[Regulator75]

Personally, it does kinda suck. As I've been getting 7X Air Miles every time I get my order filled. Just today, I was awarded 168 Air Miles on a $488 order. If I had my way, I wouldn't be on any medications, however the extra bonus of Air Miles always helped a bit.

http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/safeway-fi...cies-1.1789631

A decision by the Alberta College of Pharmacists to stop the practice of allowing patients to collect rewards on medication rewards has resulted in Safeway, the grocery store chain which is now owned by Sobey’s, taking the college to court.

According to the college, patients should not consider incentives, including Air Miles, when selecting where to purchase their medication. There is fear among some pharmacists that patients may attempt to purchase more medication than they require in order to obtain reward miles.
Safeway claims they’re providing a valuable service with Air Miles. The reward program brings people into their pharmacies which is a positive step in ensuring people receive the medication they require.

A sign at a Safeway pharmacy explains the company's opposition to a decision on the future of reward programs at pharmacies
“What we've found is patients are generally more adherent, they actually build stronger relationships with our pharmacists when these types of benefits are in place,” explains Chad Rieger of Safeway. “We found with Air Miles that we’ve actually seen an increase in frequency of fills, so patients are more adherent to their prescriptions or filling them when they should.”

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Co...882/story.html

The Coalition for Consumer Choice launched a petition this week calling on the provincial government to overturn a recent decision by the Alberta College of Pharmacists to ban pharmacies from awarding Air Miles and other loyalty programs.

The “I Earned It” petition, launched Tuesday, already has more than 11,000 signatures. The ban is slated to go into effect June 10.

The newly formed group is led by Sobeys Inc., which also plans to launch a legal challenge against the college, and includes Safeway pharmacies, AIR MILES Reward Program, the Consumers’ Association of Canada and the Chronic Pain Association of Canada.

“Most of our members do take medications on a long-term basis, so this does impact them and their quality of life,” said Roxanne Stewart, vice-president of the Chronic Pain Association of Canada. “Most look at this (loyalty programs) as a little perk that you might get when you’re in a bad spot.

“(The college) haven’t been able to present any objective evidence that says people are abusing that or that it is impacting their health in any way,” Stewart added.