It’s been a wierd few years for impartial pharmacies. From the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating innovation to the fast uptake of expertise throughout well being care areas, many impartial pharmacists have wanted to vary how their pharmacies function.

A 2022 report revealed by Prescryptive Health titled “Rewriting the Script: Independent Pharmacy Trends” checked out developments thathave already led tobig modifications within the pharmacy panorama and examined why now’s the time for impartial pharmacists to evolve and seize these alternatives.¹

Paige Clark, RPh, vp of pharmacy packages and coverage for Prescryptive Health, famous that regardless of some difficult headwinds, most impartial pharmacies are in an incredible place for progress.“Within the next decade, a physician shortage and aging population means that the demand for healthcare services will outpace supply,” she mentioned, including that whereas one-quarter of US adults are at the moment and not using a major care supplier, greater than 50% of the inhabitants takes a prescription medicine at the least as soon as a month. That means alternative for pharmacists.

“Things are changing so fast in our pharmacy ecosystem that it became imperative that we, as partners to community pharmacy, absolutely understand what is happening,” Clark defined. “We had the ability not only to look nationwide and determine the most important factors that ultimately will impact not only the profession, but to also address the profitability challenges.”

Erin Koenemann, senior director of selling at Prescryptive Health, was instrumental in placing collectively the report, accumulating well timed and vital info designed to assist impartial pharmacists proceed to thrive. “Part of our approach was to also understand consumers; a lot of their behaviors have been impacted by the pandemic and there’s more openness to using their mobile phones,” Koenemann mentioned. “We knew that technology was really important to pharmacies but we didn’t realize how important it could be to their business and also for the consumers who frequent the pharmacies.”

The Price You Pay

A 2022 report by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) revealed that 3 in 10 American adults have, sooner or later through the previous 12 months, not taken a drugs as prescribed due to price.² This followsearlier reporting from KFF displaying that half of adults—roughly 4 in 10—within the United States have problem affording the prices related to accessing well being careand have delayed or gone with out care in consequence.³ 

Exorbitant well being care prices are additionally 1 motive expertise has turn into such an vital instrument for a lot of, with people throughout the nation turning to the online to order prescriptions and discover higher offers at totally different pharmacies.“Consumers want to have more control overtheir prescriptions and technological innovation can help them find that control,” Clark mentioned.

According to Prescryptive’s report, 95% of shoppers had been at the least considerably conscious that medicine could possibly be priced in another way amongpharmacies, with 72% of respondents indicating they might be probably to make use of their cell phone to check drug costs and store round. “We saw a growing rule of consumerism and the need for technology in pharmacy,” Koenemann mentioned.

For shoppers, the advantages of this entry to pricing info are myriad. The report famous that 90% of shoppers would admire understanding the worth of medicine earlier than really attending to the pharmacy;an extra 85percentindicated that having this information would enhance their pharmacy expertise total. What’s extra, 73% of these surveyed mentioned they might discuss to their well being care supplier about prescription price—in the event that they knew these numbers upfront.

“Empowering discussions at the point of prescribing vsthe point of dispensing could help patients become more adherent to their medications, especially when cost is a concern,” Clark defined. “Our findings show that not only are a large majority of consumers hungry to shop—especially with mobile devices—but that the ability to do so will help retain business.”

Clark added that the tipping level for this consumerism has been the COVID-19 pandemic, which has accelerated shoppers’ adoption of expertise at a price that pharmacy hasn’t skilled.“ When I talk to pharmacists today, it’s no longer about just trying technology, but about getting in line right now because this is happening,” she defined. “Community pharmacy is going to live or die depending on how quickly they adapt and we’ve never had to pivot this quickly before.”

The Digital Platform

Decision-makers at impartial pharmacies perceive the necessity for comfort and experience and are beginning to acknowledge how expertise may also help preserve and exceed their present requirements whereas driving profitability.

In reality, greater than 90% of pharmacists who responded to the Prescryptive survey consider that expertise canhelp enhance their pharmacy’s profitability and in addition enhance the whole affected person expertise when used the suitable means. But regardless of this perception, the survey outcomes present that solely 53% of pharmacists are literally using the expertise essential to compete for sufferers and 40% of pharmacists aren’t utilizing expertise to their fullest potential.

These outcomes, then, arrange a major alternative for pharmacists keen to embrace expertise to the fullest within the coming 12 months.

Money Matters

Another pattern that has built-in itself within the pharmacy world is new money pay choices, an space during which pharmacists and shoppers alike are nonetheless studying extra.

“We are at the beginning of a new year; we don’t want community pharmacists getting 6 months into the year before they pick their heads up and realize how dramatic the shift has been in increased deductibles,” Clark mentioned. “Understanding different cash options is the most urgent trend to keep our community pharmacies healthy when it comes to AI [artificial intelligence]-optimized pricing.”

Based on current numbers, roughly 10% of prescriptions had been paid using money low cost packages in 2021, a rise from 6% 5 years earlier, although greater than 50% of these purchases had been made with low cost playing cards. Many pharmacists, dismayed by the exorbitant charges, lack of reimbursement, and total messy scenario created by low cost playing cards, have stopped accepting them.But regardless of this resolution, pharmacists are often required to honor sure drug low cost playing cards attributable to contracts with pharmacy benefitmanagers. As 1 survey respondent described it, “The fee to process discount cards, coupled with the low copay rate, leads to a financial loss for the pharmacy the majority of the time.”

Still, respondents noticed on common a 38% enhance in low cost program utilization during the last 2 years, with 56% accepting money and/or low cost playing cards.“People are unaware that many of the popular discount cards can potentially harm independent pharmacies,” Clark famous.

Perhaps surprisingly, the report discovered that 31% of shoppers paid out of pocket for medicines and 61% of shoppers paid money—regardless of having insurance coverage. The reasoning? Respondents indicated that their medicine was cheaper with a reduction card than with their insurance coverage.

Essentially, Clark defined, sufferers are extraordinarily loyal to their pharmacists and lots of don’t perceive how these low cost playing cards damage. In reality, 75% of shoppers indicated that they might be keen to pay barely extra for a drugs through the use of a reduction card that didn’t negatively influence their dwelling pharmacy. “This shows consumers are more inclined to prefer pharmacy-friendly options when theyare educated about the negative impacts of cash discount programs,” she said. “Additionally, 88% of consumers said they would be willing to switch discount card programs if the discount card company was selling their personal data, even if it meant paying slightly more.” Therefore, a technology-driven cash discount solution that benefits both parties is the solution that could strengthen independent pharmacies’ financial position while delivering on consumer demands.

“There’s a lot of inconsistency from the independent pharmacy’s point of view in how they have a price strategy,” Clark said. “Many have price matching for discount cards, but we believe [that strategy] results in the lowest price and the race to the bottom, which would mean more profitloss.”

What’s the solution, then, as independent pharmacies are trying to grow and become more profitable? One possibility, Clark noted, is a smart pricing solution driven by AI that can keep customers happy and boost a pharmacy’s bottom line. Prescryptive’sdata show that 93% of pharmacy decision-makers believe they offer competitive prices; 16% revealed they try to be the lowest-cost pharmacy available to consumers—but knowing for certain if that’s true is a challenge. AI pricing can take the guesswork out of drug pricing by using data-driven insights and expert analytics to provide accurate, profitable pricing that flexes by drug and fairly positions a pharmacy against other stores, big and small.

Looking Ahead

As changes to the industry show no sign of slowing down, forward-looking report data are helpful to predict what might become a reality for independent pharmacists over the next 2 years. According to Clark, some of the data points from the report reveal the key differentiators that can set pharmacies apart based on what consumers are seeking.

A whopping 93% of pharmacist decision-makers believe that pharmacists will play a biggerrole in serving the health care needs of their communities over the next few years—and that technology will be a key driver of the changing role. At the same time, 91% of consumers expect technology to be the reason pharmacies retaintheir business.

“Decision-makers are focusing on improving or providing exceptional customer service, improving their pricing strategy, and adopting advanced technology,” Clark said.

References

1. Rewriting the script: independent pharmacy trends. Prescryptive Health. 2022. Accessed January 23, 2023.https://prescryptive.com/2022-pharmacy-study/ 

2. Hamel L, Lopes L, Kirzinger A, et al. Public opinion on prescribed drugs and their costs. Kaiser Family Foundation. October 20, 2022. Accessed January 23, 2022. https://www.kff.org/health-costs/poll-finding/public-opinion-on-prescription-drugs-and-their-prices/

3. Montero A, Kearney A, Hamel L, Brodie M. Americans’ challenges with well being care prices. Kaiser Family Foundation. July 14, 2022. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://www.kff.org/health-costs/issue-brief/americans-challenges-with-health-care-costs/