New 'ACT!' program further elevates Ahold as pharmacy retailer to watch

Ahold USA is encouraging its pharmacists to be more proactive and form closer relationships with their patients with the launch of ACT!, a program that stands for “Acknowledge,” “Coach” and “Thank.”



Why is this important? Ahold is a pharmacy retailer to watch. Notice that DSN didn't say "supermarket pharmacy retailer"? 



That's because, to its credit, one of the things that sets Ahold apart from some other supermarket pharmacy retailers is that its leadership see themselves and the business as a drug store inside of a supermarket versus a supermarket pharmacy where health and wellness really had to take a backseat to just about every other part of the store. And that commitment is showing up in some pretty cool programs, like ACT! and more.



The ACT! program encourages pharmacists to be proactive — not reactive — and includes coaching patients about new therapies and therapy changes and personalizing the patient-pharmacist relationship.



Overall, the merging of pharmacy with food has been a major part of Ahold’s efforts to promote health and wellness among its consumers. For example, as DSN reported earlier this year, Ahold partnered with Unilever to sponsor in-store clinic programs with Quaker Oats to promote oatmeal as a way to lower cholesterol among those patients taking cholesterol-lowering medications.



The reality is that Ahold has demonstrated its commitment to pharmacy, and DSN expects to see more innovation from this team in the months ahead.