What's Driving the Trend Towards Retail Medicine?

The days of going to the doctor only when you’re sick are a thing of the past.

In recent years physicians have begun offering a plethora of procedures and services to improve the appearance and well being of their patients – and are selling them right from their offices.

To track the latest trends in what is broadly called “retail medicine,” we surveyed 279 ChangeWave Alliance medical professionals who work in medical practices, clinics and hospitals. The survey was conducted May 8-11, 2007.

Before turning to the highlights let’s define terms:

Retail Medicine

The business of retail medicine focuses on unique, personalized products and services that help patients manage their health care – but which are paid for by the patient and not their insurance company.

Such products/services are sold in medical practices, clinics, and hospitals and include dietary supplements & programs, wellness programs, cosmetic medical products & services, and a wide variety of diagnostic and imaging tests.

We asked our Alliance health care professionals if they’re seeing a trend toward retail medicine and three-in-four (76%) said yes – with 15% calling it a significant trend and 61% a modest one.

But what types of products and services are currently being offered?

Nutritional Counseling/Services top the list of current retail medical offerings (42%) – followed by wellness programs (35%), cosmetic surgery (27%) and dietary supplements (24%).

But what’s driving the trend toward retail medicine? Why do more and more doctors’ offices resemble stores?

According to our healthcare respondents, the key drivers behind the phenomenon are patient demand (35%), the potential for profitability (34%), improving the quality of health care (32%) and patient convenience (31%).

Diet and Nutritional Products & Services

Retail medical practitioners and vendors are acutely aware that vitamins, supplements and other dietary/nutritional products and services attract a huge consumer constituency worldwide. Not surprisingly, these all appear in the top tier of current and future retail medical offerings in our survey – led by nutritional counseling/services and vitamins.

But which of these diet and nutritional products and services have the most growth momentum going forward? In a surprise finding it’s none other than Bioactive foods.

Diet & Nutritional Products/Services Sold to Patients: Current and Future Market Share

While only 14% of those who sell dietary products or services currently offer bioactive foods, an astonishing 26% of those who plan to begin selling dietary products or services say they’ll begin offering bioactive foods in the next 12 months.

Bioactive foods contain bio-molecules that modulate metabolism and treat specific conditions such as high blood glucose levels. These foods are just coming to market on a mass scale and, some analysts believe they may revolutionize how certain conditions are treated.

Cosmetic Procedures and Aesthetic Products

We also found momentum in cosmetic procedures and products.

It’s no longer just for the Hollywood set and rich-and-famous. Today there are cosmetic procedures and aesthetic products for almost everyone.

For years the Alliance has tracked huge growth in the Cosmetic procedures industry. In the current survey, we asked healthcare respondents if their practice/work locales currently perform any procedures that are considered cosmetic in nature.

Nearly half (42%) say their practice/work locale currently performs some type of cosmetic procedures, and another 7% say their practice/work locale will begin performing such procedures within the next 12 months.

Among those currently performing procedures, the most common ones are for the facial area – the two most popular being facial surgical procedures and facial Botox injections.

Going forward, while surgical procedures for the face (10%) and Botox (11%) remain the most popular, Collagen and Other Dermal Filler Procedures (9%) show the most momentum over the next 12 months.

The business of retail medicine has become a huge growth area that we will continue to watch closely in the months ahead. It represents a major, though still under-recognized trend in the healthcare industry. Stay tuned.

Paul Carton co-wrote this article.
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This article summarizes the results of a recent ChangeWave Alliance survey. The Alliance is a research network of 10,000 business, technology and medical professionals who spend their everyday lives working on the front line of technological change. For more info on the ChangeWave Alliance, or if you are interested in joining, please click here.

Comments

[huangjin]

Falling prices and improving quality, paid for out of the pockets of consumers. It's like nearly every industry in America, except the government regulated healthcare and education sectors.