Upcoming CVS openings in Target include Seattle, Denver, Portland

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health has opened its first CVS Pharmacy locations inside Target stores in Utah.

CVS said Thursday that the 13 new pharmacies are at Target stores in the Ogden–Clearfield, Provo–Orem, Salt Lake City and St. George, Utah, metropolitan areas. They join 11 CVS Pharmacy drug stores in the state.

In Target stores, CVS Pharmacy operates under a store-within-a-store concept and retains its brand. CVS Pharmacy made its debut at Target in early February, opening in a half-dozen Target stores in North Carolina. Plans call for CVS to finish converting the 1,672 Target pharmacies in 47 states to CVS Pharmacy locations over the next four to six months.

The CVS Pharmacy department inside a Target store in Salt Lake City.

The 79 Target Clinic locations also will be rebranded as MinuteClinic, CVS Health’s retail health clinic banner, during that time frame. The first MinuteClinics opened in Target stores last month in 11 North Carolina locations.

CVS said its pharmacies also will soon be opening at Target stores in the Seattle, Denver and Portland, Ore., markets.

CVS Health closed its acquisition of Target Corp.’s pharmacy and retail health clinic business in December. The $1.9 billion deal was announced in mid-June. According to CVS, the acquisition will expand its pharmacy footprint by about 20% and its clinic footprint by approximately 8%, giving the company a presence in every state. CVS and Target also have said that a CVS Pharmacy will be included in all new Target stores offering pharmacy services.

“We’re excited to introduce our integrated pharmacy services and health care expertise to Target guests in Utah,” Hanley Wheeler, senior vice president of retail field operations for CVS Pharmacy, said in a statement. “Our pharmacy care and clinic offerings, along with our innovative digital tools, will offer consumers expanded wellness options and increased access to care. We look forward to welcoming Target guests as our pharmacy patients. “

At the Target locations in Utah, CVS Pharmacy will be offering the full suite of services available at CVS Pharmacy drug stores, CVS said. That includes such programs as Maintenance Choice, which lets CVS Caremark plan members fill 90-day supplies of medications for chronic conditions via mail order or CVS retail pharmacies, and Specialty Connect, in which patients can fill specialty drug prescriptions at a CVS Pharmacy. Target customers also can enroll in CVS Pharmacy’s ExtraCare loyalty program and opt-in to ExtraCare Pharmacy & Health Rewards to earn $5 in ExtraBucks Rewards for every 10 prescriptions filled.

CVS’ Pharmacy Advisor program, in which Caremark plan members with chronic conditions get face-to-face counseling at a CVS retail pharmacy or by phone via the mail service option, is slated be available at the Target locations by the end of 2016.

“As we roll out the new CVS Pharmacy in Target stores, we are working closely with patients to make their transition to our services and programs as simple and seamless as possible,” Wheeler added.