March 2011 Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Michelle Fritts
202.429.7558; mfritts@aphanet.org
March 18, 2011

Pharmacy PHIT Collaborative Highlights Significant Growth and New Membership

WASHINGTON, DC – The Pharmacy e-Health Information Technology Collaborative (Collaborative) announces it has experienced significant growth since it initiated open membership at the beginning of the year. The primary work of the Collaborative is to assure the meaningful use of standardized electronic health records (EHR), which support safe, efficient and effective medication use and continuity of care, as well as facilitate access to the patient care services of pharmacists and other members of the interdisciplinary patient care team.

The Collaborative’s new Associate Members include:

  • Surescripts
    The Surescripts network supports the most comprehensive ecosystem of health care organizations nationwide. Pharmacies, payers, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), physicians, hospitals, health information exchanges and health technology firms rely on Surescripts to more easily and securely share health information.
  • National Council for Prescription Drug Programs
    NCPDP, a not-for-profit pharmacy standards development organization, has facilitated the development and adoption of ANSI-accredited standards that have transformed the pharmacy industry for more than 30 years.
  • RelayHealth
    RelayHealth provides connectivity solutions that make it easy for consumers and healthcare organizations to securely exchange information. Its network streamlines clinical, financial and administrative communication between patients, providers, payers, pharmacies, pharmaceutical manufacturers and financial institutions.

“We are pleased to work with the Collaborative toward realizing our shared goals of integrating pharmacist services into national HIT initiatives,” stated Steve Mullenix, R.Ph, NCPDP’s Senior Vice President, Communications and Industry Relations.

“We anticipate major advancements in the standardization and adoption of the meaningful use of the Pharmacist EHR functionality into the national infrastructure through these groups’ active participation as Associate Members,” stated Shelly Spiro, Collaborative Director.

Formed in the fall of 2010, the Collaborative is focused on improving patient care quality and outcomes, through the integration of pharmacists’ patient care services into the national health information technology (HIT) infrastructure. The group is pursuing EHR standards that effectively support the delivery, documentation of and billing for pharmacist-provided patient care services across all care settings. The Collaborative influences HIT policy through unified, consistent communications to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and other HIT organizations about pharmacist-provided patient care services and pharmacists’ contributions to the CMS and ONC defined meaningful use of EHR.

Additional organizations who are interested in joining the Collaborative should visit the Membership section of the website or contact Shelly Spiro, Director, Pharmacy e-HIT Collaborative at shelly@pharmacye-hit.org or 703-599-5051.

About the Pharmacy e-Health Information Technology Collaborative
The Collaborative is focused on influencing the structure, development and implementation of the U.S. health HIT infrastructure to assure safe, efficient, and effective medication use through pharmacist-provided patient care services working with the interdisciplinary patient care team. Founded by nine pharmacist organizations, the Collaborative seeks to ensure that the pharmacist’s role of providing patient care services is integrated into the National HIT interoperable framework. The founding organizations of the Collaborative represent pharmacists working in all patient care settings within the health care system, in addition to many other facets of pharmacy including pharmacy education and pharmacy education accreditation. For more information, visit www.pharmacye-hit.org/.