NCPDP’s Lee Ann Stember Awarded APhA Honorary Membership at APhA Annual Meeting


National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP)

We believe the frontline provider role that [pharmacists] played in the pandemic will forever change the profession. NCPDP has a lot of initiatives underway that will support pharmacists’ role in patient care… as we work to make healthcare better, safer, and more efficient.

NCPDP announced its President & CEO Lee Ann Stember was awarded APhA Honorary Membership at the APhA Annual Meeting & Exposition on Saturday, March 25. As the 2023 award recipient, Stember joins a distinguished list of individuals including scholars, scientists, government officials, dignitaries, and luminaries from across the world who have received the prestigious award since it was first presented in 1856. The award recipient is selected by the APhA Board of Trustees. Nominees must have documented activity that has significantly impacted public health or has created or supported the expanding role of pharmacists, the profession, or the Association.

Stember has dedicated her career at NCPDP to supporting the development of interoperable standards and industry guidance that have improved the healthcare experience for patients, delivered real-time data and workflow efficiencies to pharmacists, and supported the profession of pharmacy. Today, NCPDP is leading initiatives that will enable pharmacists to expand their role and collaborate in new ways with other healthcare providers to close gaps in care and improve care coordination. The goals are to improve health outcomes, public health and lower the total cost of care.

Under Stember’s leadership, a broad set of tools, standards, recommendations, and guidance have been developed to aid and strengthen the role of pharmacists in the provision of patient services, documentation, and the interoperable exchange of clinical information. Some examples include:


  • Emergency guidance developed in record time to enable pharmacists across the country to administer COVID-19 tests and immunizations to millions of Americans.
  • Standardized transactions for Medication Therapy Management (MTM) and other pharmacist-provided patient care services to optimize patient medication therapies and health outcomes.
  • NCPDP/HL7 eCare Plan for pharmacists to document and share patient treatment, interventions, and recommendations with other healthcare providers on the patient care team to improve care coordination.
  • NCPDP’s Universal Medication Schedule White Paper which simplifies medication administration instructions for patients and caregivers to increase adherence to medication instructions and improve patient safety and health outcomes.
  • Recommendations to improve prescription container labels for medicines containing acetaminophen to help protect consumers and patients from accidental acetaminophen overdose. As a result, the vast majority of retail pharmacies prioritized the standard acetaminophen warning label in the top three warnings for prescription medicines containing acetaminophen.
  • ePrescribing which enables prescribers to transmit prescriptions electronically in real-time so patients can get their prescriptions more quickly. ePrescribing improves prescription accuracy, reduces costs and improves patient safety.
  • NCPDP’s Real-time Prescription Benefit Standard and NCPDP Formulary and Benefit Standard, which give prescribers a complete view of patient-specific medication options and costs to select the most clinically appropriate medication at the point of care.

In accepting the award Stember thanked the APhA Board and those who nominated her for the award. Stember stated, “We believe the frontline provider role that [pharmacists] played in the pandemic will forever change the profession. NCPDP has a lot of initiatives underway that will support pharmacists’ role in patient care. We are piloting a model to strengthen pandemic and epidemic preparedness and response and support public health surveillance. We are also working on other initiatives to support [pharmacists’] participation in value-based care, precision medicine, social determinants of health and so much more! It’s an exciting time for all of us as we work to make healthcare better, safer, and more efficient. Thank you again for this honor!”

Journalists: Click here to download a photo of Lee Ann Stember.

About NCPDP

The National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) is a not-for-profit American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Accredited Standards Developer (ASD) consisting of more than 1,500 members representing entities including, but not limited to, claims processors, data management and analysis vendors, federal and state government agencies, insurers, intermediaries, pharmaceutical manufacturers, pharmacies, pharmacy benefit managers, professional services organizations, software and system vendors and other parties interested in electronic standardization within the pharmacy services sector of the healthcare industry. NCPDP provides a forum wherein our diverse membership can develop business solutions, including ANSI-accredited standards and guidance for promoting information exchanges related to medications, supplies and services within the healthcare system.

NCPDP has been named in federal legislation, including HIPAA, MMA, and HITECH. NCPDP members have created standards such as the Telecommunication Standard and Batch Standard, the SCRIPT Standard for ePrescribing, the Manufacturers Rebate Standard and more to improve communication within the pharmacy industry. Our data products include dataQ®, a robust database of information on more than 80,000 pharmacies, resQ™, an industry pharmacy credentialing resource, and HCIdea®, an innovative prescriber database that provides continually updated information on more than 3.7 million prescribers. NCPDP’s RxReconn® is a legislative tracking product for real-time monitoring of pharmacy-related state and national legislative and regulatory activity. For more information about NCPDP Standards, Data Services, Products, Educational Programs and Work Group meetings, go online at http://www.ncpdp.org or call 480.477.1000.

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