An article in the 8-8-07 edition of USA Today announces how the Publix grocery chain is going to give away several antibiotics……. free. The free medications aren’t free to Publix so the intent is obviously to use these medications as a loss leader. A loss leader is a tool to bring customers into the store. While in the store, in addition to the medications the customer will also pick-up milk, bread, etc. And the hope is that the customer will become a loyal customer in the future. Another version of ‘grateful patient syndrome’.
The blog posts on USA Today following this announcement were somewhat pessimistic. Many noted that these were already inexpensive medications. As a physician, I can see no harm. A reduced cost of care is a reduced cost of care no matter how you wrap it. Other comments noted the resistance that has been developed to antibiotics. But hey, you still need an Rx to get the medications.
Who’d have thought that we’d be seeing the art of medicine used as a loss leader for large retail chains.
Jeff
