CVS Caremark benefits from engaging with stakeholders from key external and internal groups that are aligned with our goal of improving health outcomes while lowering overall health care costs. We also seek to actively engage with customers and community stakeholders in areas where we live and work. Below are some of the ways we engage and encourage communication with our stakeholders.
In addition to our annual employee engagement surve and ongoing retail and PBM customer outreach, in August and September 2011 we conducted a survey of national policy influencers to measure CVS Caremark’s current reputation, inform strategies for strengthening CVS Caremark’s reputation, identify health care issues that offer strong opportunities for thought leadership, assess awareness and opinions of CVS Caremark’s integrated business model, and identify key metrics for tracking the impact of communications over time. In assessing important issues where CVS Caremark could make a difference, respondents identified medication adherence, improving quality and reducing costs and chronic disease as key areas of focus.
In November and December 2011, CVS Caremark conducted qualitative and quantitative research with individuals who would be likely to use health insurance exchanges as part of health reform beginning in 2014. The survey discovered that widespread confusion and misinformation exists around the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and while awareness of ACA and exchanges may grow, consumers will still need assistance to understand upcoming changes. Individuals surveyed expressed interest in a range of resources that could be provided by a retail company and pharmacists and nurses/nurse practitioners ranked just behind doctors as the most credible sources of information on exchanges. These findings will help to inform CVS Caremark’s activities to support customers and patients in regard to health exchanges.
