Digital Pharmacy Accreditation: What Pharmacies Should Know
A growing number of organizations are starting to require pharmacies to have certain credentials or accreditations to provide select services, participate in networks, or advertise their businesses.
Accreditation programs are used to validate your processes, policies, documentation, and standards specific to types of practice or the nature of services offered. There are several different accrediting agencies offering programs for services like:
Specialty pharmacy
Mail order
Digital pharmacy
Infusion
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Here we’ll cover the Digital Pharmacy Accreditation offered by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), which accredits businesses that provide pharmacy or drug-related services over the internet.
The background on the Digital Pharmacy Accreditation
You may be familiar with the Digital Pharmacy Accreditation under a different name — it was previously known as Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (VIPPS).
VIPPS was developed in 1999 to address illegitimate websites violating safety practice standards or laws with regards to prescription drugs or drug-related services. Most commonly, these websites were selling drugs online without a valid prescription.
According to a July 2015 report from NABP, about 96% of over 11,000 online pharmacies reviewed were noncompliant with state and federal laws or NABP’s patient safety and pharmacy practice standards. In addition to violating prescription requirements, many of these sites were dispensing foreign or unapproved drugs, lacked proper site security, or were affiliated with rogue networks of internet drug outlets.
Today, the Digital Pharmacy Accreditation is recognized by many organizations and offers benefits, including:
The ability to participate in paid advertising on Google, Yahoo!, and Bing search engines*
Acceptance by Visa and MasterCard as a legitimate pharmacy merchant for purchases through your website*
Meeting select accreditation requirements to participate in certain mail order pharmacy networks
The program is recognized or required by 24 state Boards of Pharmacy
*These benefits are available for pharmacies that have obtained a .pharmacy domain name through the .Pharmacy Website Verification Program, which is a prerequisite for accreditation. Pharmacies may choose to obtain the domain name for these benefits without pursuing accreditation.
Who can apply
To qualify for Digital Pharmacy Accreditation, you need to apply for and register a .pharmacy domain name through the .Pharmacy Website Verification Program. This is similar to a “.com” or “.net” at the end of a URL but for safe pharmacy websites.
Besides pharmacies, other types of organizations are eligible for .pharmacy domains, including but not limited to:
Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs)
Pharmacy schools
Wholesale distributors
Drug information or pharmacy referral sites (like GoodRx)
Pharmaceutical manufacturers
If your pharmacy predominantly dispenses medications or devices for animals, you are eligible for a .pharmacy domain name, but you would not be able to apply for accreditation. Additionally, if your pharmacy is also licensed as a wholesale distributor, you will need to be Verified-Accredited Wholesale Distributors (VAWD) accredited prior to submitting an application.
Additional qualifications for those pursuing the Digital Pharmacy Accreditation include:
Being located and licensed in the United States
Serving predominantly human patients
Licensed as a pharmacy in your resident state with activities that involve prescription drugs or devices
Owning and operating a website directly or within a corporation
Each website has been verified through the .pharmacy program
Each website offers at least one form of interactive pharmacy practice (new prescription orders, refills, transfers, counseling, patient or prescriber portals, etc.)
Accreditation application requirements
To start, you’ll need to meet program standards to apply for and obtain a .pharmacy domain name. This includes having all required licensure, registrations, and permits for the services provided by your pharmacy. They must be in good standing without recent or recurrent discipline. You also need to comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including dispensing medications pursuant to a valid prescription from a legitimate patient-prescriber relationship.
If your pharmacy is sharing, sending, or maintaining protected health information (PHI) through the website, it must be done in compliance with all privacy and security laws. To ensure that patients can get in touch with providers or facilities regarding questions and adverse events, websites must also include readily accessible contact information.
Transparency is key! Your website must not misrepresent or deceive patients regarding your practice, staff, services, prescription drugs, or financial transactions. Your domain name needs to be accurate and must have a logical connection to your practice. In other words, you can’t register your domain anonymously or under a fake name. You also want to make sure that your domain name hasn’t already been taken.
It is also important to make sure that any affiliate websites do not violate the program standards. Affiliates can include:
Other websites links on your website
Other entities that share or have shared common ownership or common principals, management, or pharmacist-in-charge within the last 12 months
Entities with shared contact information like phone number or street address
Accreditation also requires compliance with standards related to:
Licensure and policy maintenance
Compliance with state and federal prescription drug and OTC product regulations
Privacy and security of patient information
Communication between the pharmacist and patient
Storage of drugs and devices, as well as and shipping methods
Quality improvement programs
Processes for reporting to NABP
The accreditation process
Once you apply for a .pharmacy domain name, NABP will review your application. This process can take about 60 days if your application is complete and no further information is needed. Once your application is approved, you will be issued an electronic token to purchase a domain name from one of NABP’s participating registrars. You’ll need to complete this process annually for renewal. At this point, you’ve completed the .Pharmacy Website Verification Program.
After you’ve obtained your domain name, you’ll want to make sure that your pharmacy is prepared for accreditation by reviewing the accreditation criteria. Keep in mind that this process can take several months to complete.
Next, you’ll submit an application, supplemental documentation, and pay the accreditation fee. Fees vary by the type of pharmacy, so you’ll want to check the fee schedule here. The supplemental documentation includes a description of your business model and a list of sources of your prescription drugs. This must be submitted within 30 days of your application.
After you’ve submitted the requested information and paid the fee, you’ll receive a Policies and Procedures Guidance Checklist. This checklist will help you make sure that your policies and procedures meet the requirements, and it will help gauge your readiness for accreditation. Once you receive the checklist, you will have 90 days to submit your policies and procedures to NABP.
Once everything is reviewed by NABP and deemed to preliminarily meet the requirements, an onsite survey of your pharmacy will be scheduled to review documentation and interview staff. Pharmacies are awarded accreditation if they have shown to be compliant with the standards, meet accreditation criteria, and do not have any other outstanding follow up items.
Next steps after accreditation
Once your pharmacy has achieved accreditation, it is important that you continue to meet the accreditation standards. This also includes maintaining the .pharmacy domain name, which is renewed annually. During the second and third years after accreditation, you’ll be asked for information as part of an annual review. During the fourth year, your pharmacy will need to undergo reaccreditation, which requires another onsite survey.
Accreditation tips
Make sure that you are eligible for accreditation, and that you are ready to go through the process by utilizing preparation tools, such as the list of criteria and Policies and Procedures Guidance Checklist.
Policies and procedures are a huge part of any accreditation process, so you’ll want to make sure that yours are complete, organized, and readily accessible. Compare them to the program standards to identify any potential gaps.
Ensure that your staff has read and understands the policies and procedures. They may be interviewed during the onsite survey.
Keep up with the renewal process to maintain your accreditation. After all, you’ve worked hard to earn it! You’ll need to register your .pharmacy domain name every year and comply with annual review requests, as well as reaccreditation.
It is important to note that Digital Pharmacy Accreditation program is not affiliated with GoodRx, and is for informational purposes only. Click here to see the most current program information.
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