Survey IDs Major Generational Shift Toward Retail Primary Care

Consumers are willing to make the transition to retail settings in exchange for lower costs and better outcomes.

Nearly two-thirds of 1,006 adults (61%) in an online poll envision using primary care services at pharmacies, retail clinics and/or pharmacy clinics instead of going to a primary care physician.

The online survey, released Wednesday by Wolters Kluwer, shows that consumers are willing to make the transition to retail settings in exchange for lower costs and better outcomes.

However, the enthusiasm is generational, with 70% of Millennials, 66% of Gen Z and 65% of Gen X anticipating this transition, as opposed to only 43% of Baby Boomers or older Americans.

"Americans made it clear: it’s time for healthcare to get ready for big changes. Gen Z and Millennials are thinking differently about the who and where of healthcare and medication prescribing," says Peter Bonis, MD, CMO, Wolters Kluwer, Health.

The survey found that:

• At least half of consumers see potential savings on medical expenses as an incentive to look beyond solely physician-credentialed providers.
   

• Consumers would trust pharmacists (56%), nurse practitioners (55%) and physician assistants (50%) to provide healthcare and prescriptions if it meant lower costs.
   

• Women are 20% more likely than men to trust a nurse practitioner (65% vs. 45%) and 9% more likely to trust a physician assistant (55% vs. 46%).
   

• Three-quarters of Americans (72%) would be open to having medications prescribed by a specially-trained pharmacist instead of a doctor.
   
• Gen Z, Millennials and Gen X are much more open (78%, 80%, and 74%) than Baby Boomers and older Americans (Boomers+) (58%).
   
• More than 70% of consumers say they’d provide a blood sample for genomic analysis if it meant that they’d receive more personalized medical care.
   
• Half of consumers worry about getting the wrong dosage, the wrong medication or the wrong instructions (47%).
   
• Unknown drug interactions worry 65% or consumers, who are concerned that potentially adverse effects won’t be identified when the prescription is issued.
   
• The vast majority (97%) of consumers say pharmacists should be responsible for telling them about the safety of their medications.
   
• Half of Americans (51%) worry about accessing prescriptions from understaffed pharmacies. Gen Z and Millennials are even more likely (59% and 60%) to say they’re worried about pharmacy staffing gaps than Gen X and Boomers+ (44% and 38%).
   
• More than two-thirds (68%) of consumers believe that their genomic information could influence their providers’ decisions about what medicines to prescribe.