What is in this article?:
- Pharmacies Fight Diabetes
- Proven Results
- Feel Good Pharmacy
Retail pharmacists are forging strong patient bonds under UnitedHealth Group’s Diabetes Control Program
Feel Good Pharmacy
It’s an ideal for the pharmacy profession, he added, illustrating the company’s overall attitude toward its pharmacist and patient relationships.
Rite Aid’s relationship with the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance is an important first step to show patients with diabetes they aren’t alone, said Robert Thompson, Rite Aid’s executive vice president of pharmacy, in a statement.
For Cub and Shop ’n Save, pharmacists have a passion for patient care services, and it shows in the quality of their work, said Reames. “These services result in stronger patient relationships and really drive that customer loyalty.”
Consumers feel that having a relationship with their local pharmacists is the next best thing to having extended access to their primary care physician, said Passikoff. “This model of increased engagement between retailer and customer is poised to continue, as consumers are apt to give money and attention to the retailer best meeting increasing expectations,” he added.
Parallel to this development has been the growth in retail clinics, said Millard.
The number of health clinics, which provide low-cost health care from nurse practitioners or physician assistants, was at 1,355 at the beginning of 2012 and is set to climb to 1,500 by year-end, according to “The ConvUrgentCare Report on United States Walk-In Clinics,” released earlier this year by research consultancy Merchant Medicine. Walk-in clinics are poised for 10% growth in 2013.
More news: Study: Customers Prefer Brick-and-Mortar Pharmacy
“Retail clinics are oriented toward providing more than immunizations,” said Millard. “They can conduct a lot of the same services that a primary care doctor can provide.” Whether it’s clinics or pharmacist consultations, consumers are craving that kind of access and attention, retailers said.
“National retail pharmacies — including supermarkets with pharmacy locations — are a well-known and trusted entity in local communities, making them a key partner in delivering intervention visits and lab work to our enrolled members,” said Mills.
The Diabetes Control Program has not released results, but Mills said the program is experiencing similar outcomes to those published by The Asheville Project, in which the number of patients with optimal HbA1c values increased at each follow-up, and more than 50% showed improvements in cholesterol levels on every measurement.
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