BALTIMORE -- Supermarkets willing to devote the financial and human resources to develop whole-health initiatives stand to reap big bottom-line rewards. But there is much more to gain, according to speakers featured at the Food Marketing Institute's 12th annual Supermarket Pharmacy Conference here.
By implementing substantial whole-health programs, retailers may not only see potentially dramatic revenue gains, but, speakers suggested, they will also help customers to stay healthy.Properly executed, the strategy could yield stronger customer loyalty.
In a session during the spring conference titled, "Opportunities for Patient-Focused Care in Today's Supermarket," Chuck Kneese, manager for managed care services for Stop & Shop Supermarket Co., Quincy, Mass., cited findings of a report published last November in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The report said that 42.1% of population estimates -- 83 million people -- use alternative health care, and 75% of that is paid out of pocket, Kneese pointed out.
Donald J. Brown, director of Natural Product Research Consultants, Maplewood, N.J., offered another angle. A leader of a workshop called "Herbal Supplements: Choosing the Best Products for Your Stores," Brown reported that from 1990 to 1997, an estimated 15 million adults used herbal or nutritional supplements concurrently while taking prescription medicines. "This was 18.4% of all prescription users," Brown noted.
Retailers were urged to consider offering in-store health-screening services. Two successful programs were described by Brad Tice, director of Drake University's American drug stores community care laboratory, Des Moines, Iowa. Tice reported that in the first year of a program in California, conducted at 149 locations, more than 12,000 customers participated. During that period, "5,700 blood-glucose meters [used for diabetes management] were sold or given away," which Tice suggested will enhance customer loyalty.
Tice said that a smaller cholesterol-screening pilot, with a fee for service, conducted in Des Moines, produced interesting results in its first month. "A $20 basic blood test and a $30 lipid profile were offered. Of the 45 people who took tests, 72% took the more expensive test." Even from the small sampling, 73% had "elevated" cholesterol levels (higher than 200 mg/dl), and 37% had "high" cholesterol levels (higher than 239 mg/dl).
To address retailers' concerns about the costs of offering health-screening or nutritional-counseling services, Tice suggested contracting with managed care. "HMOs are interested in this as follow-ups for patients who had been hospitalized for heart attacks." He added, "We can reduce the risk of emergency room visits by 20% to 50%."
Speakers agreed that great care needs to be taken to ensure that information provided about herbal supplements is accurate. Brown cautioned, "Pharmacists will need additional training to counsel their patients. They need to know about interactions."
