CVS Caremark’s MinuteClinic to start treating diabetes

On August 4, CVS Caremark announced the expansion of its MinuteClinic to treat chronic diseases including diabetes, coronary heart disease, and hypertension – very good news for patients in our view! MinuteClinic is a part of CVS Caremark that provides walk-in healthcare for the treatment of common illnesses. Currently MinuteClinic only offers diabetes screening for $40, which consists of either a blood glucose test or an A1c test. MinuteClinic does not allow co-pays to cover this screening because it does not want the screening to replace an annual examination. We look forward to seeing what diabetes treatments MinuteClinic will provide, and are hopeful that MinuteClinic’s efforts can help with earlier diagnosis and treatment of diabetes. Really, where we think this could be the most helpful is where patients could ask basic questions of the pharmacist about various treatments – not, of course, as a substitute for seeing their doctor or educator, but as a supplement. We also would love to see CVS Caremark subsidize the cost of a diagnostic a little more than they already are.