NCPDP Foundation Appoints New Chair and Vice Chair to Board
Mindy D. Smith, BSPharm, R.Ph., MHA, is named Chair, and Michael W. Bukach, R.Ph., is named Vice Chair to lead the NCPDP Foundation's projects to drive quality healthcare through standards-based health IT.
NEW YORK, April 08, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The NCPDP Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization that is affiliated with NCPDP, has named Mindy D. Smith, BSPharm, R.Ph., MHA, its new Chair, and Michael W. Bukach, R.Ph., Vice Chair, to lead efforts to support programs, projects and people that drive quality healthcare and improve outcomes through the proper use of standards-based health information technology.
Smith is President of PrescribeCare MSO, a subsidiary of PrescribeWellness – a Tabula Rasa HealthCare Company, where she works to drive the adoption of pharmacist patient care services. Smith also serves on the board of the Alliance for Integrated Medication Management.
"I'm honored to join the NCPDP Foundation's leadership and help build its transformational work and service to improve our industry through unyielding commitment to patient care," said Smith. "The NCPDP Foundation funds research and pilot projects to prove the value of NCPDP standards and promote their widespread use to make healthcare better and safer. NCPDP's ePrescribing standards enable prescribers and pharmacists to access and share timely, accurate information to inform clinical decision making and improve patient compliance with treatment regimens, which ultimately improves the quality of patient care and lowers the total cost of care."
Bukach is Senior Vice President and General Manager of CoverMyMeds' Pharmacy Business Unit, where he interacts with professionals at every level of pharmacy to maximize use of prior authorization solutions. Bukach's career includes holding leadership positions in pharmacy operations, networks and business development for franchisee groups and other companies.
"I'm pleased to support the NCPDP Foundation and its projects including those demonstrating the ROI in terms of clinical, administrative and patient safety benefits of using NCPDP standards," said Bukach. "The donations that are used to fund the research can help support optimal use of NCPDP standards."
Bukach explained the NCPDP Foundation is currently funding research by Johns Hopkins Medicine to prove the value of using CancelRx, an ePrescribing transaction that allows prescribers to immediately and quickly send an electronic message to a patient's pharmacy to discontinue a prescription.
"This type of standardized ePrescribing message is critically important and what the NCPDP Foundation champions when a physician has determined that a medication is no longer useful for a patient and potentially harmful to continue taking," he said. "This circumstance is potentially challenging for patients who take multiple medications and can be confused about what therapy to stop or continue."
Smith added, "Among the Foundation's top research priorities is identifying barriers to industry-wide adoption of the full functionality available in NCPDP's SCRIPT Standard for ePrescribing."
Smith's previous leadership positions include executive director of the American Pharmacists Association Foundation from 2011 to 2015, chief executive officer of the Arizona Pharmacy Alliance from 2006 to 2011, and executive director of the Wyoming Pharmacy Association from 2003 to 2006. Smith practiced in community pharmacy settings the first seven years of her career and spent six years practicing in health systems. She earned two bachelor's degrees in zoology-physiology from the University of Wyoming and in pharmacy from the University of Wyoming School of Pharmacy. She also earned her Master's in Healthcare Administration in July 2018.
Bukach started his career with a regional pharmacy chain in Northeast Ohio. There, he developed the long-term care and durable medical equipment businesses and became the vice president of pharmacy operations. Following the company's growth to 50 locations, Bukach joined Cardinal Health/Medicine Shoppe as vice president of pharmacy operations. In 2005, he co-developed a Medicare Part D program for MemberHealth, which became the third largest nationwide. Upon the company's acquisition, Bukach managed the clinical and rebate teams for Universal American. That company was acquired by CVS Caremark and he became the senior vice president of pharmacy network until leaving to start his consulting company. In 2013, he joined CoverMyMeds. Bukach earned a bachelor's degree in pharmacy from Ohio Northern University.
About NCPDP Foundation
The NCPDP Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona and is affiliated with the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP). The NCPDP Foundation was established in December 2012 to support research, education and charitable involvement within the healthcare industry. For more information, visit http://ncpdpfoundation.org.
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SOURCE National Council For Prescription Drug Programs, Inc.
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