Surescripts, the nation’s leading health information network, will lead two sessions at the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) Annual Technology & Business Conference on May 9, 2023, on Opportunities to Expand Access & Fill Gaps in Primary Care and Improving Sig Clarity: Tools & Innovations for Improving the Prescription Experience in Healthcare.

“Engaging in conversations with industry leaders and organizations is key to understanding the biggest challenges facing healthcare today and how we can best support clinicians in addressing those challenges,” said Mark Gingrich, Chief Information Officer for Surescripts and NCPDP Board of Trustees Secretary/Treasurer. “It’s our job to equip clinicians, including our pharmacists, with the technology and information they need to ensure patients continue to have access to essential services such as immunizations, medication counseling and important health screenings and strengthening each clinician’s role within the patient care team.”

The first of two sessions, will focus on how advancing interoperability, new policies and payment models can help address some of healthcare’s top challenges like the predicted shortage of up to 124,000 physicians in the U.S. by 2034, proposing opportunities that may be available as 9 in 10 Americans live within five miles of a pharmacy.

Shannon Reidt, Director of Medication Research and Analytics at Surescripts, will present new data and analysis that supports the opportunity for evolving care teams, including pharmacists, to help fill gaps in primary care so patients will continue to have access to essential services.

Key report highlights:

• Nearly half of all counties in the United States have relative shortages of primary care providers (PCPs), with just one PCP for every 1,500 people.
• 61% of those counties also have a high volume of retail pharmacy locations that could help expand access to primary care where pharmacists could help address unmet patient needs -- with many in rural areas of the Midwest and South.

“We are encouraged by this new data that reinforces the incredible opportunity for pharmacists to work at the full scope of their license, complimenting the care delivered by primary care providers and leading to a more accessible care team for patients across the country,” said Melanie Marcus, Chief Marketing Officer for Surescripts and chair of the NCPDP Foundation’s National Advisory Council (NAC) strategic initiative: Role and Value of the Pharmacist. “This data also helps inform one of the NCPDP Foundation’s top priorities related to the role and value of the pharmacist as news of provider shortages and surmounting challenges threaten patient access to care.”

Reidt will also share important among primary care providers and non-primary care providers and how new policies including payment reform and advanced technology are needed to support the evolving care team.

Surescripts is a member and sponsor of NCPDP, supporting dozens of workgroups that inform leading pharmacy industry standards.

Where to Find Surescripts at NCPDP:

Speaking session: Opportunities to Expand Access & Fill Gaps in Primary Care, Tuesday, May 9, 3:10—3:30 p.m., in the Innovation Theater

Under intense pressure, today’s care team is evolving—and new data shows that pharmacies have a unique opportunity to improve access to primary care. We’ll dive into prescribing trends, geographic gaps, and where new policies, payment reform and technology are needed to help everyone work at the top of their license as one team.

Speaker: Shannon Reidt, Director, Medication Research and Analytics, Surescripts

Speaking session: Improving Sig Clarity: Tools & Innovations for Improving the Prescription Experience in Healthcare, Tuesday, May 9, 3:35—3:55 p.m. in the Innovation Theater

A Sig is the most variable part of a prescription. It’s also a top cause of confusion and clarification between healthcare providers. Learn about solutions and best practices that are helping reduce variability and standardize the Sig—ultimately streamlining the prescription process, enhancing communication and improving the healthcare experience.

Speaker: Scott Rochowiak, Manager, Product Performance, Surescripts

Meet with us in-person: visit us at booth 11 anytime during exhibit hours.

About Surescripts

Our purpose is to serve the nation through simpler, trusted health intelligence sharing, in order to increase patient safety, lower costs and ensure quality care. At Surescripts, we align healthcare organizations across the nation and give healthcare professionals the trusted insights they need to serve patients. We convene the Surescripts Network Alliance® to enhance prescribing, better inform care decisions and advance healthcare as a whole. Together, we’re making interoperability an everyday reality, making it simpler to choose medications patients can afford and adhere to, and getting specialty medications to patients more efficiently. Visit us at surescripts.com and follow us at twitter.com/surescripts.

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