WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. — Customer satisfaction at pharmacies is up from a year ago, and for the second straight year Good Neighbor Pharmacy rated highest among chain drug stores, according to the J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Pharmacy Study.

Customer satisfaction at pharmacies is up from a year ago, and for the second straight year Good Neighbor Pharmacy rated highest among chain drug stores, according to the J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Pharmacy Study.

The top overall score among brick-and-mortar pharmacies in J.D. Power’s 2014 study, however, went to Publix Super Markets, which came in second last year.

Publix earned a customer satisfaction index rating of 886 out of a 1,000-point scale, with Good Neighbor Pharmacy — the independent pharmacy network of AmerisourceBergen Corp. — scoring 884.

Rounding out the top 10 ratings of brick-and-mortar pharmacies were Wegmans Food Markets (883), McKesson Corp.’s Health Mart independent pharmacy franchise (873), Sam’s Club (865), H-E-B (864), Hy-Vee (852), Target (851), Costco (850) and Walgreens (848).

The 2014 U.S. Pharmacy Study, based on responses this summer from 13,951 customers who filled a new prescription or refilled a prescription in the last three months, measures five key factors in satisfaction with brick-and-mortar pharmacies — prescription ordering, the store, cost competitiveness, pharmacists and nonpharmacist staff — and rates them on a 1,000-point scale. Brick-and-mortar pharmacies included drug, supermarket and mass merchant chains. The study also examined satisfaction with mail order pharmacies.

Average satisfaction scores for chain drug store (840), supermarket (843) and mail order (822) pharmacies rose 12, eight and 25 points year over year, respectively, in the 2014 study, while satisfaction with mass merchant pharmacies (830) was about flat versus 2013.

Of the national drug chains, Walgreens came in first in pharmacy customer satisfaction with its score of 848, followed by Rite Aid (837) and CVS/pharmacy (829). All three saw their satisfaction ratings climb in 2014, with Walgreens’ score rising 20 points and Rite Aid’s and CVS’ ratings up by 10 points.

Supermarket pharmacies turned in the highest average score of brick-and-mortar pharmacies with their 843 rating. After No. 4 Hy-Vee, the next highest rankings among supermarketers were Kroger (846), Giant (844), Stop & Shop (838), ShopRite (831), Albertsons (827) and Giant Eagle (803).

Among mass merchant pharmacies, including discounters and warehouse clubs, following No. 3 Costco were Meijer (834), Kmart (828), Shopko (826) and Walmart (820).

"For brick-and-mortar pharmacies, ensuring pharmacists are directly interacting with customers is one of the keys to delivering a satisfactory experience," explained Rick Johnson, director of the health care practice at J.D. Power.

"However, only one in 25 customers initiates a conversation with a pharmacist in a brick-and mortar-store," he noted. "So it’s essential for staff to ask customers if they would like to speak with a pharmacist."

Satisfaction with the pharmacist was highest in the chain drug store segment (883), followed by supermarkets (877) and mass merchants (864). For non-pharmacist staff, the top rating went to supermarket pharmacies (847), with chain drug store (841) and mass merchant (820) pharmacies coming in next.

J.D. Power found that satisfaction increased when a pharmacy and a customer collaborate on a plan to help ensure that the patient doesn’t miss a dose of their medication, particularly those with a 30-day supply.

Across pharmacy segments, the percentage of customers who reported running out of medication before they can refill it was 13% for chain drug stores, 14% for supermarket pharmacies, 15% for mass merchants and 10% for mail order.

Rx customers also expressed higher satisfaction when pharmacies provide a thorough explanation of risks and side effects of medication across multiple communication channels, both in writing and verbally, the study revealed. Brick-and-mortar pharmacies met that key performance indicator 33% of the time, J.D. Power said.

Another key finding: Customer interaction with a pharmacist spurs additional store purchases. The study found that of customers who speak directly with a pharmacist at a chain drug store, 29% buy an over-the-counter medicine, and 59% buy an additional non-pharmaceutical product with their prescription.

More than one-fifth (21%) of customers indicated that the pharmacist answered a cost-related question.

For brick-and-mortar pharmacies, having an in-store clinic or wellness center raised satisfaction by 42 points, increased the likelihood that customers will say they "strongly agree" that they feel loyal to their pharmacy by six percentage points and led to a bigger basket of goods purchased in the store by eight percentage points.

In the mail order segment, Kaiser Permanente Mail Pharmacy ranked first with a score of 865, followed by Humana Right SourceRx (862), Walgreens Mail Service (844), Aetna Rx Home Delivery (820), Express Scripts (817), Caremark (807), OptumRx (794), Prime Therapeutics (793) and Cigna Home Delivery (779).

"For mail order pharmacies, it’s critical that customers have easy access to a pharmacist through such channels as a phone number that is easy to access and online chat," Johnson stated. "In the mail order segment, just one in 10 customers interact with a pharmacist, and satisfaction is high among those who use the chat feature," he added.

Satisfaction with mail order pharmacies was measured across four factors: cost competitiveness, prescription delivery, prescription ordering and the customer service experience.