DSN INDUSTRY ISSUES SUMMIT systems. They see upwards of 40 to 60 patients a day, and many times, they just don’t have the time to focus on things like cognitive health. So where the pharmacy can add services, take the burden off the doctor, and possibly partner with these doctors and health systems to bring added clinical value to these patients while adding a new service/revenue stream, everyone benefits.” One way to increase opportunities for pharmacy is to expand the customer base being served, said panelist Kevin Barton, area vice president of business development at Tabula Rasa HealthCare, the parent company of PrescribeWellness. “The financial situation that pharmacy is in has caused us to focus predominantly on Medicare,” he said. “But there’s so much opportunity outside of Medicare. And when you look at average adherence rates, you’re seeing significantly higher adherence rates in Medicare versus other markets because that’s what we’ve focused on for the past 10 years. And so taking a step back and really focusing on the broader population is really an opportunity.”
Raising the Profile of Services
Also arising from the panel discussion were strategies on how to best communicate pharmacy’s value to consumers, including younger consumers who don’t yet have a deep connection to pharmacy. “We’re all on a healthcare journey and it changes throughout our lifetime,” said Lari Harding, vice president of product strategy and marketing at Inmar. “You have to meet the consumers where they are, and they’re on social. There are many good stories about how pharmacy is delivering good care and providing a good cost benefit to our patients. And you can tell those stories on social, and come together and use influencer marketing and other things to really make health care one of the pillars of your overall marketing strategy.” Choosing the right marketing platforms for different patients is an important objective, said H-E-B’s Norman. “We need to find the right marketing and advertising channels so that we can reach our customers in the way that they want to be reached with that important message,” he said. “That could be through a digital app or through social media. It could be through commercials and print advertising. We’ve
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February 2020 DRUGSTORENEWS.COM
The Pharmacy Services panel was focused on the value of pharmacy services, as well as how retailers and suppliers can support the business model, raise the profile of pharmacy services, collaborate on new opportunities and reach out to specific generations of patients.
got to get the message of the value of pharmacy and the value of the pharmacist out there to the community.”
Enhancing Business Models
Panelists pointed to the importance of helping to enhance the business model of pharmacy services. Cognivue’s O’Neill broached the idea of an “annual health or screening club” that would provide a suite of annual services for a set price. “That way you’re not selling everything à la carte, which can be difficult to manage,” he said. “You bring clinical value at a value price, and create stickiness. You would include everything in one reasonable price that still makes the retailer profitable.” Keeth of Sam’s Club cited a recently launched program at the company focused on providing bundles of healthcare services. The program, called Sam’s Club Care Accelerator Together With Humana, was launched in October with pilots in some markets. The initiative is geared to members, including small business owners. “We focus on how do we go out and use our economies of scale and relationships to bring in disparate companies and say,
‘Look, for $50 to $240 a year, depending on level chosen, you can save on our optical, you can save on prescriptions,’” Keeth said. “But we’re also going to give you discounts on other things, such as chiropractic and dentistry. And all that for one lump sum.” Panelists also underscored the importance of relaying to patients the long-term benefits of pharmacy services expenditures. This is especially important at a time when many consumers are paying for all of their prescription costs and increasingly scrutinizing their healthcare spending, said Inmar’s Harding. “The way a consumer thinks about how they make purchasing decisions in every other aspect of their lives has now entered health care,” she said. “So they’re interested in understanding, ‘How can I prevent cost? How can I lower my cost?’ And I think we need to get creative as an industry and be willing to say, ‘Hey, consumer, I’m going to provide you these services and here’s my fee for services.’ That might be a better deal for them than the $6,000 or $14,000 that they have to pay out of their own pocket when they don’t take good care of themselves.” dsn