How retail health clinics can better engage seniors

Article by Rajiv Leventhal | Oct 14, 2022

The news: Retail health clinics are gaining in popularity as consumers seek convenient options to get care. But older patients are far less likely than younger ones to try out a nontraditional provider, per a survey from Redpoint Global. Redpoint shared survey data with Insider Intelligence on consumers’ willingness to get care at a retail clinic.

Age is the great separator: Older and younger consumers’ opinions vary on whether they’d consider using healthcare services from a retail health clinic such as CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, or Target as an alternative to their regular primary care provider (PCP).

83% of overall respondents answered “maybe” or "yes” to the question, but the findings revealed stark differences when broken out by age.

Just 11% of Gen Zers, 7% of millennials, and 15% of Gen Xers said they wouldn’t try out a retail clinic in lieu of their traditional provider.

Older patients expressed far more hesitation.

33% of baby boomers would not use alternative care options from retailers.
That figure jumped up to 53% in the 77-and-up age group.
Only 16% of boomers and 13% of 77+ respondents said they’d definitely consider getting care at a retail clinic.

It’s not surprising that younger consumers are more willing than older patients to get care at a retail clinic. They put a premium on convenient locations and a provider’s digital tools versus being loyal to a PCP.

35% of millennials said they don’t have a PCP, compared with just 18% of boomers who said the same, per a 2019 survey from the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Stepping up for seniors: Retail health clinics have ramped up their efforts to reach older patients and must continue to do so as the US population ages.

For example, Walmart and UnitedHealth Group are teaming up to offer preventive care for seniors and Medicare members—a natural synergy since nearly 4 in 10 (38.5%) Walmart shoppers are ages 55 and up.
Walgreens has a few senior-focused clinics that are jointly run with Humana’s CenterWell arm.
And CVS has online resources devoted to how they can specifically help with senior care.

But most seniors still aren’t sold, as Redpoint’s survey findings illustrated. Here are two ways retail clinics can do a better job of reaching older patients in their community:

1. Lean into your strengths. Retail clinics proved to be a trusted site for COVID-19 testing and administering vaccinations. It’s also not uncommon for pharmacists to regularly engage with older, chronic condition patients who come in to pick up their medications. As seniors come back to get their booster shots, retail clinic staff can educate them on their other healthcare service offerings.

2. Know your audience. Older patients might perceive retail clinics’ purpose as giving flu shots and treating minor illnesses. But most are able to diagnose and treat chronic conditions, too.

Retail clinics would be wise to offer seniors one-on-one coaching to help keep tabs on their condition. They could additionally leverage their tech savviness to deploy remote patient monitoring, which is increasingly being viewed as an effective way to manage chronic conditions.