What is Patient Steering — and Why It Matters for Your Health

In recent months, insurers have been pushing harder to limit where patients can fill their prescriptions. This tactic is called “patient steering” — when an insurance company directs you toward a specific pharmacy or a Preferred Provider Network (PPN), often owned or partnered with the insurer itself.

At first glance, this may sound harmless. But here’s the problem:

• Loss of choice: Patients are pressured to use insurer-owned pharmacies or mail-order services, not their trusted local pharmacy.
• Fragmented care: There’s no integration with your family doctor or local healthcare team.
• Profit before patients: Insurers profit from these arrangements, while patients lose continuity of care.

Centrum Pharmacy has seen this issue firsthand with insurers like Manulife, which recently directed patients toward its PPN pharmacies — undermining independent pharmacies and patient choice.

At Centrum Pharmacy, we believe patients should never be forced to sacrifice quality care for corporate profit. Our care model — the 4 C’s: Complete, Comprehensive, Caring, Connected Care — only works because we remain independent and fully integrated with the Orleans Family Health Clinic.👉 This is Part 1 of our series on insurer overreach. Stay tuned for Part 2, where we’ll show how this behaviour specifically harms patients prescribed GLP-1 medications like Ozempic.

Disclaimer: The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information does not substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment. Please do not initiate, modify, or discontinue any treatment, medication, or supplement solely based on this information. Always seek the advice of your healthcare provider first. Full Disclaimer.