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Interoperability Matters

Pharmacy Workgroup

Established to bring together organizations committed to evolving the care team
by improving pharmacy interoperability.

Co-Sponsored by  

Read News Release
VIEW REPORT OF FINDINGS

Are You Ready to Start an Evolution?

Be part of a nationwide community of practice that fosters and broadens clinical interoperability for pharmacies across the healthcare ecosystem, identifies practical solutions to shared challenges for pharmacy clinical data exchange, closes gaps in pharmacy interoperability readiness and adoption, co-creates priorities and requirements for data usability in the pharmacy context, and shares learnings and best practices. Together, we can develop practical guidance to remove barriers to providing clinical services at scale.

Evolving Care Team

Our nation faces a primary care shortage and patients are diagnosed with chronic conditions more than ever before. Pharmacists are trained to provide patient services as members of integrated care teams, however broader interoperability is needed to help this valuable resource fill the care gap.

How to Participate in the Pharmacy Workgroup

Participation in the Pharmacy Workgroup requires Sequoia membership. Learn more about membership dues and benefits. Learn more about membership dues and benefits.

Become a Member

Once you have registered to be a Sequoia member, you can join the Pharmacy Workgroup. 

Sign Up Now! Workgroup Preparing for Launch December 2024.

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Not Ready to Join?

Register for Pharmacy Workgroup Communications

Workgroup Benefits

  • Collective action solves shared pain points
  • Participants learn alongside and from each other
  • Guidance promotes consistency in approach
  • Forum for education and regulatory updates

Report of Findings

Published November 2024

A series of Listening Sessions revealed challenges the new workgroup is poised to address: Overcoming technical challenges for pharmacists to engage in clinical interoperability with other care team members, Identifying and operationalizing the information pharmacists need to access and share with other providers and payers, and Characterizing the benefits of pharmacy interoperability for all stakeholders.

View Report of Findings

Why Pharmacy Interoperability Matters

Hear about barriers to interoperability from this panel of pharmacy experts:

My HMO has a patient portal where I can access information from my visit by using a drop-down menu by the physician’s name. But not all the HMO’s physicians that I see post information. My PCP does, but specialists don’t, and urgent care doesn’t. So, I have incomplete records.
I am a caregiver for my uncle, who is insulin dependent. I can’t get his prescription refilled through a patient portal. I have tocall the doctor’s office and leave a message, then wait to see if I hear back, then call back. His prescription wasn’t refilled in time and now he’s in the hospital.
They [doctors’ offices] make you go around in circles. If you call to refill a prescription and leave a message, they never get back to you and if you use the patient portal, staff monitoring the portal messages say they have 24-48 hours to read the message and then must wait to talk to the doctor before refilling the prescription. It’s no faster using the portal when it comes to refilling prescriptions.
I called my Mom’s PCP several times requesting a prescription refill. No one called back. When we finally went to the office in person, I realized why. Behind the reception desk were rows upon rows, floor to ceiling, of filing cabinets of paper medical records. Staff was carrying armfuls of patient folders around. They were swamped and buried in mountains of paper. Which led to Mom not getting her medication, becoming ill, and being hospitalized.
Not having images available in the patient portal is really frustrating for me. I get frequent MRIs and X-rays to stay on top of my medical condition. But I can only access the radiologist readings that are filled with medical jargon and difficult to navigate. I have to request the image separately for each location I want it sent for second opinions.
My primary care doctor has most of my medical records. They have a patient portal but ask patients not to use it because it’s confusing, not easy to use, and they are waiting to upgrade to a new one.
I wanted to access medical records from twelve years ago. I was told, Oh, we don’t need to keep your records that long. I didn’t know that. So now there’s no way for me to access the historical records I need.
I have to keep a list of several patient portals, user IDs, and passwords on a Google doc that I share with family members to keep track of all my doctors and medical records….

Workgroup Leadership

Workgroup Co-Chairs

Melanie Marcus

Surescripts

Pooja Babbrah

National Council for Prescription Drug Programs, Inc. (NCPDP)

Workgroup Steering Committee

Lisa Schwartz

National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA)

Kevin Nicholson

National Association of Chain Drugstores (NACDS)

Meg Murphy

Surescripts

Want to Join the Pharmacy Workgroup?

Co-Sponsored by :

It’s time pharmacy had a voice at the interoperability table! Complete the form to join this vital workgroup (Sequoia membership required).

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