Integration of Health Care Technology Is Feasible in Independent Pharmacy Setting

Using the Health Level Seven (HL7) Fast Health Care Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standard, researchers deemed the integration between independent pharmacy and the electronic health record (EHR) as a feasible process. According to a study published in JAPhA Practice Innovations, health information technology (HIT) interoperability is achievable in community pharmacy and can assist in services like transitions of care (TOC).¹

“Pharmacy software interoperability represents a critical factor in the expansion of pharmacist-delivered patient care services and refers to the ability of community pharmacy software systems to communicate, exchange data, and use the information that has been exchanged effectively,” wrote the authors of the study. “Interoperability promises a future where pharmacists and other providers can, for example, share medical and prescription information to resolve drug utilization reviews and aid in TOC.”

As the digital age of today’s world continues to advance, health care providers and leaders within the industry have been forced to keep up with developing technologies and standards for providing valued care. Pharmacy interoperability began when computerized pharmacy management systems arose as essential resources for pharmacies looking to manage inventory, process prescriptions, and handle prescription claims adjudication.¹

An exploration of the feasibility of health information technology interoperability between a medical office and independent pharmacy. | image credit: Health Studio / stock.adobe.com

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

In the 1990s, the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) introduced the SCRIPT standard for facilitating electronic prescriptions between pharmacies and prescribers. While this standard was a major step in avoiding handwritten prescription errors, it was just a precursor to the lack of interoperability between various medical providers.

Despite the seemingly exponential advancement of technology inside and outside of health care, researchers identified a myriad of challenges regarding health care interoperability. From data that is siloed off between various providers to legal regulations stunting advancements in interoperability, many health care technologies have shown the inability to integrate with others.²

“Pharmacy interoperability has become a cornerstone of advancing health care, giving pharmacists the opportunity to play a more active role in care coordination and patient outcomes,” wrote Lee Ann Stember, president and CEO of NCPDP.³ “However, achieving full interoperability is no small task. Pharmacies face a variety of challenges, from outdated systems to complex technologies, requiring teamwork and innovation to overcome.”

While pharmacy interoperability is a common theme in the industry today, research into the topic is significantly lacking, according to the authors. More specifically, they also noted a lack of understanding regarding HIT and pharmacy interoperability, even though small-scale pilot studies and projects have shown promise.¹

“This study aimed to report on the implementation and feasibility of HIT interoperability between a medical office and an independent community pharmacy in Tennessee using the HL7 FHIR standard,” continued the authors of the current study.

In this proof-of-concept study, researchers explored the development and implementation of a data integration intervention between a medical office and community pharmacy in Tennessee. Throughout the study, their goal was to integrate the HL7/NCPDP Pharmacist eCare Plan (PeCP) with HL7 FHIR. While the PeCP was developed strictly for pharmacists to communicate patient information with other health care professionals, the HL7 FHIR format was developed in 2011 for more convenient ways of exchanging data within web technology across health care.

With PeCP-EHR integration as the primary study goal, researchers developed and implemented these platforms from January 2021 to December 2024. From the official start of the study’s proof-of-concept project to events like turning information into readable documents for patients and the completion of implementation, researchers developed these platforms and facilitated integration for almost 4 years straight.

“This project demonstrated a proof of concept of a PeCP-EHR integration to share patient data between a pharmacy and medical office using HL7 FHIR format,” they wrote.¹ “Using the most current software infrastructure and standards in a real-world practice environment, it was possible to automatically refer patients to the pharmacy service using rules-based criteria and allow data sharing seamlessly between the 2 entities.”

Specifically among the study’s patient population, this integration flagged referrals for 36 unique patients based on TOC codes.

Through the researchers’ proof-of-concept study, they were able to conduct the first successful implementation of integration between pharmacy and medical data in a real-world setting outside of a health information exchange. With health care data interoperability known to benefit patient outcomes as well as expand the pharmacists’ role in health care, successful implementation in the current study could mean an exciting step forward in health care overall.

While the current study underscores the potential for advancing pharmacy interoperability—and a variety of experts and organizations discuss its importance—this data integration requires further research to understand the full extent of its impact on patients.

“This study demonstrated that HIT interoperability is possible in the community pharmacy and may aid in the accessibility of pharmacist care services, such as TOC,” concluded the authors.¹ “More research is needed to understand the impact of such data integrations on economic, clinical, and humanistic outcomes.”

READ MORE: Pharmacists’ Expertise Can Improve Patient Outcomes in Transitions of Care

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REFERENCES

1. Hohmeier KC, Ausili J, Hajyani L, et al. Early implementation of pharmacist eCare plan and Electronic Health Record integration: a proof-of-concept study on health information interoperability. JAPhA Pract Innov. 2025;2(4):100073. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japhpi.2025.100073

2. Torab-Miandoab A, Samad-Soltani T, Jodati A, et al. Interoperability of heterogeneous health information systems: a systematic literature review. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2023;23(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12911-023-02115-5

3. Stember LA. Driving pharmacy interoperability in 2025. National Council for Prescription Drug Programs. January 29, 2025. Accessed September 10, 2025. https://www.ncpdp.org/Blog/January-2025/Driving-Pharmacy-Interoperability-in-2025