How Interoperability, Data Infrastructure Create New Opportunities for Pharmacies | NCPDP 2025

As pharmacy interoperability and the health care data infrastructure are further developed, pharmacists will have significantly more opportunities to streamline their services and stand out amongst other health care providers.

At the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) 2025 Annual Conference, held May 5 to May 7 in Scottsdale, Arizona, Drug Topics caught up with Larry King, PharmD, Director of Product Safety & Performance at Surescripts. He sat down with us to discuss the technologies being developed to help pharmacists and the updates to standards and regulations regarding pharmacy interoperability.

“AI is huge, it’s not going away, and it’s going to solve a ton of problems,” King told Drug Topics. “But I think it’s all of the supporting infrastructure that goes along with it, in particularly interoperability.”

From disjointed data infrastructures to evolving technology standards, pharmacy interoperability is key to ensuring the safe, secure, and effective use of new health care technologies.

“As you think about allowing technology systems to talk to each other, if they’re not speaking the same language, they really don’t get anywhere,” he continued. Watch part 2 of our interview with King to learn how the pharmacy interoperability framework has been laid out in recent history and how companies like Surescripts are improving pharmacy data infrastructures.

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