Pharmacy Informatics Specialist

DCH Health Care Authority•Tuscaloosa, AL

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Pharmacy Informatics Specialist is responsible to collaborate with pharmacy leaders, patient care teams (Quality, Medication Safety, PI, etc.), as well as IT and other Informatics teams to develop, implement, and coordinate standardization of information system policies and procedures to promote the safe, efficient, and optimal use of medications. The Pharmacy Informatics Specialist will participate in organizational committees and serve as an expert Pharmacy Informatics resource, providing guidance and perspective on the design and development of pharmacy information systems to ensure that implementations support and enhance patient care, as well as the organization’s operational and strategic priorities. The Pharmacy Informatics Specialist must be able to multi-task, perform all duties independently with strong prioritization skills and be self-directed in utilizing resources to meet objectives.

Requirements

Graduate of a school of pharmacy with a BS or PharmD degree.
Licensed in the State of Alabama by reciprocity or examination.
Fully licensed in Alabama within 60 days of hire.
Controlled substances certificate valid in the State of Alabama for the current year.
2 years or more of experience in pharmacy practice.
1 year in hospital pharmacy setting or completion of a PGY1/PGY2 program within the past 12 months.
Strong understanding of clinical workflow processes and performance improvements to support clinical practices.
Demonstrated ability to be self-directed with excellent organization, analytical and interpersonal skills.
Ability to work independently, and manage multiple projects with strong prioritizing skills.
Evidence of commitment to enhance professional growth and development through participation in continued educational programs, current literature, meetings, and trainings.
Strong Critical thinking, reasoning and problem-solving skills.
Excellent oral and written communication skills.
Exhibits interpersonal skills and abilities to deal effectively with all levels of personnel.
Must be able to read, write legibly, speak, and comprehend English.

Nice To Haves

Previous participation and/or leadership in a hospital committee.
Experience in using Meditech and/or previous experience in Pharmacy Informatics.
Microsoft Office – basic skills preferred (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook).

Responsibilities

Participate and provide clinical input during pharmacy applications system review, design, development/build, testing, validation, and implementation to support enhancement of pharmacy information systems and end-user optimization.
Understand different pharmacy workflows and processes, clinical best practices, and regulatory requirements, resulting in current and future workflow enhancements/upgrades and performance improvements to support medication processes.
Monitor and oversee the performance of the pharmacy information systems to ensure it is functioning correctly and meeting the organizational needs.
Perform validation on changes, upgrades, or modifications to the current integrated information system with coordination with other Informatics teams.
Serve as a vital resource in helping ensure pharmacy charging and revenue integrity are maintained and optimized.
Test, train and adopt new system upgrades and maintenance of pharmacy dependent components designed to increase performance of CPOE, MAR (Medication Administration Record), smart pumps libraries, dose range checking, medication safety rules, outpatient prescription process, IV Prep, TPN software, ADM (Automated Dispensing Machines), etc., as well as other tasks as assigned.
Communicate with providers and clinical staff and serve as a resource during downtime of critical systems.
Develop and maintain a strong, effective working relationship with pharmacy leaders and staff, as well as IT staff and other Informatics teams to ensure design application changes meet the organizational needs.
Maintain a visual presence within the pharmacy departments, serving as a resource for pharmacy staff to assist and facilitate workflow and process improvement initiatives.
Effectively receive, investigate and resolve issues reported by staff, providers and pharmacy leadership related to software, workflows and/or processes.
Determine root cause(s) of problems/failures in collaboration with pharmacy leadership, IT and other Informatics teams, while following the pharmacy department and operational change management processes.
Develop training materials and other tools to assist the pharmacy leadership team in utilizing drug usage and other analytical reports and provide troubleshooting assistance.
Ensure that all pharmacy related changes are communicated to the pharmacy leadership team in a timely manner.
Provide pharmacy education materials, at the elbow support, and training of EHR functionality and clinical workflows to support pharmacy educational needs and adoption.
Participate in informatics on-call coverage to ensure medication-related processes are supported at all times.
Lead or participate in interdisciplinary committee(s), with a focus on IT solutions for improving medication management such as OMT, Operational Change Management, etc., and communicate all follow-ups with identified stakeholders.
Assist with process improvement activities, on-site training of staff; and IT-related patient safety opportunities to include but not limited to: Pharmacy team requests for IT changes; RCA (Root Cause Analysis) and FMEA (Failure Modes and Effect Analysis) team participation for pharmacy related IT issues; Daily review of e-mail requests and tickets; TJC (The Joint Commission) readiness assistance; Updates to IV pump safety libraries; Maintenance of dose range checking, dose capping, auto-verification and accurate order sets and order strings; Assist development of medication safety rules within the EMR; pro-active ADE (Adverse Drug Events) identification; Implementation of new technologies [e.g. IV Prep, Bluesight] or assisting with expansion of current technology [e.g.. Profile ADCs].
Check and address barcode issues.
Rekey incorrect orders.
Work with pharmacists, physicians and nurses across the health system on IT medication-related opportunities.
Work with system pharmacy buyers.
Maintain performance, patient and employee satisfaction and financial standards as outlined in the performance evaluation.
Perform compliance requirements as outlined in the Employee Handbook.
Adhere to the DCH Behavioral Standards including creating positive relationships with patients/families, coworkers, colleagues and with self.
Perform essential job functions in a manner that ensures the safety of patients, visitors and employees.
Identify and reduce unsafe practices that may result in harm to patients, visitors and employees.
Recognize and take appropriate action to reduce risks and hazards to promote safety for patients, visitors and employees.
Use electronic mail, time and attendance software, learning management software and intranet.
Adhere to all DCH Health System policies and procedures.