Once upon a time pharmacies were just a place where you went to get your medication. They were a stop after you visited the doctor to fix what ailed you. However, these days the pharmacies are the place you go when you are feeling sick. What was once the typical middle man has now eliminated the middle man. And it’s giving pharmacies an edge in the battle for health care doctors.
Pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens got wise a few years ago and started seeing their business as a provider of health care rather than a just the facilitator of healthcare. Walgreens was one of the first in the industry to introduce the Take Care clinics which provides basic immunizations, physical exams, and treatment of baseline illnesses.
The model for this was simple: get them in and get them out, with a prescription if needed. It’s the same model that worked in the pharmacy industry. The idea is quick service where needs are met immediately. These clinics are doing a good job of keeping people in but what these clinics are really having trouble with is getting the word out.
These companies don’t give nearly as much money to putting the word out about their product as they could. This creates a little bit of lull in the possibility of the business. They are putting, in many cases, the onus of the advertising on their retail pharmacies. They are hoping patients who come in refusing to go to county hospitals because of the long wait. They are asking their staff to nudge them in the right direction.
The truth is that things look very good for the retail clinics as health care evolves and becomes more important for millions of Americans. Now, if they could just do something to get the word out there.
