CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) will now offer mental health counseling and care services at six of its MinuteClinics. The rollout could pave the way for a larger national expansion down the road, as mental health has grown into a top priority for the company.
Specifically, the retail giant will now staff half a dozen MinuteClinics in the Los Angeles metro area with licensed mental health providers (LMHP), while also offering virtual services. This will enable patients to access mental health assessments, referrals, counseling and personalized care plans at these clinics.
LMHPs can also help patients needing higher levels of care find a local provider in their insurance network who can treat their condition.
“With the addition of these new services at MinuteClinic, we’re now able to offer the community an innovative, convenient approach to managing mental health in easy-to-access locations near where our customers live, work and shop,” Angela Patterson, chief nurse practitioner officer of retail health and vice president at CVS Health, said in a statement. “LMHPs are key to our care delivery strategy to provide better access to mental health care in our communities.”
The new services will be available to adults aged 18 and older.
CVS Health has continued to pour resources into the behavioral health space and has seen a massive uptick in virtual health visits. For example, in 2021, CVS reported 10 million virtual mental health visits.
The company continued to invest in mental health in 2022 by announcing several digital behavioral health partnerships aimed at boosting behavioral health wellbeing.
In August, the payvider teamed up with telehealth company Amwell to offer a new primary care offering, which includes on-demand mental health services.
“Your head is connected to your heart, your heart is connected to your head, and that is the premise we go with,” Cara McNulty, president of behavioral health and mental wellbeing at CVS Health, previously told Behavioral Health Business. “We will continue to drive that premise and meet people where they’re at on their mental health journey. That means we’re not waiting for people to be in crisis. We are thinking, talking and acting on people’s mental health and physical health, consecutively showing up in the same way.
CVS isn’t the only retailer offering behavioral health services.
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) offers counseling services for depression, anxiety, stress, grief and relationship issues at its health centers. The company also recently struck a partnership with Lyra Health that’s reportedly aimed at training managers to better understand the mental health needs of their employees.
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