Healthcare systems around the world are struggling to meet the needs of patients. Governments hope pharmacies can fill the gap by allowing them to offer a wider range of services.
In many countries, patients are accustomed to seeking out a pharmacist’s advice, often in place of going to a doctor. North American consumers, however, see pharmacies as a place to buy health-related products, not to seek care. How can pharmacies successfully integrate a wider range of healthcare services?
Let’s Ask Ourselves What It Means to Provide Healthcare
Many North Americans sought healthcare services at a pharmacy for the first time during COVID because it was the only option available. But are consumers ready to become patients at retail pharmacies today? There are some key expectations of healthcare that pharmacies will need to address if they want people to take them seriously as health service providers.
Healthcare is Private
Pharmacies will need to inspire confidence in their competency in services that can be deeply sensitive. One of the biggest barriers to gaining that legitimacy is the lack of privacy in most pharmacies today. No one wants to discuss UTIs or show the pharmacist a rash at the counter of a busy pharmacy. A screen or bank-style barrier may be acceptable for some circumstances, but in many cases, a closed door is essential.
The solution? A healthcare service experience must offer a high level of privacy when it is needed. Not every patient will require a private room, but it should be offered for any potentially sensitive consultation. Consultation rooms need to look professional and shouldn’t serve double duty as an office or storage space. Today, a single room will often be enough, but long-term, more rooms will be needed, so it’s best to plan for that.
Healthcare is Serious
How do North Americans feel about accessing healthcare at the same place they’re buying nail polish and batteries? Though many front-store product categories are a good fit with healthcare, others are a questionable fit. Some, such as potato chips and soda, seem to be at odds with the provision of healthcare services. How can retail pharmacies emphasize a serious focus on health while offering a robust front-store assortment?
Solution A. New Layouts to Separate Services from Product. Create physical separation between front-store offerings and health clinics. This can be achieved through new layouts, visual cues, and even different branding.
Solution B. Assortment Rationalization. Unless you expand your footprint, a clinic will eat into your front store. Many brands are reluctant to pull big sellers, even if they’re at odds with a health focus. And it could be argued that it’s condescending to pull soda, even while offering diabetes-related care. That being said, many retail pharmacies no longer sell cigarettes based on a similar rationale. The bottom line is that you need space to build a clinic, and if expanding the footprint isn’t an option, cutting products that don’t speak to a health-focused position should be considered.
Solution C. Tone Matters. How you speak about your brand may need to change, depending on how well your current position aligns with a focus on health. Retail pharmacies should consider a repositioning exercise to support a health-focused direction. A useful first step is to define your company’s value proposition to ensure your brand message aligns with a health-first strategy.
Image Source: SLD
Healthcare is Compassionate
The most common thing people notice about their pharmacy is that it’s always busy. Pharmacists may want to offer great service, but have too many tasks to juggle. Great service from a pharmacy team is a strong driver of loyalty and will become more important as more services are offered. Rethinking how pharmacies hire, train, and staff is essential to shifting towards health services.
Solution A. Automate mundane work. Fostering excellence in service will require offloading time-consuming, mundane tasks. There are many automated tools to support this goal.
Solution b. Rework staffing models. The retail category broadly has over-rationalized staffing to the point that there are only enough people to complete tasks, but not enough to provide good service. A poor first healthcare experience at a pharmacy will kill the chance of a second. Retail pharmacies should aim to offer better service than the average healthcare provider, giving patients a good reason to come back. This means new staffing levels, potentially new roles, and training focused on a care-centric philosophy.
Healthcare is Complex
Healthcare is a broad field with many branches, making the transition to services more challenging. The path to profitability is long, and investment can be significant. Is it worth it?
Solution A. Go big to gain a market advantage. CVS is a good example of how to extend into healthcare services. They’re acquiring brands in the healthcare space to broaden their capabilities, giving them immediate access to experience and knowledge. Shoppers Drug Mart demonstrates how fast-moving real-world tests can get you ahead. After opening a handful of physician-led clinics, regulations in Canada opened up to allow more services to be delivered by pharmacists. Innovation was redirected to a pharmacy-led clinic, with the goal of 250 such clinics across Canada by the end of 2025. First-mover advantage will widen the gap between leaders and followers in the category.
Solution B. Digital is a must. Digital delivery of healthcare varies significantly by region, but it’s an inevitable and important part of the future. Retail pharmacies should be at the forefront of offering digital health services.
Image Source: CVS Official Website
Pharmacist-Led Clinics Are Necessary – But Not All Pharmacies Will Succeed in Delivering
Pharmacist-led clinics are needed. With millions of North Americans struggling to find a family doctor, emergency rooms overflowing, and an aging population, shifting some care to pharmacies is critical. Retail pharmacies that provide exceptional service, appropriate facilities, and communicate a shift through rebranding and reconfigured layouts will lead the category and find new revenue streams as they become accepted as a healthcare provider, rather than just a drugstore.
