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BACKGROUND: Promotion of prescription drug coupons and vouchers by pharmaceutical manufacturers has increased in recent years. These coupons and vouchers usually subsidize patients' cost-sharing obligations. In other words, drug companies pay for a patient's portion of the drug cost, and the remaining cost is paid by the patient and the patient's health plan. This practice is normally used for brand name drugs but can and has been used for generic drugs. Copayments (also known as copays), and especially high copays for higher cost drugs, are used by managed care organizations (MCOs) to place a higher financial burden on patients and also provide an appreciation of the medication cost. At the same time, tiered copay plans offer incentives, in the form of lower copays, to use available equivalent generic alternatives or lower cost brand name drugs, instead of high cost brand name drugs. With higher tiered copays for brand name drugs being offset by coupons, little is known about MCO representatives' perceptions about the use of copay subsidy coupons for brand name prescription drugs.

Objective. To determine whether implementing a quantitative professionalism policy would lead to improved behaviors in an introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE) and to evaluate students' attitudes about professionalism expectations in the IPPE. Design. A policy using quantitative parameters for assessing unprofessional behaviors was developed and implemented in the community pharmacy IPPE after discrepancies were identified in the way professional expectations were assessed. Assessment. The quantitative professionalism policy reduced the number of assignments submitted post deadline ( p,0.05). There was no change in students' attitudes towards professional behaviors after the implementation of the policy. Conclusion. The quantitative professionalism policy was effective in changing some of the students' professional behaviors in an IPPE.