NCPDP webinar: How real-time Rx workflow integration puts patients first, saves time & money, and improves outcomes
By: Prescryptive Health
There’s a shift happening in healthcare – from something done to patients to something managed by consumers. What does that mean for the pharmacy industry?
Miranda Rochol, SVP of Provider Solutions at Prescryptive, recently shared her views with NCPDP via a webinar on real-time prescription workflow integration, shaped by years of her work across pharmacy platforms, pharmacy networks, standards development, and patient-facing technology.
A 16-year NCPDP member, Rochol has served on the Annual Conference Committee and e-Prescribing Workgroup, and currently co-chairs WG20: Coordination of Care while also leading initiatives in Pharmacy Technology Innovation (PTI) and colLAB.
See the full webinar on NCPDP.org >
Read on for four big takeaways from the presentation, and a call to action for the industry at large.
Let’s learn from how other industries have evolved
Today, prescriptions are still largely managed around the patient, not with them. And as consumer expectations rise, that gap is becoming harder to ignore.
Let’s use an example: the travel industry. Thirty years ago, if you wanted to fly somewhere, you called a travel agent. They told you what flight was available, what it cost, and you said yes or no. You had no visibility into alternatives, no ability to comparison shop, and no real control.
“You’ve been prescribed Orlando at 8:00am for $1,000.
No choice, no visibility, no alternatives.”
Sound familiar? That’s the prescription experience in 2026. Your doctor writes it. It gets routed somewhere. You show up and find out what it costs. Maybe you can afford it. Maybe you can’t. Maybe the pharmacy doesn’t even have it in stock. Surprise!
In the past decades, the travel industry has experienced significant digital transformation: Full transparency. Consumer-driven decisions. Real-time control. You can sit on your couch at midnight comparing seven airlines at three airports and filter by price, time, number of stops, and fees.
The travel industry didn’t evolve do out of the goodness of their hearts. They did it because consumers demanded it, and the technology caught up. We’re at that exact same inflection point in healthcare right now.
Confusion at the pharmacy counter represents a bigger issue
For patients, the prescription process is often confusing and unpredictable:
- No upfront visibility into cost
- Limited understanding of coverage
- No insight into whether a medication is even in stock
For pharmacists, that same lack of transparency creates operational burden, ie, manual troubleshooting, insurance coordination, and managing frustrated patients.
The result? A system that works hard to generate prescriptions but struggles to ensure they’re actually filled. This isn’t just a workflow issue. It’s a breakdown in the patient journey.
Redefining what a “clean script” means
Traditionally, a “clean script” has meant a prescription that processes correctly through systems—complete, coded, and adjudicated without errors.
But that definition is no longer enough. In Rochol’s view, a prescription isn’t truly “clean” if:
- The patient can’t afford it
- It’s not available at the pharmacy
- It never gets picked up
A clean script should be one that completes successfully for the patient, from prescribing to fulfillment.
Expanding this definition shifts the focus from transactional success to real-world outcomes.
Moving the patient upstream
To support the prescription journey, the industry should reconsider where and when the patient participates.
Instead of entering the process at the very end, patients should be part of the decision-making before a prescription is routed. That means giving them visibility into:
- Price and true out-of-pocket costs
- Coverage and therapeutic alternatives
- Pharmacy options and fulfillment methods
- Medication availability
When patients can see and choose the best option upfront, prescriptions can be routed with confidence, reducing delays, rework, and abandonment.
This shift doesn’t slow the process down. It makes the entire system work better.
A call to action for the industry
Real progress requires more than point solutions. It requires alignment.
Today’s standards were built for a system where the patient wasn’t an active participant. That’s no longer the reality. To support a more connected, consumer-centric future, the industry should:
- Make the patient a participant in the prescription workflow
- Enable real-time, transparent experiences
- Support better coordination across systems
Organizations like NCPDP are uniquely positioned to lead this evolution by defining how consumer participation fits into modern prescription standards. The future of pharmacy isn’t just about moving prescriptions more efficiently; it’s about connecting patients to the process itself. When that happens, the result is better experiences, better outcomes, and a system that works for everyone.