Clinical Pharmacy Specialist - Specialty and Gene Therapies

The UI Healthcare Department of Pharmaceutical Care is seeking a full-timeClinical Pharmacy Specialistto join our team. This pharmacist will provide clinical services for patients on specialty medications as well as project coordination for medications under the medical benefit (clinic administered infusions etc.). In conjunction with Ambulatory pharmacy leadership the Clinical Specialist will provide leadership project and operational support for gene therapies and high-cost agents across the ambulatory enterprise. This pharmacist will routinely partner with a range of multidisciplinary healthcare team members and participate in routine coordination with payer relations billing support inpatient services home care services and prior authorization team members.

The pharmacist will work collaboratively with the multidisciplinary healthcare team to provide care for patients in specialty clinics. They will answer clinical questions about medications provide education on new therapies and medication devices coordinate dispensing as well as medication monitoring and management for patients receiving specialty medications through UI Health Care Specialty Pharmacy Services. The pharmacist also serves as a role-model/practitioner-educator for Doctor of Pharmacy students and pharmacy residents and carries out clinical practice responsibilities for the Department of Pharmaceutical Care.

Patient Care - Participate in the provision of pharmaceutical care in select clinics

• Be present in clinics when patients are scheduled to see the clinical pharmacist and when clinical pharmacy services are required
• Complete a comprehensive patient assessment including medication history pertinent physical assessment and assessment of relevant laboratory values patient interview and an evaluation of past medical history for appropriate patients
• Work with physicians nurses pharmacists and other health care providers as a member of the multi-disciplinary team
• Provide disease state management and medication therapy management services through the use of collaborative practice agreements and protocols
• Provide in-depth patient medication assessment and education
• Provide follow-up of therapeutic recommendations through telephone calls and return clinic appointments as appropriate
• Identify evaluate and prevent adverse drug events through appropriate interventions
• Communicate therapeutic recommendations to the health care provider
• Document relevant clinical information in electronic medical record
• Coordinate medication-planning activities including facilitation of prescription writing patient education coordination with family members or home health care providers etc.
• Collaboratively address financial issues to ensure receipt of needed medications
• Provide drug information and education to health care professionals
• Serve as liaison for ambulatory pharmacy staff regarding patient medication therapy
• Evaluate patient-specific medication regimens to ensure the appropriateness of the following:
  • Indication
  • Correct dose
  • Route of administration
  • Drug-drug drug-food drug-lab or drug-disease state interactions
  • Efficacy of therapy
  • Adherence to therapy
  • Dose adjustments for organ dysfunction
  • Adverse drug reactions
  • Potential drug misuse or abuse
  • Use of the most cost-effective therapy
  • Availability of medications on the UI Health Care Formulary (if applicable)
• Provide staffing support for Specialty Pharmacy Services when needed
• Complete patient follow-up calls to address side-effects/adherence

Residency Training and Student Teaching Programs

• Develop goals and objectives for pharmacy residency programs and Doctor of Pharmacy advanced pharmacy practice and introductory pharmacy practice experiences
• Prepare and administer pharmacy student and / or resident rotation evaluations
• Participate in the formal experiential training and didactic teaching required to conduct the pharmacy residency programs and Doctor of Pharmacy advanced pharmacy practice and introductory pharmacy practice experiences
• Participate in recruiting activities for pharmacy residency programs

Provide daily communication and follow-up to other clinical pharmacists pharmacy areas and other health care professionals as needed

• Provide in-service education to pharmacists as needed
• Provide in-service education to members of the health care team as needed
• Assist physicians nurses health care team members and patients with medication questions medication access and continuity of care issues

Documentation of patient care activities in accreditation compliant manners:

• Clinical services and patient care activities in the electronic medical record
• Patient assessment and therapeutic plan recommendations
• Medication errors into standard reporting system
• Adverse drug reactions into standard reporting system
• Patient allergies and height/weight information as needed
• Medication counseling provided to patients
• Interventions with prescribers and other health care providers
• Clinic and follow-up telephone encounters
• Others as required

Develop and provide new department clinical service initiatives which may require any or all of the following:

• Complete feasibility assessments for utilization of high-cost agents and therapies as well as supporting documentation for manufacturer documentation
• Serves as a project lead partner or coordinator for onboarding of high-cost and gene therapies
• Partner with enterprise team members to ensure high fidelity processes including staff from revenue cycle supply chain payer relations infusion suites inpatient services and clinic areas
• In conjunction with Ambulatory pharmacy leadership coordinate correspondence with manufacturers
• Participate in the rotation with other specialists to support 24-hour 7-day/week on-call coverage to ambulatory care patients for drug therapy issue problem solving
• Develop or contribute to the development of protocols related to appropriate prescribing dispensing and monitoring of specialty or high-cost medications
• Provide a leadership role in department or interdisciplinary hospital committees involved with drug therapy issues with a predominate focus on high-cost and gene therapies as needed or assigned
• Develop or contribute to the development of drug information resources such as pocket cards and practice guidelines that are distributed hospital wide to foster cost effective rational prescribing
• Design implement and coordinate development of the clinical components of the pharmacy or hospital wide information systems

Administration

• Coordinate therapeutic decision-making when there is a paucity of literature or experience for reference
• Serve as the primary reference source on new drug therapy advances in the specialized area of practice
• Identify and resolve significant/highly unusual patient drug therapy problems
• Complete clinically oriented departmental goals
• Develop and coordinate policies procedures and clinical reference documents relevant to the clinical applications of new therapies
• Manage and analyze events related to medication errors including participation in informal multi-disciplinary sentinel event review teams
• Interview and evaluate prospective professional pharmacy practitioners
• Adhere to all department policies and procedures
• Contribute to the department budgetary process by reviewing designing implementing and monitoring budget initiatives that address hospital wide or unit specific issues
• Participate with the implementation and monitoring of new programs developed either by the Department or through another means (e.g. P&T Committee)
• Provide recommendations and support transcription of medication pump parameters including dose ranges guardrails and other safety parameters

Quality Improvement

• Provide a leadership role in university committees involved with drug therapy
• Develop and conduct measurement activities that demonstrate Specialty Pharmacy Service value including workload metrics adherence and outcome measures
• Perform quality assurance monitoring of services provided by the UI Health Care Specialty Pharmacy Services
• Develop educational programs to certify the clinical competence of pharmacists and improve the technician understanding of medical conditions being treated

Other

• Conduct research in area of expertise and present/publish results at professional meetings or in professional journals
• Consistently demonstrate the WECARE values and Service Excellence culture of UI Health Care
• Complete and maintain compliance with all competencies and educational requirements