Customers filling prescriptions won’t be able collect reward points anymore after the Alberta College of Pharmacists (ACP) won in the Alberta Court of Appeal on Friday.
The college wanted to impose such a ban on pharmacists and pharmacies in 2013, but the Sobeys grocery chain challenged the plan in court.
In April 2016, a Court of Queen’s Bench Judge ruled the regulator of Alberta pharmacies doesn’t have the legal power to ban the consumer loyalty programs.
On Friday, an appeals court judge ruled in favour of the college.
“Why we’ve been so passionate about this issue is that the sorts of inducements offered by community pharmacies started to change,” said Greg Eberhart, ACP’s registrar.
“They began to involve bonuses, or more rewards points on specific days, or benefits if a patient changed pharmacists, all of which had potential to disrupt professional relationships and affect decisions important to care.”
LISTEN: Greg Eberhart on Newstalk 770 with Rob Breakenridge
The ACP said the ban will take effect immediately, which means no Air Miles or other rewards for prescriptions from now on.
“Obviously, we are really disappointed in today’s decision,” said Keri Scobie, communications director for Sobeys in Western Canada. “We were definitely hoping for a different outcome than what we received.
“We saw (rewards programs) as a positive, an enhancement to an already good service that we provided, something that had some value to our customers.”
Scobie said Sobeys’ legal team is looking over the decision and it’s too early to say if the company would consider taking the case to the Supreme Court.