These pharmacies topped J.D. Power’s 2019 survey
The pharmacy industry continues to provide superior levels of customer satisfaction in the brick-and-mortar and mail-order segments, according to the J.D. Power 2019 U.S. Pharmacy Study, released last week. Communicating with the pharmacist and staff in person, as well as via digital options by early adopters of these technologies, are among the key factors driving customer satisfaction.
Good Neighbor Pharmacy ranked highest overall among brick-and-mortar chain drug stores, with a score of 914. Health Mart (893) ranked second and Rite Aid Pharmacy ranked third (865). Sam’s Club ranked highest overall among brick-and-mortar mass merchandiser pharmacies, with a score of 890. Costco (879) ranks second and CVS/pharmacy inside Target (869) ranks third. Among brick-and-mortar supermarket pharmacies, Wegmans ranked highest overall, with a score of 915. Publix (897) ranked second and Winn-Dixie (896) ranked third.
Humana Pharmacy ranked highest overall in mail order with a score of 900. Kaiser Permanente Pharmacy (886) ranks second and OptumRx (869) ranks third.
The 2019 study is based on responses from 12,059 pharmacy customers who filled a prescription during the three months prior to the survey period of May-June 2019.
“As technology companies promise to change the way Americans address their pharmacy needs, our data suggests that changing such entrenched behavior will be an uphill battle,” J.D. Power managing director of health intelligence Greg Truex, said, in a press statement. “Customers enjoy visiting their brick-and-mortar pharmacy and they get a great deal of satisfaction from speaking directly with pharmacists. However, the potential for technology disruption is there. Although, the frequency of use of digital solutions is low, early adopters are showing high levels of satisfaction.”
The study also found the following:
Good Neighbor Pharmacy ranked highest overall among brick-and-mortar chain drug stores, with a score of 914. Health Mart (893) ranked second and Rite Aid Pharmacy ranked third (865). Sam’s Club ranked highest overall among brick-and-mortar mass merchandiser pharmacies, with a score of 890. Costco (879) ranks second and CVS/pharmacy inside Target (869) ranks third. Among brick-and-mortar supermarket pharmacies, Wegmans ranked highest overall, with a score of 915. Publix (897) ranked second and Winn-Dixie (896) ranked third.
Humana Pharmacy ranked highest overall in mail order with a score of 900. Kaiser Permanente Pharmacy (886) ranks second and OptumRx (869) ranks third.
The 2019 study is based on responses from 12,059 pharmacy customers who filled a prescription during the three months prior to the survey period of May-June 2019.
“As technology companies promise to change the way Americans address their pharmacy needs, our data suggests that changing such entrenched behavior will be an uphill battle,” J.D. Power managing director of health intelligence Greg Truex, said, in a press statement. “Customers enjoy visiting their brick-and-mortar pharmacy and they get a great deal of satisfaction from speaking directly with pharmacists. However, the potential for technology disruption is there. Although, the frequency of use of digital solutions is low, early adopters are showing high levels of satisfaction.”
The study also found the following:
- The average customer satisfaction score with the pharmacist is above 940 on a 1,000-point scale when pharmacists cover four or more topics with the customer during their interaction, compared with just one (884) or two (917) topics;
- Most pharmacy customers that communicate with the pharmacist and staff do so in-person (89%), even though customers that use email or online live chat to interact with the pharmacist or staff are equally or more satisfied;
- About two-fifths (42%) of customers who are aware of their pharmacy’s health and wellness services have used one of the services in the past year. While those who have taken advantage of health and wellness services spent 12.5% more on their most recent prescription order, significantly less health and wellness customers received a prescription as a result of their participation in 2019 as compared with 2018; and
- Mobile app users more satisfied, but usage is stagnant: Only 20% of customers use a pharmacy’s mobile app, but those who did have satisfaction scores as much as 23 points higher than those who do not.