J.D. Power pharmacy rankings take downturn on negative Rx price perception
COSTA MESA, Calif. — The U.S. pharmacy industry, perennially one of the highest-scoring industries measured by J.D. Power, experienced notable declines in overall customer satisfaction this year, the research firm reported Tuesday. According to the J.D. Power 2017 U.S. Pharmacy Study, decreases in satisfaction with both brick-and-mortar and mail order pharmacies were driven primarily by declines in satisfaction with cost.
“Pharmacies have historically earned very high marks for customer satisfaction, so any significant year-over-year decline is cause for closer investigation,” stated Rick Johnson, director of the Healthcare Practice at J.D. Power. “Consumer concerns about rising drug prices have likely affected perceptions of the cost for their retail prescriptions. The decrease in satisfaction with cost is the primary drag on overall customer satisfaction, creating a serious challenge for retailers.”
Decreases in satisfaction with brick-and-mortar pharmacies were driven by year-over-year declines in satisfaction with cost, which fell 27 index points to 789 (on a 1,000-point scale), and the in-store experience, a 14-point drop to 851. Decreases in satisfaction with mail order pharmacies were driven by declines in satisfaction with cost (minus 49 to 787) and the prescription ordering process (minus 15 to 877).
This year’s study measured drug adherence levels across the different pharmacy channels for the first time, and found that 79% of customers who filled prescriptions through a brick-and-mortar pharmacy reported they always were adherent to their medications. This compares with 84% among mail order customers and 74% among specialty pharmacy customers. Customers who discussed a prescription with a pharmacist in a brick-and-mortar pharmacy at the time of pick-up had the highest overall levels of adherence.
Among all channels studied, supermarkets had the highest levels of overall customer satisfaction (859), followed by mail order (853); hospital or clinic (851); chain drug stores (849); specialty pharmacy (842); and mass merchandisers (839).
AmerisourceBergen's Good Neighbor Pharmacy ranked highest overall among brick-and-mortar chain drug stores with a score of 889. McKesson's Health Mart (886) ranked second and Cardinal Health's The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy ranked third (879).
Sam’s Club ranked highestoverall among brick-and-mortar mass merchandisers with a score of 874. Fred’s (873) ranked second and Costco (875) ranked third. While CVS Pharmacy at Target placed fifth this year, it had the largest increase in satisfaction of any pharmacy from 2016 (+20).
Brookshire Grocery ranked highest overall among brick-and-mortar supermarkets with a score of 894. H-E-B (893) ranked second and BI-LO (891) ranked third.
Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy ranked highest among specialty pharmacies with a score of 853. BriovaRx (851) ranked second and CVS Specialty/CVS Caremark (840) ranked third.