The controversial proposal from the College of Pharmacists of BC to ban retailers from awarding loyalty points when customers buy prescription drugs is pitting pharmacy chains against each other.
Chains such as Shoppers Drug Mart (SDM) and Safeway Canada allow customers to collect loyalty program points or air miles when they buy prescription drugs; Richmond-based London Drugs has long disallowed the practice.
The college, which sets standards for pharmacies across the province, is urging Health Minister Margaret MacDiarmid to enact the ban.
The college argues in an open letter on its website that allowing customers to collect loyalty points might convince some people to delay filling prescriptions until a time in the week or month when they would get more points.
Others are encouraged to refill prescriptions that they no longer need because they can collect points and would be eligible to be reimbursed by an insurance company for the drug cost, the college argues.
That fuels a black market in excess prescription drugs that promotes drug abuse and erodes public health.
In July 2011, the B.C. government prohibited pharmacies from offering inducements or points on the portion of pharmacy bills that's covered by B.C.'s PharmaCare program.
"We believe that pharmaceuticals should be used only as necessary and that there should not be any retail incentive plan that drives the use of them," John Tse, vice-president of pharmacy at London Drugs, told Business in Vancouver.
London Drugs has some department-specific programs that reward frequent customers, but it does not issue Air Miles or any other loyalty points when customers buy prescription drugs.
However, the chain allows customers to buy prescriptions with credit cards that bear rewards.
Safeway and SDM representatives have told the college they oppose its campaign.
"We've seen evidence that incentives and loyalty programs have the potential to encourage positive health behaviours," Tammy Smitham, SDM vice-president of communications and corporate affairs, told BIV.
She said SDM gives loyalty points to customers who get flu shots or participate in health screening initiatives, adding that the programs promote good health and should be encouraged.
Smitham dismissed the college's concerns about loyalty points spurring a black market in prescription drugs as lacking evidence. •
