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Making a Mark

CROSSMARK invests in technology and tools to help retail brands understand shopper trends

Kristen Abreu, vice president customer development, drug development, drug channel, CROSSMARK channel, CROSSMARK Established more than a century ago, CROSSMARK is a full-service agency that provides consumer packaged goods companies with sales, retail and marketing services to help them grow their businesses. Utilizing insights and analytics, the company continues to expand its capabilities to meet the challenges of retail brands today.

Drug Store News talked with Kristen Abreu, vice president customer development, drug channel, about what she sees for the future of the drug channel and the opportunities her company provides to help make sense of it all.

Drug Store News: How do you see the role of the drug channel in meeting consumer needs today?

Kristen Abreu: Retailers in the drug class of trade are positioned as healthcare providers. Given the high cost of health care and the need to improve accessibility, this should be welcomed by consumers. Sales data indicates that shoppers already think of the drug retailers first when looking to purchase healthcare items, as 47% of drug channel sales are from healthcare categories, compared to only 10% for total MULO.

That being said, as drug retailers expand on healthcare offerings, they will need to do so while being mindful that shoppers also enjoy their outlets for everyday needs. Almost $10 billion is spent in the drug channel annually in beauty categories and over $6 billion on consumables, including some not-so-healthy options. This balance of health care and fun will enable drug channel retailers to meet shoppers where they are, whether on starting a healthcare journey or just in need of a pick me up.

DSN: What are some shopper trends in health care that you are seeing?

KA: A trend that is here to stay is the selfadministered healthcare test. There were over $4 billion worth of home healthcare kits sold over the last 12 months, an increase of over 40%. Now that at-home COVID-19 testing has become the norm, it can be expected that consumers will demand the same convenience for other conditions as well. It is easy to envision a future where common ailments such as flu, strep throat and pink eye are all easily diagnosable at home.

DSN: How is CROSSMARK leveraging on-demand data to understand these trends?

KA: CROSSMARK has invested heavily in technology and tools. Even before the pandemic, we realized that having an advanced analytic platform is key to driving faster and better decisions. CROSSMARK’s Accelerator drives efficiency and speed to insights, allowing our sales teams to have the data and insights at their fingertips so they can implement or revise plans, make decisions and recommendations to our clients and retailers, without any time lag. Accelerator has on-demand performance dashboards, but also a machine learning/AI component that allows for better predictive promotional planning and execution.

DSN: What do you think pharmacies should be doing to attract customers, particularly the younger shoppers?

KA: I will refer back to a study conducted by Drug Store News where young women were asked what they want from retail pharmacy. Their responses were insightful but not surprising. It comes down to convenience and making the shopping experience enjoyable for “me.” The challenge for retailers is that the definition of what looks good for “me” to Gen Z shoppers is as unique as the 65 million people who fall into that generation.

Generally speaking, Gen Z is likely to respond well to leveraging drug retailers for their healthcare offerings. Gen Z is quite self-sufficient and will be keen to try at-home health testing for more ailments as the tests become available. They will also appreciate the convenience of on-demand access to pharmacists, who are readily available for consultation at brickand-mortar locations. dsn

AN OPEN LETTER TO PHARMACISTS

As a fellow pharmacist, I’m thrilled to see how the profession has embraced clinical services in the retail space. Going beyond immunizations into areas such as Test-to-Treat for infectious disease and prescribing hormonal contraceptives is reaching a scale never seen in our industry. This rapid growth has caused other stakeholders, such as payers, to ask how pharmacists should be reimbursed for clinical services. Ultimately, the “pharmacist-as-provider” movement has always been simple: treat pharmacists like other providers. The practical application of this movement means that pharmacists may be subject to credentialling and payer enrollment. Additionally, the process of determining patient benefit coverage and clinical eligibility, and performing medical billing using pharmacist-level NPIs poses new challenges within the typical pharmacy workflow. Pharmacists should be able to provide patient care without focusing heavily on clinical documentation or medical billing. That means the claims process—whether medical or pharmacy—should have similar “clean claim rates” and require the same or less operational time as pharmacy benefit claims. For pharmacists to adopt clinical services at scale, key capabilities must be addressed and made available within the pharmacy workflow including 1) patient financial and clinical clearance integrated into patient scheduling and pharmacy workflow; 2) provider credentialing and eligibility; 3) simplified clinical documentation that informs the claim; and 4) compliant and timely billing. As the payer and regulatory landscapes evolve to encompass pharmacy-based clinical services, pharmacy organizations that choose to offer clinical services will be better able to respond quickly if they have revenue cycle functionality fully integrated into their clinical care delivery solution and have access to both pharmacy and medical billing pathways embedded within the pharmacist’s workflow. I’m excited to say nearly half the pharmacy market is currently implementing an EHR purpose-built for the pharmacy that simplifies the complexities of medical billing (and related clinical documentation) and can handle both the medical- and pharmacy pathway—all within the pharmacy workflow. After decades of proof points and lobbying, pharmacists have a seat at the table for delivering new clinical services. Pharmacists have evolved to become the tip of the spear for healthcare delivery today. Are you and your organization ready? Whether clinical claims are reimbursed through the pharmacy or the medical benefit, OmniSYS can help. Go to www.omnisys.com to learn more or to schedule a meeting. David Pope, PharmD, CDE, Chief Pharmacy Officer, OmniSYS, a XIFIN Company