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CVS/pharmacy
CVS/pharmacy (also CVS) is a pharmacy and convenience store chain in the United States. CVS is the largest pharmacy chain in the United States, based on store count, with approximately 6,200 stores across 38 states. As the retail pharmacy division of CVS Caremark Corporation, they sell prescription drugs and a wide assortment of general merchandise, including over-the counter drugs, beauty products and cosmetics, film and photo finishing services, seasonal merchandise, greeting cards and convenience foods through their CVS/pharmacy retail stores and online through CVS.com. They also provide healthcare services through their MinuteClinic healthcare clinics. Most of these clinics are located within CVS stores. While CVS is incorporated in Delaware, and is based in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, it was founded in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1963. Additional recommended knowledge
NameCVS/pharmacy used to be a subsidiary of Melville Corporation until Melville changed its name to CVS Corporation in 1996. The initials once stood for "Consumer Value Stores", but CEO Tom Ryan has said he now considers it to stand for "Convenience, Value, and Service."[citation needed] During the company's days as a regional chain in the Northeastern U.S., many of CVS's stores did not include pharmacies. These stores were simply called "CVS", while the ones with pharmacies were called "CVS/pharmacy."[citation needed] Additionally, in some jurisdictions, pharmacies are required to label themselves as such. Today, the company no longer builds new stores without pharmacies, and is gradually phasing out the old convenience store-type shops that remain in New England, New York, Washington, D.C., and shopping malls. Acquisitions and growth
Private labelCVS has an extensive assortment of various private labels and proprietary brands. In addition to CVS/pharmacy Brand, CVS also carries exclusive store brands under the names of Essence of Beauty, Gold Emblem, Stars and Stripes, and Round the House. CVS also holds exclusive contracts to sell proprietary brands such as Nuprin, Life Fitness, Christophe, Ellin Lavar, PreVentin-AT, Skin Effects, and the Scandinavian brand Lumene. A new exclusive Playskool line of baby care is also in CVS stores. CVS was also first to sell single-use digital cameras and camcorders from Pure Digital. Controversies
ElensysIn 1998, The Washington Post reported that CVS appeared to be sharing prescription drug information with the Woburn-based marketing company, Elensys. According to the Post, Elensys received information on specific prescription drugs that individual CVS customers had purchased and used this information to send targeted direct mailings urging customers to renew prescriptions and promoting other products in which they might be interested. CVS and Elensys argued that there were no privacy issues because Elensys was acting solely as a contractor to CVS, and because the purpose of the mailings was to educate consumers. CVS claimed that it never shared customers' medical histories with Elensys (despite the Washington Post's indirect evidence that they had). George D. Lundberg, editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association, called the practice "a gross invasion" of privacy. Following a firestorm of criticism and complaints by consumers, CVS discontinued the practice. Boston prescriptionsDuring 2005 a rash of prescription mistakes came to light in some of CVS' Boston-area stores[2]. An investigation confirmed 62 errors or quality problems going back to 2002. In February 2006, the state Board of Pharmacy announced that the non-profit Institute of Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) would monitor all Massachusetts stores for the next two years. [3] Executives accused of bribing SenatorFormer CVS executives John R. Kramer and Carlos Ortiz were charged with bribery, conspiracy, and fraud (including mail fraud) by a federal grand jury for allegedly paying State Senator John A. Celona (D-RI) to act as a "consultant" for the company. Between February 2000 and September 2003, CVS paid Celona $1,000 a month, and he received tickets to golf outings and sporting events and compensation for travel to Florida and California. In August 2005, he pleaded guilty to mail fraud charges, and in January 2007, he was fined a record $130,000 by the Rhode Island Ethics Committee. The investigation was led by the FBI and the Rhode Island State Police, and the case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gerard B. Sullivan and Dulce Donovan. Additional information is available in a press release from the FBI's Boston field office.[4] 20/20A segment on 20/20 accused CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid among other pharmacies, of making various prescription dispensing errors. This segment aired in March 2007 and was called "ABC News '20/20' Undercover Pharmacy Investigation". CVS responded by claiming they have designed and invested millions of dollars in a comprehensive quality assurance program to enhance patient safety, and that they are constantly examining and implementing new and innovative ways to further improve quality.[5] [6] CVS sued by Texas for illegally dumping patient infoTexas Attorney General Greg Abbott has sued CVS as of April 2007, for illegally dumping confidential patient information. CVS is accused of breaking the 2005 Identity Theft Enforcement and Protection Act. There are also other possible violations under the violations under Chapter 35 of the Business and Commerce Code.[7] References |
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "CVS/pharmacy". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia. |