As the world faces the headwinds of a recession, global companies are exploring new ways to create value for customers, grow revenue and monetize services. Healthcare, in particular, is at a mysterious crossroads. With skyrocketing costs, thin margins and a severe labor shortage, the need for better care and outcomes has never been greater.
With these factors in mind, organizations are changing the way they deliver healthcare and identifying which problems to address first. However, the industry undoubtedly recognizes that the need for high-quality healthcare services will persist.
Dollar General clearly sees a promising opportunity here. The historically retail-focused company announced last week that it is partnering with DocGo, a leading mHealth service provider, to provide essential healthcare services. DocGo is a relatively new service that prides itself on several factors, including well-trained suppliers, a strong transportation and logistics network, and an advanced data and artificial intelligence platform. It also touts its ability to go the “last mile,” deploying providers to enable on-site care that would otherwise require patients to go to a physical clinic.
Dollar General is advancing the partnership as part of its “wellness” initiative, explaining that the new platform will enable “quick and easy access to wellness…right outside the store.” Services include preventive care, such as physicals and routine checkups, and even chronic disease management, such as management of diabetes, asthma, and high blood pressure.
VALEJO, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 12: Dollar General stores are in increasing demand as the company rapidly expands … [+]
This move by Dollar General is certainly a strategic path to grow revenue and diversify itself. The value to patients and consumers is relatively straightforward: With this new business proposition, taking care of a health problem or prescription refill becomes as easy as a quick run to the store for basic supplies or groceries. To be sure, consumers certainly appreciate this, especially in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic where healthcare convenience has become a prominent issue.
Dollar General is certainly not the only retailer experimenting with this model. Over the past two years, Walmart has significantly expanded the healthcare capabilities of its stores. Once again, the company is trying to optimize customer convenience, providing them with affordable and easy access to healthcare. The wellness business and the retail business are symbiotic: foot traffic in one promises to spread foot traffic to the other.
Overall, companies are increasingly committed to making all Make the healthcare journey easier for patients by not only providing location convenience, but by enabling price transparency, fast turnaround times for results, low wait times, and generally better customer service for these services. After all, the healthcare industry is ripe for disruption in the sense that, for years, it has not prioritized customer service-oriented levers, but only its core purpose of striving to achieve good health outcomes. That’s not enough for modern society, which demands not only great results, but also great customer service and convenience.
Dollar General’s partnership with DocGo is definitely one to watch in the months and years ahead. With more than 18,000 stores across the country, there is huge room for growth not only from the perspective of business opportunities, but also from the perspective of providing people with convenient and easy-to-use healthcare services.
