Shopko: Providing personal service
Shopko Pharmacy had an excellent 2016, led by total prescription growth and increased days of supply, with continued growth in 90-day fills as a percent of prescription fills. “A key driver of our growth was our passion for providing personalized service in all of our pharmacies, with short wait times, expert medication advice and chronic disease counseling,” Darren Singer, Shopko’s SVP, health and wellness, told Drug Store News.
“With Shopko focused on delivering five-star quality care, medication adherence is critical. We focus on CMS quality measures centered on MTM/CMR completion rates, high [generic dispensing rates/generic efficiency rates], statins, diabetes and more in every store,” he said.
Immunizations also enjoyed strong growth — up in the double digits in the past two years, Singer noted — driven by a strong flu campaign despite a comparatively low flu incidence level in many markets during the season. “Our teams used state immunization registries and patient health records to ensure our patients and community are protected by trained and caring Shopko pharmacists,” Singer said. “Shopko Pharmacy was also active in opening new pharmacies, primarily in Shopko Hometown stores, which are smaller format stores in rural, under-served communities. These Shopko Hometown pharmacies offer greater access to quality care, right in their local community, helping providers and payers serve patients and members in an effective way.”
Forward thinking
Shopko, which primarily operates in rural locations, added nine stores since DSN ran its last report one year ago, with total sales and sales per store both growing in 2016 versus the prior year. The Green Bay, Wis.-based company now has 381 locations, 270 of which house a pharmacy.
As the pharmacy industry continues to evolve and explore new and better ways to serve patients, Shopko increasingly is partnering with its wholesaler and manufacturer partners to expand assortment, reduce costs and ensure peak service levels in each of its pharmacies. One area in which company executives believe they may have an advantage over other pharmacy retailers is by leveraging the range of healthcare solutions it has in its box.
“Shopko pharmacists’ goal of providing solutions for all patient needs extends to counseling on OTC categories, leveraging the expertise of the most accessible and trusted healthcare provider,” Singer said. “Our OTC assortment [is] adjacent to our pharmacies, helping pharmacists get out from the behind the counter to help patients make the right choices. Shopko also has the unique advantage of having 140 Optical Centers across our enterprise, which, when combined with pharmacy, OTC, diabetes care and [durable medical equipment], create a destination for health and wellness.”
One good example of how the chain is trying to create a “one-stop destination” is in diabetes care, which Shopko has expanded to a comprehensive 12-ft. planogram in all stores. Another change has been the refresh of its DME assortment both in store and online, where customers can order products for ship-to-home or ship-to-store.
Shopko also completed the installation of higi screening kiosks in all of its pharmacy stores in late 2016. Using data collected from the higi kiosks, which screen patients’ weight, BMI, blood pressure and heart rate, Shopko this year plans to offer challenges and incentives for its customers to get to know their numbers, take control of their health and work with their doctors and Shopko pharmacists to help improve their health. The technology may be new, but for Shopko it’s part of the company’s 50-year tradition of improving the quality of life for its patients, Singer said. “Shopko Pharmacy continues to innovate and expand services to help our patients achieve their health-and-wellness goals,” he said.