Patients are becoming less satisfied with physical pharmacies as popularity rises for online and mail-order services, according to J.D. Power's 16th annual U.S. Pharmacy Study.
Compared to the company's 2023 study, customer satisfaction with mail-order pharmacies saw a six-point increase (on a 1,000-point scale). Chain drugstores, meanwhile, received satisfaction scores "far below the brick-and-mortar category average," J.D. Power said in a July 30 news release.
The overall patient satisfaction score for brick-and-mortar locations dropped 10 points.
The consumer insights and data company surveyed more than 13,000 pharmacy customers who filled a prescription between September and May. Customers cited long wait times, lower trust in pharmacists and difficulties in ordering prescriptions as common issues.
Digital and mail-order pharmacies had their own issues. For online pharmacies, many consumers shared confusion on whether their insurance covers the service. For mail-order pharmacies, only 18% of these customers said their pharmacy offers a well-designed digital experience.
J.D. Power also asked customers about their preferred pharmacies. They voted Good Neighbor Pharmacy the No. 1 chain drugstore, Sam's Club the best mass merchandiser, Publix the top supermarket and Amazon Pharmacy's PillPack as the favorite mail-order option.