• by Les Luchter , January 2, 2024

As retail healthcare continues its growth in 2024, pharma marketers will “ramp up” in-store and digital advertising of vaccines and medications, predicts eMarketer analysts Rajiv Leventhal and Lisa Phillips.

“We could even see drug reps make their way into retail health clinics that are staffed with physicians,” they write in a “Health Trends to Watch in 2024” report from eMarketer’s Insider Intelligence.

In-person clinics run by such retailers as CVS, Walgreens, Walmart and Kroger are expected to serve nearly one-third of US adults -- 87.9 million people -- this year, according to an eMarketer forecast.

“Driven by a desire to boost brand loyalty and keep customers sticky,” Leventhal and Phillips predict that additional large retailers -- possibly Dollar General or BJ’s -- will also roll out healthcare services in 2024.

They’ll join other healthcare providers (HCPs) in facing a flood of medical misinformation and erosion of trust, two other trends singled out by eMarketer.

“Online search still dominates the early steps of the digital patient journey, but social media is growing as a go-to source for health information— and misinformation,” the analysts write.

A “contentious reproductive rights conversation” in upcoming election campaigns will be another contributor to 2024 misinformation, they say.

The report suggests that healthcare marketers “consider paying for verified accounts like Meta Verified to boost confidence among social users.”

And healthcare providers (HCPs) “must take extra care to foster positive relationships with patients in and out of the office.”

That would help fight against another trend found by eMarketer: an increasing number of patients disconnecting entirely from the healthcare system -- and in turn risking their health

“Driven by the rising cost of healthcare and a challenging macroeconomic environment, patients with and without health insurance are racking up medical debt, postponing doctor appointments, and struggling to afford their medications,” the report states. “As a result, some are getting sicker.”

Consumers with medical debt and facing rising healthcare prices will increasingly seek HCPs offering transparent upfront pricing, the authors write. “Fearful of surprise medical bills, fewer patients will choose doctors based on their insurance plan and more will explore subscription-based healthcare bundles.”