Pharmacy giant CVS is continuing its move into providing healthcare with its latest strategy. CVS announced recently that it is making major changes to keep up with consumer demands in the healthcare space. 

Starting in the spring of 2022, CVS will close about 900 retail locations (about 10% of all locations) and focus on renovating/updating the remaining locations into their HealthHub model. HealthHubs focus on health and wellness, devoting about 20% of their space to services that focus on preventive and wellness care and chronic condition management. They also plan to make some locations into primary care provider locations. It is not yet known which locations will be closed, but CVS is focusing on geography and customer needs to determine locations.

CVS has been using their Minute Clinic locations as minor/urgent care providers. These locations are staffed by nurse practitioners and have been a major referral source to primary care providers in their area. With the move to providing primary care, however, it is not known how the new model will work. Is this an expansion of current Minute Clinic services? Will there be physicians at the new sites? Will there be an expanded array of services available?