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ARLINGTON, VA. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores is applauding the appointment of NACDS vice president of public policy, regulatory and legal affairs Kevin Nicholson to the Steering Committee for a newly established Pharmacy Workgroup within The Sequoia Project’s “Interoperability Matters” program.
Interoperability Matters launched in 2018 to engage experts from across the healthcare and healthcare IT communities to identify, prioritize, and collaborate to enhance nationwide health information sharing — and ultimately improve patient access and outcomes.
The newly announced Pharmacy Workgroup is set to launch in January as a joint initiative between The Sequoia Project and Surescripts — and will aim to do the following: build a community of practice committed to fostering and broadening clinical interoperability for pharmacies across the healthcare ecosystem; identify practical solutions to shared challenges for pharmacy clinical data exchange to close gaps in pharmacy interoperability readiness and adoption; and develop practical guidance to remove barriers to providing clinical services at scale.
At the 2023 Sequoia Project and Carequality joint Annual Meeting, Nicholson participated in a panel of pharmacy experts to talk about the issue, including the challenges of data access and ways to eliminate barriers to interoperability. Watch it here.
Nicholson continued the conversation on pharmacy data interoperability and its role in enhancing patient access to clinical care services at the Care Team Evolution Summit in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, July 30.
“I am extremely excited to be part of the Steering Committee for the newly established Pharmacy Workgroup within The Sequoia Project’s Interoperability Matters program,” Nicholson said. “Through my appointment, NACDS will aim to accelerate pharmacy interoperability within the broader healthcare ecosystem, which is critical to advancing pharmacy practice in providing important clinical care services and in participating in value-based care healthcare delivery. I look forward to this important work that is innovating pharmacy’s future.”
“NACDS is thrilled that Kevin has been named to the Steering Committee for the new Pharmacy Workgroup as part of The Sequoia Project’s flagship Interoperability Matters program,” said NACDS President and CEO Steve Anderson. “Pharmacies are uniquely positioned to deliver convenient and equitable access to an array of critical clinical care services, including chronic care management, point-of-care testing, screenings, immunizations and more. Kevin is helping to lead NACDS’ work in the important space of pharmacy interoperability — which is a core element of NACDS’ vision for the future of retail health.”
NACDS’ sustained push to strengthen pharmacy data interoperability comes as part of the Association’s health and wellness innovation initiative — which focuses on adding value to NACDS members across strategic priority areas of value-based care, interoperability, and broad health and wellness topics, including Food is Medicine.
In April 2023, NACDS applauded a report released by Leavitt Partners, an HMA Company, underscoring the value of pharmacist-provided clinical services in enhancing patient access and outcomes. Read it here.
In February 2024, NACDS sent a letter to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) on the importance of fostering pharmacy interoperability. A May 2024 letter to ONC offered recommendations for the ONC’s 2024-2030 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan.
