title: Exploratory study of community pharmacists' perceptions about new or transferred prescription incentives.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess community pharmacists' perceptions of new or transferred prescription incentives on quality of care, pharmacy practice (e.g., workload), and patient base.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Texas from March through August 2010.
  
  
  METHODS
  Texas community pharmacists.
  
  
  METHODS
  In-person and online surveys.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pharmacists' perceptions of the impact of new or transferred prescription incentives on pharmacy practice and patient care.
  
  
  RESULTS
  74 usable surveys were analyzed. Most pharmacists (74%) worked for employers who participated in prescription incentive promotions (e.g., $10 gift cards). Regarding quality of care, pharmacists perceived patients as being less likely to receive thorough drug interaction screenings (4.0 ± 1.4 [mean ± SD]) and reported medication-related problems "sometimes to very often" (3.0 ± 0.9) as a result of transferring prescriptions. Pharmacists also reported that patients commonly fill prescriptions regardless of medical necessity in order to receive incentives (4.1 ± 1.0). With respect to pharmacy practice, the majority believed that prescription incentives devalue the profession (4.3 ± 1.1) and should be eliminated (4.4 ± 1.0). Pharmacists were not inclined to believe that incentives were effective in attracting new patients and retaining their business (2.0 ± 1.0).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pharmacists believed that prescription incentives are ineffective tools for increasing patient base and may lead to lower quality of care for patients. Pharmacists view prescription incentives as devaluing the profession of pharmacy and exposing patients to medication-related problems.
authors.affiliation: Division of Health Outcomes and Pharmacy Practice, University of Texas at Austin, 2409 University Ave., 1 University Station, Austin, TX 78712-0127, USA.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fleming
authors.forename: Poorva
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nemlekar
authors.forename: Carolyn M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Roxanne
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cantu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003157:Community Pharmacy Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008389:Marketing of Health Services / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D010465:Perception; D010595:Pharmacists / Q000523:psychology*; D024382:Professional Role; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D013781:Texas; D016526:Workload