One creative new program from CVS rewards loyal customers with $2.00 off their prescriptions. From May 1 through June 15, CVS is offering $2.00 in “Extra Bucks” to customers who use the CVS “ExtraCare” rewards card to purchase their prescriptions. The “Extra Bucks” are issued to customers in the ExtraCare program quarterly.

After June 15, CVS ExtraCare cardholders will receive $1 in “Extra Bucks” when they fill two prescriptions, an offer that has been in place for a while.

“Reducing healthcare costs is a priority for most Americans. CVS/pharmacy is the only pharmacy that pays customers back for purchasing prescriptions,” said John Barron, director of relationship marketing for CVS/pharmacy.

Customers are flocking to this type of rewards program. CVS/pharmacy customers earned nearly $95 million in ExtraBucks savings on their prescriptions last year, Barron said.

Since last fall, the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) also has been offering its pharmacy members a customer-loyalty program. NCPA members can choose a frequency-, dollar-, or discount-based rewards program with customized loyalty cards featuring store logo and information.

Consumers are more interested in discounts and coupons than they were before, according to Drugstore.com in Bellevue, Wash. Over the past year, the number of consumers visiting Drugstore.com’s coupon, sale, and clearance pages has soared 75 percent, and orders placed by customers searching for bargains have spiked 90 percent since last year, according to the online retailer.

“Since the beginning of the year, we’ve also seen more customers taking advantage of our Drugstore.com Dollars program … offering five percent back towards future purchases,” said David Lonczak, vice president and chief marketing officer of Drugstore.com.

Coupons and rewards programs may serve as more effective incentives than the $4 generic programs and store gift cards offered to customers who transfer prescriptions to those stores, say those who have studied the matter.

After surveying 20 retail pharmacies last fall, Lisa Marie Tremuth, PharmD, a recent graduate of the University of Michigan, found that incentives for transferring prescriptions do not result in loyal customers, and they increase the risk of prescription errors. “I think it is really harmful, and it is incentivizing patients to do something that is harmful to them. They are not going to have any kind of relationship with the pharmacist or pharmacy,” Tremuth said. The survey was published in the journal Michigan Pharmacist.

With transfer offers, certain customers transfer their prescriptions from one pharmacy to the next on a consistent basis and typically transfer only one of several prescriptions. The pharmacist does not have a clear view of all the medications those customers are taking and typically does not ask them to list all their medications, according to Tremuth. One-third of pharmacists surveyed said prescription errors occurred as a direct result of the prescription transfer programs.

NCPA also is concerned about incentives for transferring prescriptions, and many independent pharmacies are not offering these programs. “We are hearing that patients are taking the bait and transferring their prescriptions from pharmacy to pharmacy, in order to take advantage of the coupons. This is of concern to us, because we advocate that patients should find a pharmacist who addresses their needs and stick with that pharmacist,” said John Norton, public relations manager for NCPA.

In addition, those transferring prescriptions are generally not customers who will remain loyal to the retailer offering the incentive, so the business does not typically benefit over the long term. Instead, the industry should make offers that build customer loyalty, such as “If you leave your prescription at our pharmacy for three months or more, we will give you a gift card,” Tremuth said.

While independent pharmacies are facing more competition from chains’ increased use of coupons and discount generic programs, their concern is with the overall practice of discounting drugs. “Our fundamental concern is the commoditization of prescription drugs. The more they are devalued in an attempt to attract customers to their stores, the less likely a premium is placed on providing customer service and the consultation that helps ensure medication adherence,” Norton said.

In fact, in Tremuth’s survey, independent pharmacies had the fewest customers transferring to other pharmacies, because independents typically offer value-added services such as free delivery, free medication reviews, and bubble-wrap packaging for certain orders.