The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) supports comprehensive access to and responsible use of health information and technology to enhance pharmacy practice, improve patient care, and optimize healthcare delivery. AMCP advocates for pharmacists in all practice environments, including managed care settings, to have access to patient-identifiable medical and pharmacy information necessary for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations, ensuring safe, effective, and high-quality care coordination. Furthermore, AMCP supports the responsible and ethical use of health information—such as medication claims, medical data, laboratory results, and other clinical and reimbursement data—whether individually identifiable or aggregated. Proper use of this data can drive innovation, promote responsible prescription drug use, address health disparities, enhance patient safety, and reduce overall healthcare costs.
AMCP endorses developing and adopting a national, standardized health information exchange (HIE) that includes all settings and services involved in patient care, including pharmacy. Standardized electronic health information exchange is essential for improving care quality, safety, and efficiency of care.
To advance pharmacy practice, AMCP encourages the implementation of health information technology (HIT) across all aspects of pharmacy, including electronic health records, prescribing, prior authorization systems, real-time prescription benefit checks, and dispensing systems. Such technologies complement pharmacists’ professional oversight, promote efficient resource utilization, improve care quality, and enhance satisfaction for patients and providers. AMCP also supports technology for dispensing, delivering, and consulting prescription drugs and includes HIT education in pharmacy school curricula.
Pharmacists need access to proper data to make informed decisions that directly impact patient treatment plans and care coordination. As the healthcare industry increasingly shifts toward a data-driven environment, integrating a standardized health information exchange (HIE) becomes essential for achieving interoperability among providers, payers, and other stakeholders.
Data interoperability enhances care quality, safety, and efficiency while reducing redundancies and administrative burdens. Incorporating health information technology (HIT) across pharmacy practices empowers pharmacists. Technologies like e-prescribing and mobile apps allow pharmacists to efficiently optimize medication use, leading to better patient outcomes.
In addition to promoting HIT adoption, the ethical use of health information with medication claims data, medical records, and lab results effectively and responsibly displays how pharmacists can address health disparities and reduce healthcare costs by providing accurate, real-time care.
The effects of HIE have been studied in a number of publications, with the majority of studies (60%) finding that the use of HIE improves the cost-effectiveness of care. Similarly, 64% of studies identified positive effects on the quality of care when HIE is implemented.1 These data further support a standardized approach to health care information sharing among providers, including pharmacists.
Pharmacists in managed care organizations use data in a variety of ways to improve patient care. Among other uses, claims data are used to identify population trends to institute new programs and initiatives; report quality metric performance; and to identify inappropriate medication or other health care resource use. Individual-level patient data is used for care coordination, to conduct comprehensive and targeted medication therapy management, as a resource in prior authorization review, and more.
Enhancing Pharmacy Practice Through Access to Health Information and Technology:
03/31/25 - Combined associated historical statements into one position statement and introduced “Background” and “Evidence” sections.
AMCP offers a wide variety of educational opportunities, from events and webinars to online training.
