Although the grown-ups between 18 and 24 years of age are frequently using mass retailers with a drugstore, adults aged 65 years and over are mainly shifting to mail-order drugstores, according to preceding results from the Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA) Annual Trend Report in Pharmacy Quality, performed Thursday at the PQA 2020 Annual Meeting.
The full report, published later in the summer, will add data on pharmacy willingness and decisions around outcomes-based measures as well as data on payer requests and events; yet, the presentation on Thursday focused on issues around customer attitudes and behaviors.
The survey request was sent to 2484 customers 18 years and older who had visited a drugstore within the last 12 months, and 999 respondents made it.
Independent Pharmacies
According to the decisions, young adults between 18 and 34 have moved to mass merchants with drugstores and independent drugstores. In the 2019 survey, approximately 12% of respondents in that age group said they used independent pharmacies, compared to about 35% in 2020.
Mail-order drug stores also experienced a notable shift, according to the data. In the 2019 survey, 0 respondents stated they used mail order, associated with 41 respondents in 2020. More than 42% of those respondents were 65 years or older.
The survey also collected data about whether customers are satisfied with receiving vaccines in the drugstore. In 2019, nearly 40% of respondents stated they had never experienced a vaccine in a drugstore, associated with about 37% in 2020. Significantly, almost 50% of respondents said they had taken a vaccine from a drugstore within the past 12 months.
Distinctly, the survey found growing support levels among the group who said they have never experienced a vaccine in a drugstore.
“That’s a possibility to teach a whole other person and to vaccinate at a community pharmacy,” stated Todd Sega, PharmD, senior vice president of growth and strategy at PQA, during the session.
COVID-19 Drive-Thru Testing Option
Similar to the shifting demographics at independent drugstores, the survey also found a shift in protection at independent drugstores. In the 2019 study, Sega said a large percentage of respondents had never experienced a vaccine at a pharmacy. In 2020, nearly 50% said they had received a vaccine at a free pharmacy in the past 12 months.
Ultimately, because the survey was sent out in March, Sega said they were able to add some issues about coronavirus illness 2019 (COVID-19) and respondents’ comfort with receiving COVID-19 drive-thru testing and treatment at various places. The location options in the survey covered drugstores with and without a drive-through option, clinics, urgent care offices, and primary care offices.
Except for clinics, respondents were more satisfied receiving testing than treatment at all facilities, although the discrepancies were not meaningful. For instance, 87% of respondents were filled undergoing trial at a primary care office, and 85% were comfortable receiving processing.
When asked about clinics, 82% of respondents stated they were satisfied receiving testing, compared with 84% who said they were fitting for being treated in a hospital setting.
According to the findings, respondents were more satisfied receiving COVID-19 drive-thru testing and treatment at drugstores with this option. The issues found that 80% were filled undergoing testing at such locations, and 71% were suitable for receiving treatment, contrasted with 68% and 62% at medicines without a drive-through.
Sega said these findings could help pharmacologists without a drive-through option tailor their messaging to guarantee that their patients know about the safety cares and security measures in place at their drugstore.
