Category Archives: Healthcare Marketing

Convenience rules when it comes to getting your flu shot

Direct from the Pharmacist Crowd: What do you see as the major benefits to people receiving flu shots at their local pharmacy?

Pharmacists play an important role in our overall health, especially during flu season. Meijer, a chain of Midwest retail stores, anticipates its pharmacists will administer 40% more flu shots this season than last. Why, due to the convenience of walk-in pharmacy services. To highlight the role of the pharmacist, InCrowd asked 150 retail pharmacists a series of questions regarding the 2013-2014 flu season.

Question #1: Why don’t people get flu shots?

Question #2: What do you see as the major benefits to people receiving flu shots at their local pharmacy?

The benefits identified by the surveyed pharmacists fit nicely under the umbrella of convenience and could very easily play a role in more people getting their flu shots at retail pharmacies.

  • 90% of surveyed pharmacists identified convenience as main benefit of getting flu shot at a retail pharmacy
    • Easy access, offered at many pharmacies and stores 78/150
    • No appointment needed 33/150
    • Fast with minimal wait time 24/150

Next question Direct from the Pharmacist Crowd: What do you see as the major drawbacks to people receiving flu shots at their local pharmacy?

Interested in gathering similar market intelligence with pharmacists? Drop us a line, we have Crowds of US and international based pharmacists working in both the retail and hospital setting. These pharmacists are pre-screened and have opted-in to answer questions in real time.

Haven’t had your flu shot, see your local pharmacist

Direct from the Pharmacist Crowd: Why people don’t get flu shots

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services flu season begins in fall and peaks around January and February. Being mid October we’re just ramping up for the 2013-2014 flu season.

How can you and your family stay healthy during flu season? The Center for Disease Control (CDC) tells us getting a flu shot is your best option for preventing the flu. They recommends flu shots for everyone 6 months and older and tells us the flu vaccine reduces your odds of getting the flu by 70% to 90%.

InCrowd asked 150 retail based pharmacists from across the United States a series of questions related to the 2013-2014 flu season. The first question that came to our mind… why don’t people get flu shots?

According the pharmacists we surveyed, there are three main reasons people don’t get flu shots:

Reason #1: Believe the flu shot will give them the flu and make them sick: 82/150, 54.7%

Reason #2: No need for a flu shot, never get sick: 32/150, 21.3%

Reason #3: Fear and misconceptions around the benefits of the flu shot: 23/150, 15.4%

Next question Direct from the Pharmacist Crowd: What do you see as the major benefits to people receiving flu shots at their local pharmacy?

Interested in getting market feedback from pharmacists? Drop us a line, we have Crowds of US and international based pharmacists working in both the retail and hospital setting. These pharmacists are pre-screened and have opted-in to answer questions in real time.

Is DIY a Good Fit in the Healthcare Setting?

Do-it-yourself (DIY) is certainly a buzzword; you find it associated with everything from home improvement to dog training. I recently stumbled across 30 Awesome DIY Ideas and was truly impressed with some of the ideas. But this explosion in all things DIY begs the question… is DIY appropriate in all settings?

At InCrowd we’re champions of DIY and think in the B2B space DIY does add value. What about the healthcare space? InCrowd is B2B in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, does DIY work there as well? Healthcare is notoriously slow to adopt new trends and for good reason, but does DIY have a role on the consumer side of healthcare?

Here are 5 interesting articles exploring DIY in the consumer health space. Have a read and I’ll meet you at the bottom of the list.

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While each article offers a slightly different look at DIY healthcare one thing is clear to me – the empowered health consumer is driving this change. As people continue to assume more responsibility for their own health care DIY is a natural evolution in the process. Health consumers want to save money, receive care on their schedule and access information when it works for them. DIY can facilitate patient empowerment and compliment traditional healthcare.

What do you think? Do you see a fit for DIY in healthcare? Would you participate in any of the programs mentioned in these articles?