National Council for Prescription Drug Programs

Overview
The National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) is a not-for-profit, Standards Development Organization (SDO) that is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). NCPDP is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. It consists of over 1500 members who represent chain, independent and mail service pharmacies, database management organizations, federal and state agencies, health maintenance organizations, pharmaceutical manufacturers, wholesale drug distributors, and other parties interested in electronic standardization within the pharmacy services sector of the healthcare industry.

History
NCPDP began as a small group of ad hoc committee members and was incorporated on March 31, 1977. The ad hoc committee originally made recommendations on the National Drug Code (NDC) and also created the first Universal Claim Form (UCF) for submission of paper prescription drug claims for adjudication by insurance companies and other payers. The original ad hoc committee members determined that other standardized solutions for healthcare communications were needed and NCPDP was formed as a result.

Members
NCPDP's membership is comprised of government agencies, organizations, corporations, academic and international bodies, and individuals. In total, the Institute represents the interests of more than 125,000 companies and 3.5 million professionals. NCPDP is the most recognized standard in the US pharmaceutical industry.