I love this announcement for so many reasons. Being a therapist , we know for some patients there is a barrier to use certain products because it makes their home feel/ look more like a hospital and less like a home. This new product line and design addresses that head on. Beyond that, CVS collaborated with a team from one of my personal favorite designers, Michael Graves to come up with new designs. Michael Graves is one of my personal favorite architect turned product designers, who initially collaborated with Alessi and later with Target with innovative beautiful design. Lesser known is that he got gravely ill ( no pun intended) in 2003 with an unknown infection and was paralyzed from the neck down for the duration of his life. His dream was to redesign and disrupt this industry. Although he died before this came to fruition, his team pursued to make this happen. And Kuddos to CVS – in 2014 they stopped selling cigarettes ( costing them big bucks) but made the conscience decision to rebrand the company and focus on health. Offering this product line further their decision to be on the forefront of health care.
Reprinted from Forbes Magazine 2/23/2022 Steven Aquino
Drugstore giant CVS Pharmacy announced this week via press release the introduction of six home health care products developed in collaboration with Michael Graves Design. The modernized collection was developed for aging adults, caregivers, and disabled people; the goal was to help them lead fuller, more independent lives by making self-care easier. The products include analog assistive technologies such as canes, walkers, shower chairs, and commodes.
“There will be more than 70 million Americans ages 65 and older by 2030, along with millions of caregivers and other customers who need these types of products because of illness or while recuperating from an accident,” said Brenda Lord, Vice President of Store Brands at CVS Health, in the company’s press release. “By filling an unmet need for functional, but beautifully designed products, we aim to help improve the everyday lives of those who rely on these tools and who are seeking a more premium and customized market offering.”
CVS noted in the announcement the collection was designed after “extensive research” with users, caregivers, and clinicians. The insights gleaned showed customers prefer home health products that improve usability while being aesthetically pleasing and minimalist in style. The collection represents the company’s “commitment to transforming health care into a more personalized experience through new technologies and innovations that can help improve quality of everyday life.”
This week’s news of the new home health products comes a few months after CVS announced the release of Spoken Rx, a feature of the CVS app that makes reading medicinal labels more accessible to the Blind and low vision. It was also the result of a collaborative effort, this one with the American Council for the Blind.
CVS says “most” of the new home health products are now available for purchase on the company’s website. They will hit the shelves of the more than 6,000 CVS Pharmacy retail stores nationwide beginning in March.