New Brunswickers will soon no longer be able to earn rewards for prescriptions and pharmacy services.
The New Brunswick College of Pharmacists made the decision at its annual general meeting on Saturday to ban pharmacies from offering incentives to consumers, such as cash, prizes, coupons or points for some pharmacy-related purchases.
The regulatory change will take effect on July 13 to give pharmacies time to adjust services.
“This change has been discussed for a long time,” Adele Wallace, president of the New Brunswick College of Pharmacists, said in a press release.
“The university must provide a regulatory environment where decisions about patient health care are based solely on patient health without any other real or perceived conflict of interest.”
Wallace said she is pleased with the decision, which will allow New Brunswickers to choose their pharmacy based solely on the quality of care without the influence of incentives.
This policy has become a trend across Canada, with New Brunswick being the seventh province to implement it.
British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador have already banned consumer incentives in prescriptions.
Anastasia Shiamptanis, a registrar at New Brunswick College of Pharmacists, said the decision was made because pharmacists are being asked to play a more important role in the health care of Canadians.
“As our role evolves, there is a growing view among regulators that consumer incentives for prescriptions and pharmacy services are unethical for the profession and are a conflict of interest,” Shiamptanis said.
He said most Canadians no longer receive these rewards on prescription and pharmacy services.