, and the educational community, which annually sponsors a three tiered awards program that recognizes organizations for their accomplishments. The three levels of award are the entry level CQIA Innovation Prize, the mid level Connecticut Breakthrough Quality Award and the highest level Connecticut Leadership Quality Award.