The National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP) recently released the results of a patient satisfaction survey of specialty pharmacies. The results are worth evaluating…… closely. Ultimately, satisfaction will influence patient preferences as to the type of specialty pharmacy they will prefer to use in the future.
The survey included 17,477 customers at 35 participating specialty pharmacies.
Here are the key findings… (the sample size is a bit small but is large wnough to ponder the findings)
- Academic medical center specialty pharmacies (13) scored highest—an average of 93.7%
- Non-academic health-system specialty pharmacies (12) —92.8%
- Independent specialty pharmacies (10) slid back to third place —89.2%.
Scores increased for all specialty pharmacies across the board from 2021 to 2022 in five key areas:
- communication with the pharmacy team;
- pharmacy’s ability to return calls in a timely manner;
- patient knowledge of their health conditions;
- timeliness of prescription deliveries; and
- keeping patients informed of their prescription status.
Here is where it gets interesting…. especially if you are at an independent specialty pharmacy. The survey also calculated Net Promoter Scores (NPSs), a person’s likelihood of recommending the pharmacy to family and friends.
- Academic specialty pharmacies had an 84.5 NPS
- Health-system pharmacies chipped in at 81.6
- But…… Independent pharmacies only garnered a measly rate of 69.2….. ouch!
Independent specialty pharmacies should look in the mirror to see why hospital owned / operated SPs are doing much better on the NPS scale. These SPs are looking to drive as many patients into their column as possible. Now would be the time for independent SPs to seriously relook at patient satisfaction and think of things that will positively impact future contacts….. and not rest on past laurels.
Can’t you see I’m on a losing streak?
I can’t get no, oh, no, no, no, satisfaction…. hey, hey, hey
…………….the Rolling Stones seem to have seen the light
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The Key Drivers of Specialty Pharmacy Customer Satisfaction
Communication, trust cited in NASP survey
