EDUCATIONAL WEBINARS

• Describe the National Drug Code's current length and formats, and the issues of use.
• Provide a description of the changes proposed by FDA.
• Explain the timeline and implications of implementation.

Speaker:
Leyla Rahjou-Esfandiary, Pharm. D.
Team Lead, Data Quality and Compliance Team Drug Registration and Listing Branch (eDRLS) Office of Compliance, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Members: $50
Non-Members: $150

As the understanding and value of pharmacogenomics (PGx) continue to evolve and be increasingly recognized, solutions must be implemented to enable the long-term utility and mobility of patients’ data. This presentation will introduce PGx and its relevance to personalized healthcare and solutions for effective application, using clinical content and real-world case studies, while describing the needs and solutions for interoperability with pharmacogenomics across the healthcare industry.

The panelists will explore the benefits of evidence-based medication management versus the treatment-as-usual approach and explain why testing is important to putting personalized healthcare into practice. Plus, learn how NCPDP’s Foundation is helping enhance the integration of genetic data into the pharmacy workflow today!

• Describe the basic metabolizer types of pharmacogenomics.
• Describe the strongest therapeutic areas with evidence for the use of pharmacogenomics testing.
• Identify benefits to patients and clinicians.
• Understand Pharmacy-integrated Pharmacogenomics Program.
• Explain models for pharmacogenomic interoperability.

• Brad Tice, PharmD, MBA, FAPhA, Chief Executive Officer, RxGenomix, LLC
• Dr. Robert Dallara, Chief of the Department of Chronic and Interventional Pain, University Hospitals Portage Medical Center
• Cassandra Talafous, Vice President, Information Technology and HIPAA Privacy Officer, Xact Laboratories, LLC

Members: $50
Non-Members: $150

Digital therapeutics (DTx) have evolved over the last decade to enhance the patient experience across many different disease categories. Software can now be used to directly deploy interventions to treat, manage or prevent symptoms of diabetes, anxiety, PTSD, circulatory and respiratory disease among others. This session will provide an overview of digital therapeutics and their position in the healthcare ecosystem. Participants will gain an understanding of digital therapeutics as they differ from mobile health apps. Additionally, our subject matter experts will cover how these products are brought to market, reimbursed and reach the patient populations they will benefit.

• The difference between DTx and mobile health.
• Various DTx use cases.
• General workflow.

Meet the Speakers:
Andy Molnar, Chief Executive Officer, Digital Therapeutics Alliance (DTA)
Lani Hessen, Vice President of Patient Access, Digital Therapeutics Alliance (DTA)

Members: $50
Non-members: $150

Join this live online learning event featuring The Phoenix Law Group with an update on the newest laws and regulations that affect PBMs, pharmacies, plans, and others involved in the prescription benefit industry, including the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA).
This webinar will also cover the U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, subsequent guidance issued by the Biden Administration, and the current status of state laws restricting access to medication abortion. The presentation will specifically address application of federal laws and guidance to state restrictions on abortion, including the just-issued conflicting court decisions in Texas and Idaho, and strategies for pharmacies, PBMs, and health plans to stay in compliance with the applicable laws.

• Describe new legal requirements/changes and how they may impact the pharmacy and PBM industry.
• Understand what the legal requirements mean and how they apply to various players in the pharmacy and PBM industry.
• Understand the consequences of failing to meet legal requirements.
• Discuss strategies for compliance with new legal requirements.

Meet the Speakers:
Cami Agena, Partner, Phoenix Law Group
Laurel Wala, Partner, Phoenix Law Group

Join us for the webinar NCPDP Pharmacy Standards – HIPAA Updates to gain a comprehensive overview of important changes made to Telecommunication Version F6 and the Batch and Subrogation Standards. By attending this session, you will learn about critical revisions in Telecommunication Version F6 that include modifications to the DUR/PPS Response Segment, updates to the Request Patient Segment and Response Patient Segment, a new Response Provider Segment, new Response Claim segment field, and more. Plus, benefit from knowing the new Batch Standard updates like the Transaction Reference Number length increase, clarified use of multiple entity types, example modifications, and FAQs. And deepen your understanding of the Subrogation Implementation Guide changes that will help meet compliance requirements, reduce manual processes, support a new uniform approach to claims, achieve payment accuracy and support cost containment.

NCPDP is continuously reviewing and updating the three standards to improve workflows and reduce errors in data collection. Hundreds of requested changes were incorporated into these standards that will be used by payers and processors to support pharmacy claims processing, eligibility verification, predetermination of benefits, prior authorization and information reporting. The goal is to optimize communication between payers, providers, and patients to ensure patient safety, better medication adherence and improved access to care.

Speaker:
Margaret Weiker, Vice President, Standards Development, NCPDP

As part of the NCPDP HIMSS Pharmacy Town Hall series, this webinar presented by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gives an overview of the scientific concepts about biological products and the scientific and regulatory basis for the biosimilar and interchangeable biosimilar approval pathway. It explores the science of biological molecules, including size, complexity, and structure, plus reviews practical information regarding the use of these products, such as labeling, terminology, and pharmacy substitution. It also demonstrates the functionality of the Purple Book Database and shares what FDA educational materials are available for healthcare professionals and patients.

• Describe how biologics differ from small molecules (size, complexity, manufacturing) and explain why some biologics cannot be copied exactly.
• Compare and contrast the development, statutory requirements, and approval process for new biologics and for biosimilars/interchangeables.
• Compare and contrast the requirements for generics and biosimilars/interchangeables.
• Describe the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) educational resources available for healthcare providers to learn more about biosimilar and interchangeable products.
• Explain how to use the Purple Book Database of Licensed Biological Products

Speakers:
Nina Brahme, Ph.D., M.P.H., Scientific Reviewer, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Shelley Skibinski, Pharm.D., Project Coordinator, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Sarah Ikenberry, M.A., Senior Communication Advisor, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

$50 Member
$150 Non-Member

In March of 2021, the NCPDP Foundation funded an effort to migrate the NCPDP Telecommunication standard to a syntax consistent with current technology. Working closely with NCPDP staff, the WG1 Telecommunication Agility Next Generation (TANG) Task Group members and members of WG1 Telecommunication, JSON was selected. The outcome of this project is a JSON representation of the Telecommunication Standard Version F6 content in a way that is supported by current tooling and skill sets. Needs identified by NCPDP members, such as extensibility have been added. In addition, for alternative connectivity protocols and enhanced security options are possible.

Watch this on demand video to learn key areas of the project: stakeholder engagement, analysis of options available, the development and testing approach, and finally, information about the model itself.

After this educational session, attendees will be able to:

• State why the project to create a new format for the National Council for Prescription Drug Program's (NCPDP) Telecommunication (Telecom) Standard was undertaken
• Identify the data notation format used in the new Telecom Standard.
• Identify two design goals of the new Telecom Standard.
• Identify two major differences between the existing Telecom Standard and the new Telecom Standard.
• Name a feature of the new Telecom Standard that enables implementers to extend the information that can be conveyed.

Speakers:
Frank McKinney, Senior Consultant, Point of Care Partners
 

• Understand coordination of benefits (COB) processing, including the use of segments, fields and values
• Appropriately use Other Coverage Code Values and associated COB Segment fields
• Recognize the three methods of COB processing including the requirements and standard calculations
• Communicate COB processing information within a Payer Sheet

• Understand the journey from delayed information to real-time information.
• Describe the Hospice Election Status Nx Transactions and all they do.
• Learn about becoming an NCPDP/CMS Hospice Election Status pilot participant.

• Maureen Connors, PharmD, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
• Monique Irmen, MBA, Director, Government Programs, RelayHealth/McKesson
• Mary A. Perez, Principal Product Manager, Elixir Solutions
• Carolyn Dean, Regulations Compliance Manager, MatrixCare
• Judi Lund Person, Vice President, Regulatory and Compliance, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO)

• Understanding the WI SPAP TrOOP issue these COB-OHI records created and the remediation plan to resolve.
• Review examples and FAQs.

• Jamie C. Rush, Product Management Senior Advisor, Express Scripts, NCPDP WG9 COBC/BCRC Task Group Leader
• Mary A. Perez, Principal Product Manager, Elixir Solutions, NCPDP WG9 COBC/BCRC Task Group Leader
• Antoinette Cillo-Mandel, Senior Manager, Medicare Eligibility Services, Express Scripts
• Maureen Connors, PharmD, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
• Monique Irmen, MBA, Director, Government Programs, RelayHealth/McKesson
• Rose Klaben, CBAP, Information Systems Business Automation Specialist Lead, Department of Health Services - Division of Medicaid Services

• Stakeholder-specific value models of the F&B Standard;
• Results from an analysis of potential cost savings from API access to the data in the F&B Standard; and
• The additional value and cost savings gained when the F&B Standard is combined with the RTPB Standard.

• Demonstrate how to implement pharmacogenomics into pharmacy practice.
• Describe model implementations and how to overcome barriers.
• Explain CPIC resources used to implement pharmacogenomics into pharmacy practice.
• Identify a use case for pharmacogenomic resources.
• Discuss the NCPDP PGx task group work and the NCPDP precision medicine strategic initiative.

• Describe the chief pain points of the journey for patients on specialty medication(s).
• Identify three areas of specialty pharmacy that can be improved with automation.
• Name the NCPDP transactions that can be utilized by specialty pharmacy.
• Identify two task groups under NCPDP’s WG18 Specialty Pharmacy.
• Discuss pilot opportunities related to reporting in specialty pharmacy.

• Recognize and understand the current policy landscape at both the federal and state levels.
• Know what actions to expect of Congress and the Administration during the remainder of 2021 and the beginning of 2022.
• Identify the role health care standards and health information technology will play in the coming discussions including those around public health, interoperability, and data sharing.

• Describe the full scope of challenges, including financial and social, that patients must overcome to access and remain adherent to their medications.
• Describe the social determinants of health and public/private solutions that can address its downstream effects on medication use.
• List the financial support options that are emerging for patients to access either to substitute for or partner with insurance.
• Recognize the method that third-party organizations may utilize to close gaps in patient care.
• Explain the role that NCPDP Standards has created to help patients overcome certain medication access challenges.

• Outline the public policies that have formed the history and the current status of interoperability policy (HITECH, 21st Century Cures Act, etc.).
• Recognize the current state-of-play on both the legislative and regulatory fronts.    
• Analyze the trend toward sharing health information in a secure fashion — and understand where policies may be heading.
• Identify the role of standards in the process — secure, real-time, consistent methods for sharing information.
• Inform your organization on the importance of engagement that helps create a policymaker engagement plan.

• Explain the burdens of gender transition and understand the delays of patients getting on therapy.
• Name the existing override codes available within the claims transaction.
• Identify the new “Sex Assigned at Birth” field within the standards.
• Name 3 of the frequently asked questions about Gender Transition.

There is a growing demand in the market for consumer-directed information and cost transparency. This is one of the few policy agenda items in Congress that has bipartisan support. Efforts are underway to allow patients to download their records and also to use mobile technology to check out-of-pocket costs for their prescription medications. But opening up data to consumers can pose challenges including how to address patient consent issues, security and privacy of patient data, and the potential for consumers to not fully understand the information they are viewing. This session will highlight industry accomplishments, challenges and opportunities for consumer-facing applications.

If you are an NCPDP member, please contact Brian Goerlich for access to this webinar.

• Recognize how market demand for consumer-directed information and cost transparency are impacting policy and industry initiatives.    
• State the technical challenges faced when creating consumer-facing tools and information intended to improve transparency.    
• Outline the scope of the CARIN Blue Button pilot and the NCPDP and HL7 consumer-facing real-time prescription benefit check.
• State the results from CARIN Blue Button pilot.    
• Illustrate key challenges to consumer-comprehension of their health records and cost data and methods used to simplify consumption of complex information.

• Review the current electronic transactions available impacting Specialty to improve patient care
• List key organizations collaborating to create and improve standards
• Identify current activities of the work group and how your participation in its task group calls can improve specialty pharmacy
• Describe the areas highlighted in the NCPDP specialty pharmacy benefit coverage identification white paper
• Discuss pilot opportunities with regards to reporting

This session will provide an update on the newest laws and regulations that affect PBMs, pharmacies, plans, and others involved in the prescription benefit industry. The update will include such laws as pricing transparency, any willing provider and steerage, credentialing, provider mandates and contracting, MAC, pharmacy audits, discount cards, benefit mandates, licensing and utilization management, among others.

If you are an NCPDP member, please contact Brian Goerlich for access to this webinar.

• Describe new regulatory requirements/changes and how they may impact the PBM industry.    
• Discuss legislative trends, what may be coming and how these trends may impact the PBM industry.    
• Outline the legal requirements and how they apply to pharmacy business models.    
• Specify the consequences of failing to meet the legal requirements.    
• Identify strategies for compliance with these legal requirements.

• The industry definition of a digital therapeutic and example use cases for products.
• Prescription digital therapeutics requirements and their similarities to existing pharmacy workflows.
• The workflow that was selected as the Task Group’s first use case.
• The NCPDP standards analyzed to date by the Task Group, as well as the standards next to be analyzed.

• Cathy Graeff, Founder and Managing Partner of Sonora Advisory Group, LLC
• Jeff Abraham, Vice President, Health Advances
• Andy Molnar, VP, Market Access, Cognoa

The latest update to the future format of NDC and the circumstances under which listing data is inactivated by FDA will be discussed in this session.

If you are an NCPDP member, please contact Brian Goerlich for access to this webinar.

• Describe National Drug Code (NDC) and the format for its composition.
• Discuss the coming changes to the future format of the NDC. 
• List the FDA tools in order to identify your NDC drug listing certification status. 
• Describe the NDC status designations for reactivate and inactivated for drug listing certification data.

When patients or caregivers administer oral liquid medications, they rely on the dosing instructions on the medication container labels to be clear and consistent with an appropriate dosing instrument. Otherwise, administration errors, overdoses and underdoses may result. In 2014, NCPDP released “Recommendations and Guidance for Standardizing Dosing Designations on Prescription Container Labels of Oral Liquid Medications”. These recommendations catalyzed further prescriber recommendations; manufacturing guidelines; and e-prescribing software certification standards. This session will discuss updated NCPDP Recommendations based on new error-prevention research and lessons learned from the 2014 Recommendations in order to continue to improve patient safety and patient outcomes.

If you are an NCPDP member, please contact Brian Goerlich for access to this webinar.

• Describe the safety rationale for why milliliter (mL) should be the standard unit of measure used on prescription container labels for oral liquid medications.
• Describe the safety rationale for why dose amounts should always use leading zeros before the decimal point for amounts less than one on prescription container labels for oral liquid medications.
• Describe the safety rationale for why dose amounts should not use trailing zeros after a decimal point on prescription container labels for oral liquid medications.
• Explain why dosing devices with numeric graduations and units that correspond to the container labeling should be made easily and universally available.
• Explain why dosing devices should be of appropriate volume and accuracy for the amount prescribed.

Blockchain technology can play a large role in the future of pharmacy. What could it look like? Join Milliman experts, Brian Anderson, Greg Callahan, and Michael DiPrima as they discuss the potential of blockchain technology in the pharmacy/PBM/payer space. This session will tackle what blockchain technology is, why it is important in healthcare, and why it could be the future of pharmacy.

If you are an NCPDP member, please contact Brian Goerlich for access to this webinar.

The proliferation of layouts, approaches, standards and a lack of open source implementations is holding back interoperability in healthcare. By embracing open source software, we can improve interoperability and save money. Learn how this approach can clarify thinking and reconcile ambiguities in the standards making process while also helping to drive rapid adoption of updates and new standards.

If you are an NCPDP member, please contact Brian Goerlich for access to this webinar.

• Describe the basic ecosystem of pharmacy software and the data flows it can provide.
• List the artificial hurdles that are created by the multitude of standards, layouts and implementations.
• Evaluate if open source software is more secure and more auditable than the alternatives.
• Analyze open source software is complementary to standards and existing software.

Doug Long, VP Industry Relations for IQVIA, will give his highly anticipated IQVIA™ Market Trends Report. which features trends and forecasts of the U.S. market. Wholesalers, retailers, manufacturers, and multiple trade associations rely on the IQVIA Market Trends Report for guidance, direction and industry expertise.

IQVIA is the world’s largest pharmaceutical information company and provides consulting services and an extensive product portfolio to the pharmaceutical industry in more than 101 countries worldwide. Since joining IQVIA (formerly IMS) in 1989, Doug has been active in the successful implementation of data health databases and has a unique perspective on the changing U.S. and global healthcare marketplace and pharmaceutical distribution. He is a frequent industry speaker and is a permanent member of the Editorial Advisory Board of HealthCare Distributor magazine. He was a recipient of the 2004 Nexus Award for Lifetime Achievement and IMS’ prestigious Summit Award in 2003.

If you are an NCPDP member, please contact Brian Goerlich for access to this webinar.

Across industry and government, 2019 was the year of Real Time Benefit Tools (RTBT). On May 16, 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its final rule requiring Part D plans to adopt one or more RTBTs by January 1, 2021. NCPDP took on the work of creating a standard and the industry brought these tools into the pharmacy, providing the information to both prescribers and pharmacists. All of these efforts, were undertaken to create an optimal prescription experience for patients.

If you are an NCPDP member, please contact Brian Goerlich for access to this webinar.

• Outline the final CMS ruling for Real Time Benefit Tools (RTBT).
• State the current progress on the NCPDP standard.
• Explain how Eligibility & Formulary, Real Time Benefit Tools and Electronic Prior Authorization tools work together.
• Describe prescribers and pharmacists are benefiting from the broader sharing of information.
• State the latest data on the impact for patients that these tools have.

While healthcare gets a bad rap for slow change, the fundamental foundations of traditional healthcare are being shaken. Big changes, driven by employee consumers, are happening and the question is whether traditional healthcare will adapt in time. Forty-five percent of people under 40 do not identify with a primary care physician and 50% of people want to proactively manage their health through technology. The working age population is driving their own view of how healthcare should be delivered. Virtual care and healthcare consumerism will be a key part of this initiative. How will employers fit this non-traditional healthcare into their benefit plans?

If you are an NCPDP member, please contact Brian Goerlich for access to this webinar.

• Compare the difference between telehealth and virtual care.
• Identify the trends in the industry with regard to virtual care.
• List three examples of virtual care.
• Evaluate whether virtual care and healthcare consumerism should be considered in today’s healthcare benefit plans.

Complex, chronic illnesses – from rheumatoid arthritis to multiple sclerosis – are on the rise. In correlation with an aging population, nearly half of all Americans (45 percent) suffer from at least one chronic disease. The healthcare industry can expect the need for specialty medications and prescribing to grow exponentially. How will specialty prescribing keep up if prescribers and pharmacists are still dependent on faxes and phone calls? The industry is working to streamline specialty prescribing. Learn about what is on the horizon, from regulations to technology innovations.

If you are an NCPDP member, please contact Brian Goerlich for access to this webinar.

• Reflect on a common assessment of the current state and potential future state of specialty prescribing and specialty fulfillment.
• Define challenges that are shared across providers and specialty pharmacists.
• Identify current and potential regulations that could impact specialty prescribing along with patient outcomes.
• Analyze the data of time lost through inefficiencies and consider new solutions.
• Evaluate potential impact from new standards and tools that can alleviate pain points for specialty fulfillment.

Today, prescription administration instructions appear on medication labels in an inconsistent manner. The inconsistency or lack of standardization in the instructions makes it hard for patients to understand and adhere to their medication regimens, resulting in adverse drug events and/or less than optimum health outcomes. What’s more – varying levels of health literacy and the increase in patients taking multiple medications compound the complexity of this patient safety issue.

NCPDP’s “Universal Medication Schedule White Paper,” published in 2013, describes the need for the Universal Medication Schedule (UMS) and how it can be implemented using NCPDP’s SCRIPT Standard to simplify prescription administration directions. But how far have we come as industry in addressing this important patient safety issue? This session will explore the best practices and pitfalls that affect medication adherence; research on the current state of UMS; and a path forward to addressing this patient safety issue.

If you are an NCPDP member, please contact Brian Goerlich for access to this webinar.

• Explain an example of a medication instruction that can be misconstrued.
• Describe the results of current research on Universal Medication Schedule (UMS).
• Name two barriers to adoption of UMS.
• Identify two ways the SCRIPT Standard supports clarity and consistency in the UMS.

• Which code(s) should I send?
• What does the payer want to know?
• Is the patient’s definition of “emergency” the same as the payer’s definition?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a transformational force in health care with global investments projected to exceed $27 billion by 2025, a 44% compounded annual growth rate since 2018. Driving these investments are AI’s potential to improve health outcomes, provide accurate and earlier chronic disease diagnosis and support development of tools for older patients.

This webinar will focus on medication management, highlighting six ways AI is being used today to address persistent problem areas in medication use, and conclude with an interactive discussion focused on identifying and addressing development and implementation barriers. In addition, Ken will define the types of AI being used (predominately machine learning and natural language processing), how models are developed and how attendees can begin to use AI to improve medication management in their organizations.

If you are an NCPDP member, please contact Brian Goerlich for access to this webinar.

• Delineate how AI approaches including machine learning and natural languageprocessing (NLP)can be used to tackle difficult problems in healthcare.
• Describe how AI technology is being used in medication management today and its expectedgrowth.
• Restate how AI can improve medication safety.
• Discuss how evidence-based algorithms and machine learning can streamline the priorauthorization process.
• Summarize how AI technology can be used to monitor patient adherence and notify clinicianswhen intervention may be necessary.

Challenges aligning medications to coverage, managing controlled substance prescribing, and meeting specialty medications requirements significantly impact speed to therapy. However, standards are breaking down the barriers by bringing the right information into the right point in workflows. Join us at this informative session exploring how standards and innovations are improving electronic transactions, data intelligence, and workflow automation between prescriber and pharmacist and getting must needed therapies to patients quickly.

Advancements in e-prescribing and electronic messaging have improved communication channels between facilities and pharmacies. While at the same time, complexity in the process from prescribing to fulfillment has increased. Logic governing coverage, eligibility, and participation in specialty programs have a lot of dependencies and prone to delaying the delivery of medication therapy to patients.

Three critical focus areas for this presentation include electronic prescribing of controlled substances; enrollment in specialty medication programs; and age-old challenge of simplifying steps the pharmacist and prescriber must take clarify or request a change to a prescription.

The presentation will describe how today’s standards and innovations are getting therapies to patients not in months, but in minutes. Efficiencies occurring in the trenches of care delivery will be discussed along with lessons learned about filling workflow gaps that still exist today.

• Explore the most common challenges with prescription delivery in today’s e-prescribing environment.
• Assess workflow barriers for the prescriber and pharmacist that impact therapeutic availability for traditional prescribing, controlled substance prescribing, and specialty medications.
• Identify value of using data intelligence at the point of care to reduce downstream medication delivery obstacles.
• Contrast the speed to therapy improvements possible through relevant use case examples.
• Plan the critical milestones needed to maximize your organization’s role in impacting speed to therapy.

Speaker(s):
Ryan Hess, MBA
VP of Product Innovation
Surescripts

Ryan manages multiple businesses under the Enhance Prescribing portfolio. With over a decade of experience in healthcare, he leads innovation for solutions including medication eligibility and formulary, real-time prescription benefit, medication history, and prior authorization solutions. Ryan writes and speaks on how technology and standards enhance workflows across healthcare delivery.

Continuing Pharmacy Education (CPE) credits for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians will be available for this webinar, thanks to a sponsorship by CoverMyMeds.

• Explain some of the advances in technology and how it is impacting the delivery of services
• Discuss current needs in the healthcare industry and the impact they are having on patients
• Describe upcoming trends seen in the pharmacy industry and how it might change the practice
• Understand possible legal barriers to entry and ramifications of implementation
• Consider the future implications of the safe practice of pharmacy

Speaker(s):
Adam Chesler
Director, Regulatory Affairs
Cardinal Health

Adam Chesler is currently the Director of Regulatory Affairs for Cardinal Health. He has more than 15 years of experience in pharmacy including positions as Vice President of Operations for TelePharm; Director of Strategic Alliances for PTCB; and manager roles with Walgreens and Target.  Adam was appointed to the Texas State Board of Pharmacy Task Force on Pharmacy Technician Practice, the Texas E-Health Committee, and has testified before state legislatures in support of advancing the pharmacy profession. He earned a doctorate degree in Pharmacy from the University of Texas and holds a degree in Health Science from the University of Miami.

The implementation of the HITECH Act of 2009 has resulted in a large-scale effort to digitize health data. However, without a Universal Patient Identifier (UPI), data interoperability between all constituents that make up the healthcare marketplace is not feasible. To achieve this interoperability of data, a Universal Patient Identifier that will efficiently and accurately link health data at scale to improve patient safety and reduce mistaken identity involved with medical procedures.

Attend this webinar to learn about the Universal Patient Identifier and current legislative updates, impacts across the industry and how to will improve the healthcare experience for patients and providers.

• Review the role of the HITECH ACT of 2009 to digitize health data.
• Define the term Universal Patient Identifier (UPI) and its role within digitized records.
• Outline how a UPI will efficiently and accurately link health data to support patient safety.
• Report the legislative progress in the pharmacy industry to transmit UPI through the NCPDP standards.

The healthcare industry is on the verge of something big. Federal initiatives calling for greater transparency in prescription drug costs and industry innovators working to make the critical juncture of diagnosis and treatment easier on patients are converging with the development of an industry standard: the NCPDP Real-Time Prescription Benefit Standard. With the standard comes the potential to completely transform the patient-provider experience, giving prescribers access to patients’ out-of-pocket costs at the point of care for better informed, collaborative decision-making.

This is a boost for prescribers and pharmacists, allowing providers visibility on patients’ eligibility and benefit information within existing workflows through EHRs and other ePrescribing systems. The BETA Version of the NCPDP Standard, available in both XML and EDI formats, was approved in August 2019 and is set to go to ballot mid-September.

Speakers:
John Klimek, R.Ph.

In June 2018, CMS adopted a three-pronged approach to address prevention and treatment of opioid addiction within the Medicare community, which led to the development of a series of Opioid Overutilization Initiatives designed to stem over prescribing of opioid pain medications. In response to these new rules, which took effect January 1, 2019, NCPDP provided new guidance in its Telecommunication Version D and Above Questions, Answers and Editorial Updates document to illustrate how to use the Telecommunication Standard’s transactions to properly prescribe opioids based on these new rules.

Using the opioid-specific scenarios offered in the Editorial Updates document, this webinar will help plans, payers and providers -- especially state Medicaid and fiscal agents -- understand how morphine milligram equivalent (MME) dosing requirements can be standardized for a more systematic approach for handling rejections and responses throughout the industry, streamlining the customer experience and improving patient safety.

Speakers:
Michele V. Davidson, R.Ph., Senior Manager, Pharmacy Technical Standards, Development & Policy, Government Relations, Walgreen Co.
Kelley Vaughan, Director, Claims Service Operations, MedImpact

By 2020, a projected 9 out of 10 top-selling drugs by revenue will be Specialty. The current process for exchanging data, including prescription data, regarding specialty medications is complex and manual, taking days to weeks to begin a patient on therapy. This webinar will provide insight on the patient experience and guidance on how to become involved in creating solutions to improve care for Specialty patients.  The webinar will include an overview of the current Specialty pharmacy process; highlight electronic transactions available to improve patient care; and provide guidance on how to become involved in future enhancements.

Continuing Education Credits for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians will be available for this webinar.

Part 3 of the complimentary NCPDP/HIMSS Town Hall Series, is sponsored by Surescripts.

• Describe two ways that the lack of standardization impacts specialty pharmacy patients.
• Outline the current Specialty process flows.
• Describe the current specialty process burdens on stakeholders.
• Review the current electronic transactions available impacting Specialty to improve patient care.
• Identify two ways healthcare stakeholders can participate in NCPDP’s development of standardized transactions for specialty pharmacy.

Speakers:
Julie Hessick
Kathy Lewis
Laura Topor
Pooja Babbrah

Important standards work is being done to facilitate medication cost transparency and workflow efficiency across healthcare stakeholders: prescribers, pharmacies, payers/PBMs, and patients. Co-leads of NCPDP’s Real Time Prescription Benefit Standard Task Group, Roger Pinsonneault, R.Ph., Vice President, Product Innovation, Gemini Health, and Tim McNeil, NSC, Director, Standards, Surescripts, will provide updates on work related to the national standards for cost transparency, and provide practical examples of the impact the standards are having within care delivery.  They will also share insights on future innovations in cost transparency.

Sponsored by Surescripts

Continuing Education Credits for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians will be available for this webinar.

Learning objectives:

• Identify the state of “Real-Time Prescription Benefit” processing services in the United States.
• Describe the efforts of the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) to create a real-time prescription benefit transaction format.
• Identify currently planned and future messaging capabilities of NCPDP’s Real-Time Prescription Benefit transaction.
• Describe the industry challenges of adopting a Real-Time Prescription Benefit transaction.
• Identify the stakeholder benefits for Real-Time Prescription Benefit.

Speakers:
Roger Pinsonneault, R.Ph.
Tim McNeil, NSC

Regardless of where your organization is in its planning, we invite you to bring your questions and attend this webinar dedicated to getting you on the path to a successful implementation.

As the industry prepares for the January 1, 2020 implementation date for SCRIPT v2017071, many ePrescribing vendors have started devising their product update plans. Regardless of where your organization is in its planning, we invite you to bring your questions and attend this webinar dedicated to getting you on the path to a successful implementation.

Attend this webinar to:

• Understand the CMS regulation naming the new version of SCRIPT, along with the associated timelines;
• Receive a high-level overview of new features and changes between the current SCRIPT and new SCRIPT versions; and
• Hear how NCPDP can help your organization plan, test, and prepare for January 1, 2020.

Speakers:
Ashley H. Maples CPhT NSC
Tim McNeil, NSC
Tolu Akinwale R.Ph. MBA PharmD

Learn more about how NCPDP’s SCRIPT Standard is developed and how Extensible Markup Language, or XML, is used in ePrescribing standards. Join NCPDP Technical Analysts, Teresa Strickland and Paul Wilson, to learn how to view, read and interpret XML in ePrescribing standards.

Attendees will learn:

• what XML is, and how and why it is used for SCRIPT standards;
• key terminology associated with the XML language;
• how to view an XML schema;
• how to identify the components and building blocks of an XML schema in order to read it; and
• where to find additional resources for offline XML research and for SCRIPT version 2017071.

Speakers:
Paul Wilson, NCPDP Technical Analyst, Standards Development
Teresa Strickland, NCPDP Technical Advisor, Model Facilitator, Standards Development

Join NCPDP members Mary Perez, Medicare Part D Senior Systems Analyst, Enrollment with Magellan Rx Management, and Nancy Bridgman, Director of Medical Billing with Remedi SeniorCare, as they explain Medicare Part D’s impact on the hospice patient.

Attendees of the webinar will:

• Learn how the Hospice provider helps the beneficiary start their hospice journey with Medicare Part A;
• Understand the communication processes with CMS and the Medicare Part D plan;
• Understand the financial responsibility for medications in hospice care;
  • Hospice Medication Coverage,
  • Medicare Part D payment for drugs for patients enrolled in hospice,
  • Retroactivity; and
• Review the hospice Information for Medicare Part D Plans form, also known as A3, used to facilitate communication between Medicare Part D plans, hospices, prescribers, and pharmacists who serve beneficiaries enrolled in hospice.

Speakers:
Mary Perez
Nancy Bridgman

This session will provide the current status of e-prescribing including a regulatory update, identify key opportunities to improve electronic prescription accuracy, and share the results of how those opportunities are being addressed through specific initiatives targeting SIG and drug description. Additionally, the session will showcase the NCPDP SCRIPT standard-based RxChange and CancelRx transactions and the role they play in driving improved patient safety.

Continuing Pharmacy Educations (CPE) units will be available for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. Sponsored by Surescripts.

Participants will:

• Analyze the current state of ePrescribing adoption and utilization of e-prescribing of controlled substances.
• Review enacted and emerging state legislation intended to drive ePrescribing adoption.
• Highlight key opportunities to improve electronic prescription accuracy.
• Identify best practices using an industry wide collaboration approach to drive improvement in e-prescribing.
• Learn the progress that’s been made in electronic prescription accuracy through initiatives targeting SIG and drug description.
• Learn how the RxChange and CancelRx transactions are working to improve patient safety.

Speakers:
Ken Whittemore Jr., R.Ph., MBA
Stacy Ward-Charlerie, PharmD
Thomas Agresta MD, MBI

After attending the webinar, you will understand:

• why pharmacy practice accreditation in the healthcare system and in pharmacy is valuable;
• the specialty pharmacy accreditation program and process;
• what NCPDP's initiatives are in specialty pharmacy; and
• what capabilities specialty pharmacy has to improve and enhance patient outcomes.

Speakers:
Lynnae Mahaney, B.S., Pharm., MBA, FASHP

The On-Demand Webinar recording will include a recap of the recent Unique Device Identifier (UDI) system history, a summary of the changes device manufacturers are implementing, information from the FDA UDI regulation and its subsequent guidance document. Links to critical resources will be shared.

Upon successful completion of this activity, pharmacists should be able to:

• Have a high level understanding of the FDA UDI regulation.
• Determine which products are subject to the FDA UDI rule.
• Understand the modifications that device manufacturers will be making to their product labels and barcodes to comply with the UDI regulation.
• Understand FDA’s position on the future discontinuation of “NDC” and “NHRIC” from device labels.
• Know how to begin moving forward in adopting UDI.

Speakers:
Melva Chavoya, Clinical Database Manager, Walgreen Co.
Dennis Black, Director, e-Business, Solutions GroupBecton Dickinson
Terrie L. Reed, Senior Advisor Office of Surveillance and Biometrics, FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH)