CVS Rebrand: What It Means for Retail Hazardous Waste

SEPTEMBER 8, 2014

A Watershed Moment

CVS this week made a pair of announcements that could have reverberations for years to come, signaling a fundamental change in the retail pharmacy industry.

First, the pharmacy giant announced it is rebranding itself as CVS Health to reflect its broader healthcare commitment and its innovation-driven approach to providing health services to its 100 million customers annually. As part of the rebrand, CVS officially ended the sale of cigarettes from its stores nationwide. CVS Health includes the company’s retail business, which continues to be called CVS/pharmacy; its pharmacy benefit management business, CVS/Caremark; its walk-in medical clinics, CVS/MinuteClinic; and its growing specialty pharmacy services, CVS/specialty.

Blending Retail and Healthcare

Both moves are a sign of changing times for retail pharmacy chains, which are reaping record profits as consumers elect to fulfill their healthcare needs at these locations rather than in more traditional healthcare settings.

Of its 7,700 locations, CVS Health operates 900 walk-in treatment centers, which it calls “minute clinics,” that offer routine medical procedures like blood pressure testing and flu shots. The model has proven so successful that, along with CVS Health competitors like Walgreen’s, other major retailers such as Walmart are testing similar in-store offerings.

The expansion of these types of healthcare services from retail pharmacies and big box stores means greater convenience and perhaps lower costs, which is great news for consumers.

For retailers, however, it introduces greater complexity in product offerings, compliance with FDA and EPA regulations, and removal of expired, damaged or hazardous waste product. As retail pharmacies and others morph into a hybrid provider of retail and health services, planning for retail hazardous waste removal should be a primary consideration.