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If you like to pick up prescription medications while shopping for groceries, you’ve got a few great options.
Four of the top five pharmacies in the country for customer satisfaction are located in supermarkets or a wholesale club, according to J.D. Power’s 10th annual U.S. Pharmacy Study.
The marketing research firm polled more than 10,700 pharmacy customers who had recently filled a prescription. The study covered four types of pharmacies.
Wegmans, a supermarket chain in the Northeast, ranked No. 1 among all brick-and-mortar supermarket pharmacies included in the study, earning an overall satisfaction score of 906 out of 1,000 points.
Not all grocery sellers have high-rated pharmacies, though. Some of the worst-ranked pharmacies included in the study were those of supermarkets, as the following rankings show.
Supermarket pharmacies
Among supermarket chains’ pharmacies, the average overall customer satisfaction score was 863 out of 1,000. That was the highest average of any type of pharmacy included in the study.
Seven chains in this category scored at least that high. They were:
- Wegmans: 906
- H-E-B: 897
- Publix: 891
- Winn-Dixie: 874
- ShopRite: 873
- Stop & Shop: 869
- Kroger: 863
Publix and ShopRite are also among supermarkets that offer free medications, as we detail in “5 Grocery Store Chains That Offer Free Prescription Drugs.”
Five more chains in this category earned below-average scores. Safeway was the worst of the bunch, with an overall satisfaction score of 819 — the second-lowest score of any pharmacy in the study.
To view all of the supermarket pharmacies with below-average scores, check out the charts at the end of this report on J.D. Power’s study.
Mass merchandiser pharmacies
The average satisfaction score among the pharmacies of mass merchandisers was 845, with three chains scoring at least that high. They were:
- Sam’s Club: 892
- Costco: 860
- CVS inside Target: 859
Walmart scored below the average, with an overall satisfaction score of 833.
Note that you do not necessarily have to be a member of a wholesale club to use its pharmacy. For example, as we explain in “6 Ways Anyone Can Shop at Sam’s Club — No Membership Necessary“:
“Anyone can buy prescription medications from Sam’s Club pharmacies, according to the retailer’s website. Prescription drugs are also exempt from the nonmember surcharge.”
Drugstore pharmacies
The average customer satisfaction score among drugstore pharmacies was 846, with three chains scoring at least that high. They were:
- Good Neighbor Pharmacy: 903
- Health Mart: 890
- Rite Aid: 846
CVS and Walgreens scored slightly below average with 843 and 840, respectively.
Mail-order pharmacies
The average satisfaction score among mail-order services was 859. The operations that scored at least that high were:
- Humana Pharmacy: 885
- Kaiser Permanente Pharmacy: 866
- Express Scripts: 862
- OptumRx: 861
Five additional mail-order services ranked below-average. Walgreens’ mail-order service was the worst of them, with an overall customer satisfaction score of 817 — the lowest score of any pharmacy included in the study.
To view all of the mail-order pharmacies with below-average scores, check out the charts at this link about J.D. Power’s study.
What’s your favorite pharmacy and why? Share with us by commenting below or over on our Facebook page.
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