Scope
Work Group 2 Product Identification deals with issues relating to the identification of drugs and health related products within NCPDP’s stated mission. Identification consists of how the product is billed (billing units, package size designations), product identification systems and any type of descriptive data which serves to uniquely identify a product with the intent to establish standards for product identification such that there is no ambiguity in distinguishing one product from another.
Goals
- Promote NCPDP membership, attendance and active participation in work group and task group meetings.
- Continue to maintain and enhance the Billing Unit Standard (BUS) Implementation Guide and the Product Identifier Standard Implementation Guide for NCPDP members and other impacted parties (such as government agencies, manufacturers).
- Continue to develop and maintain frequently asked questions (FAQs) for the Product Identifier Standard and BUS to provide guidance on how they are used in dispensing, purchasing, administration, medical records, reimbursement, etc. within the industry.
- Encourage attendance and participation by pharmaceutical manufacturers to address resolution of billing issues before product launch.
- Collaborate with other work groups to facilitate mutual goal achievement:
- WG1 Telecommunication to maintain consistent product identifiers and facilitate interoperability between product identifiers used throughout the Telecommunication Standard.
- WG7 Manufacturer and Associated Trading Partner Transaction Standards to increase cooperation between NCPDP and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
- WG11 ePrescribing and Related Transactions to maintain consistent product identifiers and facilitate drug database consistency.
- WG19 NCPDP Standards Coordination to maintain consistent product identifiers and facilitate a transition to the National Drug Code (NDC) revision.
- MC Maintenance and Control to support MC Education, Legislation and Regulations Task Group when legislation or regulations regarding issues relevant to the work groups are available for comment or best practice guidance.
- Review and adjudicate Quantity Unit Information Communication (QUIC) Forms.
- Monitor and report on issues relating to the scope of WG2 including but not limited to National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Health Level Seven International (HL7®), National Library of Medicine’s (NLM) RxNorm and bar code activity.
- Continue collaboration with American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), FDA, NCVHS, CMS, NLM, United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP), United States Adopted Names Council (USAN) and HL7®.
- Continue to provide clarification and education on the structure of recognized product identifiers, such as the National Drug Code (NDC), as they are formatted for use within the NCPDP standards. Monitor and participate in the development of new identifiers and provide input on standards conformance when appropriate.
- Provide input to the FDA on their continued development of the enhancement to the Structured Product Labeling (SPL) and ongoing guidance to support the use of the Billing Unit Standard (BUS) within the SPL.
- Determine and apply the BUS to new products and to existing products that have had labeling changes.
- Review and modify, where appropriate, billing unit exceptions within the BUS.
- Monitor WG2 task groups to ensure they are tracking scope, goals and deliverables. Disband task groups that have completed their work.
- Review Data Element Request Forms (DERFs) and adjudicate ballots pertaining to standards for which this work group is responsible.
- Analyze, develop and execute webinar opportunities for WG2 standards in coordination with Education Programs staff.