Our Process

Standards Development Process

Standards are born of business needs and patient safety issues raised by stakeholders participating in an NCPDP problem-solving forum. The forum may take the shape of a stakeholder action group, a work group or a task group.

NCPDP hosts stakeholder action groups to clarify emerging or escalating issues, hear multiple stakeholder perspectives and propose action plans for seeking solutions. This often results in a recommendation to form a task group as part of an NCPDP work group.

Issues may also be introduced through Data Element Request Forms (DERFs) or New Project Requests. DERFs are typically used to request an addition or modification to an NCPDP standard.

The work of resolving issues and developing solutions takes place in work groups and task groups where many perspectives are heard and considered. Work groups create multiple task groups to divide and conquer the work that needs to be accomplished. Task group deliverables, which may be standards, reference documents or white papers, are brought through the work groups using a consensus-based process.

Following a work group vote of approval on standards, ballots are sent out to obtain public comment and approval by a Consensus Voting Group, then approval of the Standardization Committee and Board of Trustees that procedures are followed. White papers recommending best practices are approved by NCPDP’s Standardization Committee.