How Pharmacy Standards Drive Efficiency, Safety, and Savings

In a conversation surrounding her organization’s cost-saving and efficiency-driving standards, Pooja Babbrah, executive vice president of strategy and industry alignment at the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP), discussed market-shaping statistics that save patients money, make pharmacies more proficient, and create better patient safety outcomes.

“The opportunities for improvements, really, are to help lower the burden on providers, patients, and pharmacists, but also how we can really grow those cost-savings numbers with our standards through transparency, making everything electronic that we can,” Babbrah told Drug Topics. “I’m excited about what’s coming and some of the future improvements that we’re looking at with our standards.”

The Power of NCPDP's Pharmacy Standards | image credit: NCPDP

While organizations like NCPDP are constantly looking to improve their offerings and the ways they can assist pharmacies, the standards that it has developed over the years have truly changed the way pharmacies communicate with other providers. From the NCPDP SCRIPT Standard to the CancelRx program—which allows for seamless communication on canceling unnecessary prescriptions—the organization has developed its standards to benefit patients, providers, and pharmacists alike.

To dive deep into these standards and the eye-opening statistics that have resulted from their success, Babbrah joined Drug Topics for an episode of Over the Counter. Listen along to get a full scope of the power these standards hold and how they are becoming commonplace among pharmacy practices looking to go above and beyond for their patients and partners.

Stay tuned for weekly podcast episodes of Over the Counter powered by Drug Topics every Thursday afternoon. Also, be on the lookout for bonus episodes like this one throughout the year! Check out our most recent bonus episode from earlier this summer: The Opportunities, Gaps in Diabetes Care Making Pharmacists Stand Out.

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