In-store health checks reveal state of Australians’ health

Priceline Pharmacy Health Station

Priceline Pharmacy has released its report, Australia’s Health Report: when healthcare meets self-care, which uncovers significant insights about the state of Australia’s health from health checks conducted in-store at Priceline.

Based on an analysis of 755,778 health checks that took place on the 273 medical-grade SiSU Health Stations in Priceline and Priceline Pharmacy stores between November 2018 and October 2020, the report aims to uncover the health of Australia, encouraging better conversations between patient, pharmacist and GP.

Andrew Vidler, General Manager of Priceline Pharmacy, says the report also gives the industry a deeper insight on the health of everyday Australians on a scare that has not been available before.

“At Priceline Pharmacy, we want to provide all Australians with easy access to health resources.

“The Health Stations, available in more than 270 stores nationwide, are an innovation that add value to the lives of our customers by helping people monitor and improve their health,” says Mr Vidler.

Key findings

Reportedly, one of the biggest findings from the report reveals that women lead the charge as the healthiest sex when it comes to physical metrics including weight, blood pressure, diabetes and smoking prevalence.

Priceline Pharmacy Health Station

The report shows that women have a healthier BMI, smoke less, have healthier blood pressure levels and a lower prevalence of diabetes, suggesting men need to start prioritising their health.

Interestingly, the report also highlights state/territory differences and reveals, for example, that when it comes to stress, Tasmania has the highest stress levels at 10.1%, followed by Queensland (8%).

New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory are the least likely to report high stress levels (6.8%).

Enabling integrated healthcare

Speaking about the potential of the Health Stations to increase the scope of integrated healthcare, Mr Vidler says that the health checks initiative has allowed better integration both in terms of referrals to GPs, and in-store relationships between customers and pharmacy staff.

“We’ve referred more than 130,000 Australians to speak further with a health professional because of a concern that was picked up during the digital Priceline Pharmacy Health Station check,” explains Mr Vidler.

“We also have customers continually come back to check in on their health using the Health Stations, helping us build strong relationships to assist them on their health journey.

“We are incredibly proud to be furthering our work in improving the health of our nation, through Australia’s Health Report: when healthcare meets self-care.

For more information and to download the report, visit: priceline.com.au/healthreport

As part of the health checks initiative, Priceline Pharmacy is also launching its Priceline Pharmacy Care-e-Van, a mobile health check on wheels that will tour the country offering free health checks.

After completing a mobile health check, users will be encouraged to visit their local store and continue monitoring their health through the instore Health Check stations.