Pharmacy vet Mullenix joins NCPDP to help raise standards group’s profile

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. The not-for-profit organization charged with setting industry and professional standards to guide pharmacy practice and guard patient privacy has turned to a veteran pharmacy executive to boost its profile amid the shifting U.S. healthcare arena.

The National Council for Prescription Drug Programs revealed today it has hired Stephen Mullenix to fill the new post of SVP communications and industry relations. His primary responsibility will be “increasing awareness of the organization at local and national levels of government, as well as with industry organizations,” according to the group.

Founded in 1977, NCPDP is an accredited not-for-profit standards development organization with over 1,500 members representing virtually every sector of the pharmacy services industry. The organization develops education and standards to guide professional practices and communication through the thicket of regulatory and patient privacy issues regulating pharmacy. NCPDP members have created standards such as the Telecommunication Standard and Batch Standard, the SCRIPT Standard for e-Prescribing and the Manufacturers Rebate Standard.

Mullenix has already served NCPDP for more than a decade as a member of its board of trustees and as chairman and a co-chair of the group’s Standardization Committee. He has also served as chairman of the Iowa Pharmacy Association and VP of the Iowa Prescription Drug Corp. board, among other professional and civic appointments.

Over the past two decades, Mullenix has also served as VP managed care and professional services at Iowa-based Medicap Pharmacies and director of professional and trade relations for Covidien/Mallinckrodt Inc., among other positions.

“His focus on industry relations activities and strategic alliances will support NCPDP’s…ability to bring innovative products and services to all stakeholders in the pharmacy industry and across healthcare,” said NCPDP president Lee Ann Stember.