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[consumerstrategist]

[News] Petition Launched against Ban on Loyalty Program use for Prescriptions

Weeks before a ban on the use of loyalty cards or rewards programs for prescription purchases was set to go into effect, a petition has been launched to stop it.

The Coalition for Consumer Choice (CCC) launched the petition this week – in an effort to have the provincial government stop the upcoming ban by the Alberta College of Pharmacists that would prohibit the use of loyalty cards or collection of reward points for pharmacy purchases.

The CCC is made up of Sobeys and Safeway pharmacies, the Chronic Pain Association of Canada, and the AIR MILES Reward Program, with support from the Consumers’ Association of Canada.

The College of Pharmacists has said the ban was prompted over safety concerns surrounding the use of incentives for pharmacy purchases – it’s believed that in some cases, patients would wait until special points bonus days to fill prescriptions, or fill more than they needed to collect more points.

A Safeway and Sobeys spokesperson said such a ban should not be a decision made solely by the college.

“They’re not addressing free parking or free delivery and so it appears to be outside the mandate of what the college has intended to do which is protect patient safety,” Safeway and Sobeys Regulatory Affairs Director Chad Rieger said.

By late Wednesday afternoon, more than 6,500 people had put their names on the petition.

An official start date for a ban was first set for May 1, but that date had to be pushed back to June 10.

The Alberta College of Pharmacists said on its website that the change to the date was made after officials found a number of pharmacies would not be able to carry out the changes, however, Rieger said it’s an indication the ban might not be effective.

“That adds to the position that we have, which is there is some level of indecision, there’s some concern about how they may be able to implement and if they are going to be able to implement this effectively,” Rieger said.

In addition, Sobeys, on behalf of Sobeys and Safeway, has filed an injunction on the college’s decision – a hearing date has not been set.

Source: Edmonton CTV News