CVS Health plans to separate its retail pharmacy chain from its healthcare services businesses, creating two distinct companies. The proposed names are CVS Pharmacy and CVS Health. The company expects the separation to be completed in the first half of 2028, subject to a final approval process involving its board.
The move would reverse some of the expansion that brought different parts of healthcare under one company. For business owners, the announcement is a useful prompt to examine whether a business’s structure still helps it serve customers and run well. It is not a reason to copy CVS’s decision. It is a reason to ask whether your own services, systems and teams are working together effectively.
The Digital Commerce 360 report on CVS Health’s planned separation describes the proposed structure and the company’s stated rationale. Here is what small and growing businesses can take from it.
What CVS Health has announced
CVS Health intends to separate its retail pharmacy chain from its health care services business units. The company says the two businesses would become CVS Pharmacy and CVS Health. Until the separation is completed, CVS Health will continue operating as a combined company.
The services staying together under the CVS Health name would include Aetna, CVS Caremark and CVS Specialty, as well as its value-based care and in-home health businesses. CVS Pharmacy would focus on the retail pharmacy business. The company says both businesses will continue advancing technology solutions to improve the healthcare experience.
CVS describes the plan as a move towards two more focused companies. Chairman and CEO David Joyner said the aim is to improve consumer engagement, affordability and care coordination. Prem Shah, currently group president, is slated to become CEO of CVS Pharmacy. Joyner is expected to lead the new incarnation of CVS Health as chairman and CEO.
The plan is still a process, not a completed restructuring. The transition must go before the CVS Health Board of Directors for final approval. The company expects to complete the separation in the first half of 2028.
Why a large company might choose focus
CVS Health has expanded through acquisitions, including the Caremark acquisition in 2007 and the Aetna acquisition in 2018. Its plan to split up parts of the business would walk back two decades of expansion and mergers. The source also notes that retail pharmacies broadly face competition and other pressures.
The company’s stated case is that two focused businesses can improve engagement, affordability and coordination of care. That is CVS’s rationale, not proof that separation will automatically deliver those results. But the decision raises a question that applies to businesses of any size: does your structure make it easier to deliver what customers need?
A business may offer several services, sell through different channels or support distinct customer groups. Combining them can make sense when the parts share customers, processes and expertise. It can also create complexity if each part needs different priorities, skills or ways of serving customers. The right structure depends on how the work fits together, not on whether a company is large or small.
For a growing business, this might mean reviewing whether a service line needs a clearer owner, whether an online shop and a physical store share accurate stock information, or whether support requests are being handled consistently. Those are questions to investigate, not reasons to reorganise immediately.
Treat customer experience as a business design question
CVS’s announcement connects the proposed split with consumer engagement, affordability and care coordination. Its statement also describes CVS Pharmacy as a frequently accessed consumer health touchpoint. The wider lesson is that a business’s structure matters partly because customers experience its consequences.
Customers do not see an organisation chart. They see whether they can find the right information, get a clear answer, complete a purchase and receive support when something goes wrong. If responsibilities are unclear inside a business, customers may experience hand-offs, delays or inconsistent information. A new structure alone cannot fix those problems, but clear ownership can help a business identify who should act.
Start by mapping a customer’s path through your business. Note where they discover your offer, ask questions, buy, receive the product or service, and seek help afterwards. Then check whether each step has an owner and whether the information passed between steps is reliable.
If customers contact your business through several channels, a help desk and customer support app can help give each request an owner, priority and deadline. If customer details and follow-ups are scattered, a CRM system can help organise leads, conversations and deals. Choose tools to address a specific operational issue, rather than adding software because a larger company is changing its structure.
Separate activities only when the case is clear
CVS’s proposed separation is a substantial strategic decision. A smaller business should not assume that splitting teams, brands or services will bring the same benefits. Changing structures can also mean changing responsibilities and processes. The source does not detail how CVS will manage every operational effect, so business owners should not treat the announcement as a ready-made blueprint.
Before making a change, define the problem you are trying to solve. Is a service difficult to manage alongside the rest of the business? Are customers confused about what you offer? Does each activity need a different sales process or operational workflow? If the problem is unclear, a structural change may add work without resolving its cause.
Then compare the options. You might clarify roles, create a separate service line within the existing business, improve a process, or consider a more substantial separation. Write down what would change for customers, staff and day-to-day operations under each option. Make sure the proposed structure has a clear person responsible for each important decision.
Where stock, purchasing, sales and finance need to work together, review whether your systems support that connection. A business management system can bring those activities into one platform. The purpose of a review is to find the actual gap and choose a proportionate response, not to install a system or reorganise by default.
Plan change as a process, not an announcement
CVS says its separation is expected to happen in the first half of 2028, and the board still needs to give final approval. That timeline underlines an important point: major changes involve stages. A business owner can apply the same discipline to a smaller decision, even when the change is limited to one team or service.
Set out what is known, what remains undecided and who needs to approve the change. Identify which customers, staff, suppliers and systems could be affected. Decide how you will explain the change and where people can ask questions. Keep existing operations clear while planning the transition.
It also helps to define what you want to learn before making a change permanent. For example, you may want to find out whether customers understand a revised offer or whether a new process makes responsibilities clearer. Use feedback and operational observations to review the decision. Avoid claiming that a change has worked before you have evidence from your own business.
What to do next
Use CVS Health’s announcement as a reason to review your own business, not as a template to copy.
- List your main activities. Note the services, customer groups and sales channels your business supports.
- Find the friction. Identify customer complaints, repeated hand-offs, unclear ownership or processes that do not connect well.
- Ask customers and staff. Find out where people struggle and what information they need at each step.
- Compare practical options. Consider clarifying responsibilities or improving a workflow before making a larger structural change.
- Plan a review. Set out who will act, what will change and how you will check whether the change addresses the original problem.
A more focused structure can be useful when it solves a real business problem. The first step is to understand that problem clearly. Decide on the change only after you know how it could affect customers and daily operations.
Sources
- CVS Health to split retail pharmacy and health care service into two companies — Digital Commerce 360, Nov 4, 2026
This article was drafted with AI from the sources above, then published only after passing 20 automated checks: every figure must appear in the sources, links must work, and nothing may be invented. Spotted an error? Tell us and we'll correct it.
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