The Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) has announced a five-year strategic affiliation with CVS Health.

Lehigh Valley has always benefited from high-quality health care systems, and that will only continue to improve thanks to partnerships between the region’s major health networks and CVS Health.

The Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) has announced a five-year strategic affiliation with CVS Health, with the goal of increasing community-level health initiatives, co-branding preventive care programs, and the secure sharing of electronic health records to benefit patients and customers.

St. Luke’s University Health Network also has an affiliation with CVS Health, one that allows the network to share electronic health records with CVS to improve patient adherence to their medications and a better coordination of care, according to St. Luke’s spokesman Samuel Kennedy.

“CVS Health has proven to be a productive partner in multiple programs to improve the health of populations in the communities that we both serve,” said Brian Nester, President & CEO of LVHN.

“We are now taking this strategic alliance to the next level,” Nester said. “By combining our competencies and commitment to community health, we are well-positioned to achieve unprecedented degrees of consumer engagement, innovation and value-based care.”

Though LVHN and CVS Health entered into a new formal affiliation on May 1, the two entities have had a partnership going back to 2015. That is also the year St. Luke’s began its patient data partnership with CVS, Kennedy said.

The new agreement between LVHN and CVS Health focuses on each organization’s commitment to population health management, which uses data to identify patients with potential health challenges.

This provides the patients with new levels of proactive care to improve their health and stem the likelihood of developing more serious conditions that can impact both quality of life and care costs, according to Robert Brooks, senior vice president of Health System Alliances, CVS Health.

“We are pleased to continue this important work with Lehigh Valley Health Network to enhance access to patient care, improve health outcomes and lower health care costs,” Brooks said. “Together, we are bringing our expertise and care to local communities throughout the Lehigh Valley region to help tackle major public health challenges and enable continuity across the health care continuum for the patients we collectively serve.”

Nester said joint cooperation under the new agreement on key programs had already begun even prior to its signing and will continue to expand. These programs include breast cancer treatment, the opioid crisis, prescription drug abuse, and substance abuse recovery.

LVHN’s Mobile Mammography Coach – a mobile mammography screening center – has previously available at four CVS locations and conducted screenings. LVHN clinicians have also conducted training at several CVS Pharmacy locations in the use of Naloxone, the lifesaving emergency medication for opioid overdoses.

For the past two years, LVHN and CVS Health combined to collect and safely dispose of unwanted prescription drugs at CVS store locations. Additionally, the two entities appeared together at Rally In The Valley, a Bethlehem event to support those recovering from alcohol and drug abuse, and to provide the clinical gateways for active substance abusers to seek recovery.

CVS Health, the nation’s premier health innovation company, seeks to make quality care more affordable, accessible, simple and seamless. The company has more than 150 retail locations within the LVHN geographic service area, and unmatched pharmacy care services.