ARLINGTON, Va. – The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) is urging the federal government to ensure pharmacies play a central role in the nation’s evolving healthcare data landscape. In formal comments submitted to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ASTP/ONC), NACDS emphasized the need to integrate pharmacies into federal health technology initiatives fully.
NACDS’ call to action comes amid ongoing efforts by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to modernize the U.S. healthcare technology ecosystem. While pharmacies are the most accessible healthcare providers for many Americans, NACDS noted that they remain largely excluded from key data-sharing frameworks and incentive programs due to outdated classifications and regulations.
“The meaningful inclusion of pharmacies in the nation’s healthcare data infrastructure is essential and overdue,” said Steven C. Anderson, NACDS president and CEO. “Despite being the most accessible healthcare providers in the country, pharmacists are deemed ineligible for the CMS Electronic Health Record Incentive Program because they are not classified as healthcare providers under the Social Security Act.”
While many states and private insurers recognize pharmacists as providers, Medicare does not — a gap that NACDS says hinders progress. Pending legislation in Congress, H.R. 3164 — the Ensuring Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act — aims to address this issue. However, NACDS emphasized that CMS and ASTP/ONC already have the regulatory authority to include pharmacies in health IT initiatives regardless of legislative changes.
“NACDS strongly supports the Administration’s vision for a connected, secure, and effective health technology ecosystem,” continued Anderson. “To realize this vision, it is crucial to acknowledge and integrate the role of pharmacies fully.”
NACDS outlined a three-pronged approach to accelerate pharmacy data interoperability:
- Facilitating bi-directional data sharing between pharmacies and other providers,
- Integrating pharmacists into care teams, and
- Collaborating with HHS to incentivize the development and adoption of certified Health IT.
NACDS’ comprehensive recommendations, including those on data accessibility and interoperability, Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement™ (TEFCA), information blocking, United States Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI), as well as digital health adoption and essential data in value-based care, can be found here.
