Pharmacies around the country have had to rethink how they do business this year, but one thing has not changed: new patient transfers from big-box chains. 

Last quarter, community pharmacies across the country dealt with increased business and workflow upheaval due to COVID-19. Between April and May, Digital Pharmacist client Town Total Compounding Center saw a 123% increase in mobile prescription refills. After Delmarva Pharmacy launched their first digital marketing campaign with Digital Pharmacist in early March, they received 556 call leads and 50 new patients before the end of Q2.

New Patient Transfers May 2020 and May 2019

According to our data, prescription transfers from major chains continue to make up the majority of new patient numbers. Here is a snapshot of new patient pharmacy transfers for Digital Pharmacist clients in May. 

Chart 1: Transfer Details for May 2020

Feedback from our pharmacy clients and their patients shows that more than half of all new patient transfers came from major big-box chains, including CVS Pharmacy (22.2%), Walgreens (22.2%), and Walmart (11.1%). Other well-known big-box stores that offer pharmacy services, such as Costco and Kroger make up a small minority, just 4.4%.

Altogether, big-box stores totalled more than 60% of all new patient and pharmacy transfers for May 2020.

When compared to May 2019’s chart of the month below, the pattern is clear.

Chart 2: Transfer Details for May 2019

CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, and Walmart made up the clear majority of total transfers. Other major stores with pharmacy services, including Rite Aid, Kroger, Publix, Safeway, and H-E-B, added up to a small but significant minority.

Increasing Your Transfers With Digital Pharmacist

Digital Pharmacist’s HIPAA-compliant, branded pharmacy healthsite and mobile app give pharmacies the tools they need to onboard new patients and transfers.

Our New Patient and Transfer feature, a customizable call-to-action button, was first launched in May 2018.

The button appears on each healthsite’s homepage and the main header of each healthsite webpage for easy patient access. It directs patients to a fully-secure ‘Transfer’ or ‘New Patient’ landing page and fillable intake form. Pharmacies can customize the button to their specifications and add their own branding to the landing page, including text, images, and logos.

On the intake forms, patients can enter their identification, pharmacy, and medication information safely and securely. All new patient requests will either be faxed directly to your location or added to your PMS queue based on your system’s compatibility.

Each month, Digital Pharmacist helps 5,000 clients in more than 7500 locations nationwide build their pharmacy businesses. During the height of COVID-19 lockdowns in March, our clients saw record-breaking numbers of patient calls, prescription refills, and mobile app downloads.

To learn more about how to maximize your healthsite and increase new patient transfers, get in touch with us.