Supermarket pharmacies earn highest customer-satisfaction scores

Supermarket pharmacies averaged the highest customer-satisfaction scores on J.D. Power’s “2015 U.S. Pharmacy Study,” with Wegman’s, Publix, and H-E-B earning the best marks in that category.

See also: Interaction with pharmacist key to patient satisfaction: J.D. Power study

The study calculated scores for brick-and-mortar stores on a 1,000-point scale based on customer satisfaction with prescription ordering, stores, cost competitiveness, non-pharmacist staff, and pharmacist. Mail-order pharmacies received scores based on cost competitiveness, prescription delivery, prescription-ordering process, and customer-service experience.

The study is drawn from responses from 14,914 pharmacy customers who filled a new prescription or refilled a prescription during a specified survey period.

See also: Customers increasingly dissatisfied with mail-order pharmacies

Overall, customer satisfaction with supermarket pharmacies (843 to 851), and with chain drugstores (840 to 842) improved. However, customer satisfaction scores with mail-order pharmacies (822 to 820) and mass-merchandiser pharmacies (830 to 822) both declined.

“The healthcare industry has undergone tremendous changes in recent years, and more changes are coming, so stable customer satisfaction with pharmacies is very positive,” said Rick Johnson, J.D. Power’s director of the healthcare practice. “Pharmacies serve as a benchmark for other entities in the healthcare ecosystem, as they continue to have the highest levels of customer satisfaction in the healthcare industry, demonstrating that focusing on customer satisfaction is good for both patients and businesses.”

Wegman’s (887), Publix (871) and H-E-B (866) received the highest scores for supermarket pharmacies. In the mass-merchandiser area, Target (858), Sam’s Club (847) and Meijer (842) earned the highest customer-satisfaction scores.

Of the brick-and-mortar pharmacies, Good Neighbor (876), Health Mart (871), and The Medicine Shoppe (861) received the highest scores.

“Congratulations to the independent community pharmacists and owners who achieved such high customer-satisfaction ratings in this year’s survey by J.D. Power,” said NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey, RPh, MBA. “The patient-first approach of these and all independent community pharmacies to customer service resonates with consumers and this study reaffirms that fact.”

The study found that asking pharmacy customers whether they would like to speak with a pharmacist improves overall customer satisfaction by 54 points. In addition, the study found that when when a private discussion area is provided and customers believe their conversations are handled discreetly, customer-satisfaction scores improve by 99 points.