NCPA Innovation Center Aims to Help Independent Pharmacies Evolve

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Community Pharmacists Assoc. (NCPA) announced the establishment of a new Innovation Center intended to further assist and speed up the evolution of independent community pharmacies in a changing healthcare environment.

“The U.S. healthcare system is shifting toward a greater emphasis on value and quality of care,” said NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey. “Many independent community pharmacists are already at the vanguard of this movement. This new Innovation Center will bring many of these community pharmacists together with leading community pharmacy partners under an organized and flexible structure. Working together with NCPA staff, the Innovation Center will help better-position independent community pharmacies to be part of and benefit from broader healthcare changes. Its driving mission is to help independent community pharmacies continue to prosper in step with healthcare changes rather than being left behind them.”

The NCPA Innovation Center board of directors is comprised of many leading community pharmacists and prominent partners of independent community pharmacies. Hoey will serve as chairman of the board, and Kurt Proctor, NCPA senior vice president, Strategic Initiatives, is its president.

The Innovation Center will develop and execute programs to inform and educate community pharmacists to realize the opportunities in an evolving healthcare market. In addition, it will demonstrate, research, and support new and expanded roles for community pharmacists. Specifically, this will be accomplished through peer-to-peer exchanges of best practices. The Innovation Center is an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, which enables industry partners to make tax-deductible contributions to support its work.

“I am excited to be a part of this new initiative from NCPA to help independent community pharmacies thrive in a changing healthcare environment,” said NCPA Innovation Center board member Mike McBride, vice president, Partner Relations at Upsher-Smith Laboratories Inc. “We believe that community pharmacists are uniquely suited to help improve outcomes at lower overall cost because of their strong relationships with patients, and that they will play a critical role in the delivery of tomorrow’s healthcare.”