The Alberta Court of Appeals has reinstated a ban on rewards programs and loyalty points for pharmacies in the Alberta.

The ban was originally put in place in 2014 but later overturned. That's when the Alberta College of Pharmacists appealed the ruling, saying that offering rewards can hurt the relationship between a pharmacist and the customer.

"When inducements are offered on the condition that a particular pharmacy services or the need to dispense a drug are provided, it can become very disruptive and encourage people to move their care from pharmacy to pharmacy to pharmacy," said Greg Eberhart, Registrar of the College.

The College officially won that appeal today (September 22nd), meaning loyalty points from programs such as Optimum and Air Miles can no longer be collected while paying for prescriptions and pharmacy services.

"Today's decision is a decision by the Court of Appeal which has ruled in favour of the College supporting it's authority to approve these standards and therefore these standards come into effect as of today," said Eberhart.

Eberhart said they know some aren't happy with the decision, but reiterated that they want to honour the relationships at Alberta pharmacies.

"The way that those inducements were being offered were very disruptive to the relationships that are important between the pharmacist and the patient and the other health professionals that care for that patient."

 

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