UofL Health is a fully integrated regional academic health system with five hospitals, four medical centers, nearly 200 physician practice locations, more than 700 providers, the Frazier Rehab Institute and Brown Cancer Center. With more than 12,000 team members—physicians, surgeons, nurses, pharmacists and other highly skilled health care professionals—UofL Health is focused on one mission: delivering patient-centered care to each and every patient each and every day.
The Specialty Pharmacist provides high-touch pharmaceutical care to patients with chronic disease states and deals exclusively with medications and pharmaceuticals that are high in costs, require special handling, are subject to limited or restricted distribution, require ongoing assessment, treat rare disease, or require active monitoring of side effects. The Specialty Pharmacist has an increased focus on patient management, medication adherence, and actively collaborates with other members of the health care team.
The Specialty Pharmacist supports URAC/ACHC Accreditation Standards and has the ability to utilize metrics in analyzing optimization of patient care and adherence rates. When applicable, the Specialty Pharmacist will participate in development of new programs, services, practices, and facilitate scholarly and professional development activities. Responsibilities includeIntake—Oversees the patient intake process by receiving referrals, screening patient demographic information, ensuring accurate benefits investigation and determination of payor coverage for specialty drugs, and exploring opportunities for patient financial assistance for qualified candidates.
Clinical Management—Manages patient care by coordinating with an integrated team of health care providers, assessing clinical data, and optimizing therapy to ensure appropriateness and safety of medication use through evidence-based medicine principles. Promotes and monitors adherence and persistency. Fulfillment—Coordinates the processing, distribution, and delivery of referrals while maintaining product integrity, managing inventory of specialty medications, following up with patients to ensure that they received medications, and billing for services rendered.
Outcomes—Defines, collects, integrates, analyzes, and reports data to promote and facilitate optimal treatment outcomes and evaluate the pharmacoeconomic impact of service offerings.
Supports specialty pharmacy services and specialty clinic processesOversees day-to day operations in the pharmacy as they pertain to workflow, production quotas, deadlines and accuracy of prescription processingEnsures the pharmacy is compliant with all accreditation standards and local, state and federal rules and regulations regarding the practice of pharmacySupports the Medication Access Coordinators to ensure accuracy of dispensing-related functions, adherence to delivery schedules, and utilization of safety programsAssists in the performance management, orientation, and training of pharmacy personnel, as needed.
Screens all new medication orders for appropriate dose, drug interactions, allergies, and contradictions prior to dispensing medicationProvides verbal or written consultation and information on prescription medication for storage, side effects and drug interactions to healthcare professionals and patientsObtains verbal and/or written prescription orders from prescribers and/or designeeMaintains clinical knowledge and skill level sufficient to render assistance to prescribers with regard to medication regimens and therapeutic options to ensure optimal medication therapyMonitors patient compliance and over-usages or under-usage patterns, provides adherence counseling, when necessaryIdentifies barriers to therapy and collaborates between customers and healthcare providers to achieve optimal outcomeAssists with patient management responsibilities such as start of care with nurse/physician, patient care plan development and revision, and multidisciplinary patient care conferencesProvides fulfillment process support by performing QY review, as neededOversees customer billing for services rendered and financial information requirementsSupports sales and marketing efforts in collaboration with other functional areasCollaborates with pharmacy leadership in the development and implementation of clinical pharmacy services and ensure compliance with policies and procedures at UofL HospitalParticipates in on-call duties, as neededDelivers comprehensive pharmaceutical care to patientsWorks collaboratively with other clinicians and health-care providers through multidisciplinary patient care clinicsReview prescriptions for accuracy, appropriateness and efficacyDocuments all pharmacy interventions in patient electronic medical record and integrated clinical decision support systemMonitors drug therapy to evaluate appropriateness of use, dose, dosage form, regimen, route, therapeutic duplication, and drug interactionsProvides pharmacokinetic consultations and other dosing recommendations, as requiredPrevents, detects, monitors, documents, and reports adverse drug reactions and medication errorsPerforms Comprehensive Medication Reviews and Therapeutic Interchanges in order to optimize patients’ medication therapyPerforms both admission history and discharge medication review and/or counseling in order to facilitate the admission/discharge/transfer of patientsProvides operational support to Clinical Staff Pharmacists as determined by departmental needResponds to drug information requests and optimize pharmacotherapy regimens utilizing current evidence-based literatureProvides patient counseling to answer patient questions, ensure compliance with KY statutes, and ensure optimal medication use by patients.
Promotes public health through providing immunizations, administering long-acting injectable medications, and evaluating patients for eligibility in other clinical public health programs, like naloxoneOther Functions:Promotes and demonstrates rational, cost-effective drug therapySupports patient financial assistance processesAssists in the procurement of medication when necessaryFacilitates the implementation of clinical and operational initiativesAssists pharmacy leadership in the determination, communication, and education of alternative therapies during medication shortagesAssists in the procurement of medication when necessaryPromotes adherence to all 340B regulations and guidelines regarding inventory managementFacilitates and participates in scholarly and professional development activitiesProvides guidance and supervision to certified pharmacy techniciansPrecepts pharmacy students during IPPE and APPE rotations as necessaryPrecepts PGY1 residents andPrecepts PGY2 residents, as qualified by ASHP standardsParticipates in staff development (preceptor development/continuing education) for all pharmacy learners within area of expertiseParticipates in departmental research effortsActively participates in local, regional, or national organizations in area of expertiseCollaborates with pharmacy leadership in developing education, training, and competency programsExecutes hospital and pharmacy policies and procedures Collaborates with pharmacy leadership in development and review of departmental policies and proceduresFunctions as a role model and as an educational resource for pharmacy staffAssists with recruitment and orientation of new staff membersPerforms quality assurance activities as defined by pharmacy leadership, including, but not limited to, medication history audits and control auditsInvestigates and resolves pharmacy management software-related issuesCovers assigned shifts as determined by departmental needFacilitates investigational drug studies with assistance of Investigation Drug Service Manager an