Incentivizing choice of community pharmacy

Objectives There is a growing concern regarding the impact of incentive points/loyalty programmes among pharmacists in Canada. Several provincial studies have been conducted in order to understand the pharmacists’ perceptions of incentive and loyalty programmes. To date, no known Canadian study investigates the perceptions of incentive and loyalty programmes from that of the general public. Methods This study uses data collected, via telephone survey, from members of the public in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan to explore the perception of incentive and loyalty programmes, and the ethical and professional parameters surrounding offering incentives and loyalty programmes. Key findings Results suggest that members of the general public perceive patient care to be unaffected by the offering of incentive and loyalty programmes. The vast majority of respondents reported that they did not behave or make decisions based on incentives and loyalty programmes that impacted their health. Less than half of the respondents viewed it ethical for pharmacists to provide incentive and loyalty programmes; however, the majority disagreed that offering incentive and loyalty programmes made pharmacists or pharmacies less trustworthy. Conclusions The results suggest that patients are able to discern the complex nature (e.g. professional and business orientations) of pharmacists and the pharmacy industry, perceiving their care to be unaffected by incentive and loyalty programmes. This study illuminates the Saskatchewan public's perceptions of pharmacy incentive and loyalty programmes, a previously unstudied area of research.