Katie Scanlon, senior director of pharmacy administration at Publix. Publix has 1,256 pharmacies across Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. Our Publix Pharmacy offers immunizations (by online appointment or walk up); medication therapy management; medication synchronization; we accept healthy benefits via Solutran for customers in participating plans; dually accredited specialty pharmacy licensed in all 50 states with access to many limited distribution drugs; compounding; higi stations at all pharmacies where customers can check metrics like blood pressure and weight; pet medications; pharmacist prescribing where permitted for products (i.e., naloxone, scopolamine patches and naproxen sodium); Medicare plan finder tool for patients ageing into Medicare; bedside delivery to patients being discharged from our partner health systems; biometric screenings (Alabama pharmacies); drug disposal kiosks (select locations) and telehealth kiosks (select locations).
Angie Nelson, senior vice president, pharmacy at Hy-Vee: Hy-Vee operates more than 285 retail pharmacies across our eight-state region which includes Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin. We employ more than 1,000 registered pharmacists and 1,400 certified pharmacy technicians.
We also operate Amber Specialty Pharmacy, a national specialty pharmacy provider that operates 19 pharmacies across the United States with the ability to ship medications to all 50 states, plus Puerto Rico.
At Hy-Vee, we strive to be a one-stop destination for our patients. We know how important health is to our customers and their families and that’s why we strive to provide convenient and affordable pharmacy services. Patients can pick up a prescription but also speak with a pharmacist about immunization needs and how to determine which Medicare Part D plan is the best for them. To go one step further, we have also added point-of-care services so patients can get evaluated and prescribed treatment for common illnesses, like COVID-19 and flu without having to visit a doctor.
Hy-Vee pharmacies provide our patients with a variety of services. Our Hy-Vee staff is certified to administer routine immunizations and are happy to provide a free immunization screening to patients upon request. We offer personalized medication counseling to enhance patient understanding of medications and the conditions they treat.
Our pharmacies provide convenient services such as automatic refills to make our patients’ lives easier. Prescriptions are automatically filled ahead of time and patients receive a call, text or email when their order is ready. We also offer family pharmacy accounts, which makes it easy to manage everyone’s prescriptions, select convenient pickup times and even transfer prescriptions. We’ve also introduced a prescription prepay service to create a faster pickup experience for our customers. We provide prescription delivery and ship-to-home services for the ease of use for our patients.
Most recently, we’ve started offering low-cost, over-the-counter hearing aids in some of our pharmacies, with no prescription or hearing exam required.
Question 2: How are you addressing social determinants of health?
Watkins: The kinds of food people have access to often can have a direct impact on their health, but in our current society, food and health are still separated when it comes to medical care. We sit at the nexus of food and pharmacy, which positions Kroger Health to improve outcomes through simplified health, wellness and nutrition solutions. With 90% of the U.S. population living within five miles of a pharmacy, Kroger Health is providing these communities access to healthcare resources. According to the USDA, the primary grocery shopper for a household made 1.6 trips to the grocery store per week in 2022. As the average American only visits their primary care doctor four times per year, this creates a unique opportunity for Kroger and Kroger Health to play a direct role in providing comprehensive healthcare resources in a single location. At Kroger Health, access to health care is no farther away than your neighborhood grocery store.
Shirley: Giant’s pharmacy teams seek community partnerships to offer clinics and health screenings to underserved populations. Over the past two years, the company has partnered with state and federal governments to administer free COVID-19 vaccinations. It also extended its reach beyond its pharmacy walls to provide necessary services in a variety of locations, including schools, churches and even a local zoo to serve underserved populations. Lastly, Giant offers Guiding Stars, a free, accessible tool for customers to make healthier grocery shopping decisions. This easy, accessible program helps customers make healthier choices without needing an extensive knowledge of nutritional labels. All items receive a rating from one to three stars, with three being the best nutritional value. Customers can see the rating on the shelf tag or product packaging.
Orlando: Stop & Shop Pharmacy recognizes the important role that social determinants of health play in our patients' lives and health outcomes. We are committed to offering convenient, in-store services 7 days a week at all of our pharmacy locations as well as webinar-based education to further accommodate our customers' needs. In making immunization recommendations and providing comprehensive medication reviews to patients, our pharmacists incorporate patient-specific strategies to overcome barriers and meet the needs of the individual patient.
Scanlon: We actively screen patients for immunization needs and serve as a resource for patients who may not have a medical home. We offer medication synchronization in order to help patients stay adherent and streamline trips to the pharmacy. We work to drive down patient out-of-pocket expenses through a variety of ways, including a highly efficient centralized prior authorization management team, a value priced formulary ($7.50 program), Relay Health e-voucher participation and we try to work with as many payers as possible to ensure adequate access for our customers.