MinuteClinic Hits 500th Clinic Mark; New Locations Open in Dallas, Los Angeles and Orlando CVS/pharm...( MINNEAPOLIS March 5 /- MinuteClin...),Health

MINNEAPOLIS, March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- MinuteClinic, the pioneer and largest provider of retail health care in the United States, announced that the company will open its 500th clinic today with the addition of three new health care centers. These locations will open at CVS/pharmacy stores in the Dallas, Los Angeles and Orlando metropolitan areas.

MinuteClinic (http://www.minuteclinic.com), a subsidiary of CVS Caremark Corporation, is continuing to develop a national network of retail clinics that currently extends to 25 states. MinuteClinic has about four times the number of clinics as its nearest competitor and has sites in twice as many states.

"By offering high quality, affordable medical services to patients in convenient retail locations, we have established one of the largest and fastest growing health care systems in the country," said Michael Howe, MinuteClinic CEO. "We're proud to have seen more than 1.8 million patient visits since our inception. This reflects both the growth in our number of clinics as well as the enthusiastic adoption of this model of care by consumers."

MinuteClinic anticipates opening 150 to 250 additional clinics in 2008.

"Our role in creating a more convenient model for high quality health care delivery is particularly evident this time of year as thousands of patients suffering from colds and flu visit our clinics near their home, school or office or while traveling on business or vacation," said James Hartert, M.D., MinuteClinic Chief Medical Officer. "We're able to offer patients and families needed relief for those times when it may be difficult to access other options for care."

MinuteClinic has distinguished itself as the first and only retail clinic provider to achieve accreditation from The Joint Commission, the national evaluation and certifying agency for nearly 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States
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