As the local pharmacy footprint shrinks, pharmacy leaders can turn to consumer education content as an answer to challenging retail pharmacy trends in 2024.
Customers and health consumers everywhere expect more personalized care in pharmacies. Trends like rising rates of chronic disease, personalized medicine, and the lingering impact of a global pandemic have elevated the role of the retail pharmacist to an even more critical position in the continuum of care.
But as stores close and pharmacy workers navigate increasing levels of burnout, questions emerge—how do pharmacy leaders bridge the gap between customer needs and increasing constraints on resources and workers? Pharmacy leaders will find an accessible answer in consumer education that enables customers as partners in their own care.
Challenges impacting personalized care in pharmacies
Customer experience is a crucial to a retail pharmacy's success, but a shifting pharmacy landscape poses new challenges to meeting consumer demands.
Staffing shortages jeopardize consumer-centered care
Pharmacies are struggling to recover from the workload and staffing challenges that have defined the COVID-19 pandemic.
The National Community Pharmacists Association reports that more than three out of every four community pharmacists struggle to fill open positions which can challenge convenience, customer experience, and even consumer safety.
Pharmacist burnout continues to shape the customer experience in pharmacies
Burnout in healthcare is acute among pharmacists, who report that their work now is more stressful than it was before the pandemic. Stressed pharmacists and pharmacy techs are less able to ensure safe medication dispensing and provide the levels of care and attention that customers increasingly expect.
Expectations of the pharmacy customer experience continue to rise
As much as retail pharmacies have been leaders in the consumer experience, customers now hold them to a high standard. Today’s health consumers increasingly expect high quality service, personalized care, and pharmacist support that’s flexible enough to meet their needs.
Closures continue to threaten the customer experience
The United States overall has seen a growing problem with “pharmacy deserts”—over 100 million people in the country do not have reliable access to pharmacies. Rite Aid closed out 2023 by shuttering 31 branches across the country, with closures heavily concentrated in areas like Pennsylvania.