For patients with cancer and the providers who treat them, starting the right therapy quickly and staying adherent makes all the difference.
At CVS Specialty®, we provide Oncology Centers of Excellence to support specific therapy needs. And we offer high-touch service backed by the innovation and resources of the CVS Health® Enterprise.
See what our best-in-class specialty pharmacy can do for you
CVS Pharmacy® Specialty Services, formerly called CarePlus, provides high-touch support for patients and providers.
- National reach with local touch via 20+ pharmacy locations, service to all states, one main contact and local benefits expertise
- Faster starts to therapy through PA submission support* consistent with payor guidelines, tailored communications and strong relationships to ease administrative challenges
- Personalized adherence support like refill help, convenient specialty medication pickup or delivery, and drug management
- Therapy-specific experts, including indication-based CareTeams and Centers of Excellence, who offer personalized care and education, and help patients navigate benefits and financial resources
- Unmatched pharmacy access with home delivery and pickup at 9,000+ CVS Pharmacy® locations* to reach small patient populations and drive adherence
- Easy-to-use digital tools like our symptom tracker to help oncology patients start and stay on therapy, track side effects, and communicate with their CareTeam
- Concierge service and direct access to our specialized oncology team so providers can collaborate with pharmacists and clinicians trained to understand the nuances of all oncology treatment plans
- Integrated EHR connectivity to help minimize manual work, prevent errors during the PA process, and get patients started on therapy quickly and easily
- CVS Specialty Prescriber Engagement Team with nationwide presence and long-standing relationships with oncology practices that help identify potential access issues early
Patient spotlight
Kendra: My specialty patients have diseases such as breast cancer, they have lung cancer. I also have patients that we service that have had a recent transplant and also patients that have HIV.
Kelly B.: They've just received this devastating diagnosis and they are scared, they're confused, and this medication is their gateway to getting help. Her patients matter to her, her employees matter to her, and all of it's really genuine.
Brianna: Kendra finds ways to really inspire me personally and also not just myself, but the team.
Kelly W.: She always makes us feel comfortable that, you know, we can come and talk to her about anything. So she's the actually the best boss I've ever had.
Group: Good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning.
Kelly B.: Kendra is always willing to do more for everyone, but she takes a very special place with senior citizens.
Jane: I'm 80 years old, and so I have a number of medications that renew at different times and can get very complicated. So it's a pleasure to come to the pharmacy and have people who know what they're doing and do it well.
Kendra: So the majority of our patient interactions occur over the phone, and we ship the medications to the patient's place of choice.
Richard: The doctor looked at her and said, Mr. Connor, I'll give your wife six months to 12 months to live. I couldn't believe it.
Kendra: She was a prior brain cancer survivor who was recently diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. When I initially started my conversation with Mr. Connor about Misses Connor, I caught a drug drug interaction between her oncology medication and an existing medication that she was taking.And I knew at that point Mr. Connor knew that I had his wife's best interest in mind. What was very clear to me was the love that he had for his wife and also that he was very unsure of the next leg of his journey.
Richard: My wife was 100 lbs weight, then skin and bones.
Kendra: The best way that I could care for Missus Connor was to take care of Mr. Connor. How is she doing overall, would you say on a scale of 1 to 10 right now? My grandfather took care of my grandmother. She was very sick later in her life. That really helped influence the way I helped.Mr. Connor.
Kendra: How are you doing?
Richard: Very good, babe.
Kendra: So I got news for you.
Richard: Tell me what? Oh, boy!
Kendra: I'm so grateful for the friendship and the personal growth that I've had throughout this hand sound. The best thing that I can do as a pharmacist is to positively impact patient care.
Going the extra mile
CVS Pharmacy Specialty Services Pharmacist Kendra gives a firsthand look at how our high-touch oncology model helps local patients and their families navigate challenges beyond the prescription fill.
High-touch personalized care
CVS Pharmacy Specialty Services for oncology gives patients an added level of support with a community-first focus, faster starts to therapy and ongoing care.
“CVS Specialty has been great to work with. I trust them with every new prescription referral, especially for LDDs often urgently needed for inpatient cancer treatment. They process prescriptions quickly, assist with navigating financial and copay questions, and ensure fast delivery. They offer a level of patient support I don’t see with other specialty pharmacies.”
Registered nurse, center for hematology and oncology
“We had issues with a local pharmacy delivering an oncology medication. We were so grateful when CVS Specialty took over the prescription. They got the medication delivered promptly, even to a different address. Many thanks to the hard-working, diligent CVS Specialty team!”
Oncology patient
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Rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Medication possession ratio (MPR). Electronic health record (EHR). Prior authorization (PA). Limited distribution drugs (LDDs).
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*FOR PA SUBMISSION SUPPORT CLAIM: Some payors have specific utilization management requirements related to PA submissions (e.g., review, submission and/or physical signature by prescribers). CVS Specialty PA support is only available where permissible by payor requirements and applicable law.
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*FOR UNMATCHED PHARMACY ACCESS WITH HOME DELIVERY AND PICKUP CLAIM: Specialty delivery options are available where allowed by law. In-store pick up is currently not available in Oklahoma. Puerto Rico requires first-fill prescriptions to be transmitted directly to the dispensing specialty pharmacy. Products are dispensed by CVS Specialty and certain services are only accessed by calling CVS Specialty directly. Certain specialty medication may not qualify. Services are also available at Long’s Drugs locations.
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*FOR ~91% AVERAGE MPR FOR PATIENTS FILLING ONCOLOGY MEDICATIONS THROUGH CVS SPECIALTY SOURCE: CVS Specialty Pharmacy Adherence Dashboard, accessed June 2024. CVS Health Commercial Book of Business Cohort, April 2023-March 2024. All data sharing complies with applicable law, our information firewall and any applicable contractual limitations. Actual results may vary depending on benefit plan design, member demographics, programs implemented by the plan and other factors.
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*FOR >50% OF PAs PROCESSED WITHOUT ADDITIONAL PRESCRIBER OUTREACH SOURCE: CVS Health Enterprise Analytics, April 15, 2020. Actual results may vary depending on benefit plan design, member demographics, programs implemented by the plan and other factors. CVS Specialty Expedite is available exclusively for providers who use compatible EHR systems that participate in the Carequality Interoperability Framework or have an eligible EHR with CVS Health-enabled data connections and a fully executed connectivity agreement. All data sharing and usage complies with applicable privacy laws. Some payors have specific utilization management requirements related to PA submissions (e.g., review, submission and/or physical signature by prescribers). CVS Specialty Expedite is only used where permissible by payor requirements and applicable law.
