WOONSOCKET – Dr. Troyen A. “Troy” Brennan, a former hospital administrator and chief medical officer at insurance giant Aetna Inc., has been selected by CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS) for the new post of executive vice president and chief medical officer.

“Troy Brennan is a highly regarded national health care expert who not only understands the challenges of health care today, but has hands-on experience with all aspects of the health care delivery system,” Chairman, CEO and President Thomas M. Ryan said yesterday in the after-market announcement.

His experience – “as a former practicing physician, hospital administrator with background in quality-care measurement and leader of a top health care insurer” – “will help strengthen our company’s integrated approach to improving access, affordability and quality of care,” Ryan added. “He is a great addition to our management team.”

Brennan comes to CVS Caremark from Aetna – the nation’s third-largest health insurer – where he was responsible for clinical operations, national quality management, disease management and other programs. He previously had served as president and CEO of the Brigham and Women’s Physicians Organization in Boston, and before that, as director of quality measurement and improvement at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He also has written several books and numerous scholarly papers, and has served on the faculties of Harvard Medical School, Harvard Law School and the Harvard School of Public Health.

A member of the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences, Brennan earned his M.D. and master of public health degrees at Yale Medical School; a J.D. from Yale Law School; a master’s degree from Oxford University in England, which he attended as a Rhode’s Scholar; and his bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University in Texas.

He will oversee the company’s MinuteClinic and Accordant Health Care divisions, as well as assuming responsibility for clinical and medical affairs and overall health care strategy.

“CVS Caremark has integrated retail pharmacy, pharmacy-management services and health care clinics to reach more than 4 million consumers every day,” Brennan said in a statement. “The company is positioned, like no other, to help improve outcomes and lower overall health care costs.

“I look forward to helping CVS Caremark further its mission to increase access to affordable, high-quality pharmacy care through its proactive pharmacy-care model,” he said.

CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS) – the nation’s largest provider of prescription medications – operates the CVS/pharmacy stores; the CVS.com online pharmacy; Caremark Pharmacy Services; and the MinuteClinic retail-based health care subsidiary. Additional information is available at investor.cvs.com.