Measuring the Impact of Pharmacy Customer Loyalty on Health System Utilization and Readmission Rates

Quantifying the direct and indirect value that a business unit delivers to its parent health system has traditionally been difficult. In this case study, we discuss the impact of pharmacy customer loyalty on the Fairview Health Services system, and we introduce a new, data-driven methodology for measuring value. Our approach utilizes external, individual-level consumer data and predictive modeling, and may be extensible to other health systems and service lines. Carrot Health analyzed the patient populations of Fairview (1.81 million patients) and its pharmacy division (415,000 customers). The scope of the analysis included consumer preferences, attitudes, and behaviors, along with demographic and clinical data. We found that pharmacy loyalty was correlated with lower overall clinic system utilization (9% fewer overall visits, 6% fewer outpatient visits, 22% fewer inpatient visits, and 6% fewer ED visits) and significantly improved 30-day inpatient readmission rates (21.9% lower than a control group).