Dear Colleague,
Community pharmacy owners take pride in being connected to their communities and patients. But what do consumers say about how much they value their pharmacist when their pharmacist isn't around to hear? NCPA's latest consumer survey found the answers.
The NCPA Innovation Center commissioned a consumer survey of 1,390 adults that was done last week by Public Policy Polling, a national polling company. Consumers were asked for feedback in three areas—where they prefer to get their COVID vaccination (if they are getting one), their attitudes toward mail order, and how many times they have benefited from the advice of a pharmacist for minor ailments. Next week NCPA will release the results of the vaccination preferences part of the survey. Be on the lookout: you might be surprised at the results. I know I was.
I was not surprised, however, at what consumers had to say about their preference for local pharmacies over mail order. Despite a pandemic that has driven millions of people into voluntary and involuntary quarantine-at-home mode, 85 percent of consumers want to go to their local pharmacy or, said a different way, nearly 90 percent of consumers don't want to be forced into using a mail order pharmacy.
I have to confess that mail order hits a nerve with me as the lowest common denominator in our profession. Prescriptions are the pharmacist's tool. We use medications to do our work. By themselves, however, they are as effective as a hammer without a skilled carpenter. Apparently consumers share some of the same feelings about mail order. The pandemic has caused a 133 percent increase in the number of shoppers who shopped heavily or exclusively online last year, but consumers still prefer to talk to a pharmacist. Despite a barrage of insurance companies trying to steer patients into mail order, consumers remain resolute: they want to talk with their pharmacist. In fact, more than one-third of the consumers who prefer their local pharmacy said it was because their pharmacist knows them better than a mail order company. Another one-third cited a similar reason: "My pharmacist can answer my questions and counsel me on how to use the drugs." Probably not surprisingly, 15 percent of consumers were worried about their prescriptions being exposed to the elements, stolen, or lost in the mail. My kids just got a Valentine's Day card from grandma and grandpa … postmarked Feb. 10! Understandably, consumers are worried about the unreliability of getting their prescriptions anywhere but their local pharmacy.
We also wanted to hear what consumers had to say about tapping their pharmacist's expertise to help them with minor ailments like cold sores, insect stings, diaper rash, etc. —the type of services pharmacists offer all the time that, to the best of my knowledge, have never been provided by a mailbox. Just under half (45 percent) of consumers in the survey said they had consulted a pharmacist and most of those people did so because of the convenience of their local pharmacist.
As it turns out, when asked, consumers crave the connection with their local pharmacist—not some anonymous mail order warehouse. Legislators and media need to hear how consumers feel about their local pharmacist. NCPA is blasting out the message but feel free to echo it to your legislators and media. After all, if legislators and media are like most consumers — they crave connecting with you.
Best,
Douglas Hoey, Pharmacist, MBA
NCPA CEO
