Starlight
Engineering Blog

Pharmacy Claims Engineering

Technical guides on NCPDP standards, claims processing, and building modern pharmacy software.

2026-03-10·12 min read

Insurance Eligibility Verification API for Pharmacy: Complete Guide

Verify patient insurance eligibility in real-time with a simple JSON API call. Check coverage, copay tiers, and formulary status across 1,300+ PBMs.

APIEligibilityInsuranceTutorial
2026-03-10·14 min read

Pharmacy Claims Processing Workflow: How a Prescription Becomes a Paid Claim

Follow a pharmacy claim from prescription intake through switch routing to PBM adjudication. Every step in the NCPDP claims workflow explained.

Claims ProcessingNCPDPTutorial
2026-03-10·8 min read

What Is an Rx PCN Number? BIN, PCN, and Group ID Explained

What BIN, PCN, and Group ID numbers mean on a pharmacy insurance card, how they route claims to the right PBM, and how to use them in your software.

BIN/PCNEligibilityFundamentals
2026-03-04·12 min read

How to Build a Pharmacy Discount Card: Technical Guide

End-to-end technical guide to building a pharmacy discount card program. BIN/PCN setup, claims routing, pricing engines, and modern API integration.

Discount CardsTutorialBIN/PCN
2026-03-04·10 min read

Pharmacy Claims API Comparison: Starlight vs Switches vs TransactRx

Side-by-side comparison of pharmacy claims integration options. Features, pricing, setup time, and developer experience for each approach.

ComparisonIndustryClaims Processing
2026-03-04·8 min read

BIN PCN Lookup API: Verify Pharmacy Benefits Programmatically

What BIN, PCN, and Group numbers are, why lookups matter, and how to verify pharmacy benefits with the E1 eligibility API.

BIN/PCNEligibilityAPI
2026-03-04·11 min read

Pharmacy POS Claims Integration: Connect Your Software to Insurance

Guide for POS and PMS vendors on integrating pharmacy claims processing. NCPDP translation, switch architecture, and the API middleware approach.

POSIntegrationTutorial
2026-03-02·10 min read

How to Submit Pharmacy Claims via API

End-to-end guide on submitting pharmacy claims programmatically. From traditional NCPDP to a single curl command with Starlight API.

APITutorialClaims Processing
2026-03-02·7 min read

NCPDP to JSON: Modernizing Pharmacy Claims Processing

Why NCPDP's binary pipe-delimited format is holding pharmacy software back, and how Starlight translates it to clean JSON.

NCPDPJSONDeveloper Experience
2026-03-02·9 min read

Pharmacy Switch API Integration Guide for Developers

Step-by-step guide to integrating with a pharmacy switch. Architecture, authentication, error handling, and production readiness.

IntegrationSwitchTutorial
2026-03-02·8 min read

Real-Time Pharmacy Eligibility Checks via REST API

What E1 eligibility checks are, why they matter, and how to verify pharmacy benefits with a single API call.

APIEligibilityTutorial
2026-03-02·7 min read

Pharmacy Claims Reversal API: How B2 Transactions Work

When and why pharmacy claims get reversed, the B2 transaction workflow, and how to submit reversals via API.

APIReversalsClaims Processing
2026-03-02·8 min read

NCPDP SCRIPT vs REST API: Why JSON Is the Future of Pharmacy Claims

Comparing traditional NCPDP integration with modern REST/JSON APIs: developer experience, time-to-integration, and total cost.

NCPDPREST APIIndustry
2026-02-27·8 min read

What Is a Pharmacy Claim Switch?

The invisible infrastructure that routes every pharmacy claim in America, and why it matters for developers building pharmacy software.

NCPDPInfrastructureClaims Processing