The Part D Pharmacy Characteristics file provides information about the pharmacy identified as the source of the drug for each Part D Event (PDE) prescription fill record.
Starting with the 2026 service year, CMS is releasing the Part D Pharmacy Characteristics file quarterly. The new quarterly Part D data products will be produced after a three-month maturity run-out for a calendar quarter, following the same cadence as the quarterly Master Beneficiary Summary File and Original Medicare claims datasets. For example:
- Q1 2026 (January – March 2026) PDE was produced in July 2026
- Q2 2026 (April – June 2026) PDE was produced in October 2026
What does this file include? (variable highlights)
- Pharmacy type
- Pharmacy dispenser type code
- Pharmacy primary taxonomy code
- DME service
- Walk-in service
- Linking variable to the PDE file:
- CCW Pharmacy Identifier
- National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) Identifier
Why do researchers request this file?
- Evaluate medication possession rates by pharmacy type
- Assess the effect of pharmacy type on clinical outcomes
Special considerations
- Beginning with the 2014 service year file, it is possible to request an unencrypted pharmacy identifier.
- Part D Characteristics files for service years prior to 2026 are available as annual files only.
- Researchers who request and are approved by CMS for unencrypted variables will be able to link to third party data for pharmacy characteristics.
