Article: Walmart tests dentistry and mental care as it moves deeper into primary health
Original post: LINK TO LINKEDIN
by Amy Witt
At first, it seems ironic that retailers trying to avoid disruption are in turn disrupting healthcare. But consumers/shoppers = patients too; everyone buys at retailers, and everyone needs healthcare. It’s about time that healthcare gets an overhaul in the patient/customer experience.
Retail is an extremely competitive industry because it’s so easy for consumers to compare options and choose what best suits their needs, especially in this age of omnichannel and innovative retail models. Consumers now expect to be delighted at every stage of the customer journey. Contrast this with “shopping” for the right healthcare service and the many other pain points in receiving care and getting billed for it, not to mention other factors that can make proper healthcare inaccessible.
It’s exciting to see major retailers like Walmart, CVS, and Amazon as well as many healthcare startups investing in bringing convenience, accessibility, and customer focus to healthcare. If the average healthcare experience could get even remotely close to the average retail experience, we’d have a lot more happy and healthy people.
Amy Witt is a Managing Director at ECA
