Pharmacy Specialist Behavioral Health - Sharp Grossmont Hospital - Variable Shift - Full Time

Sharp HealthCare • La Mesa, CA

1d

About The Position

The Pharmacy Specialist Behavioral Health provides the professional, clinical, and technical knowledge and expertise needed to deliver comprehensive pharmaceutical care in support of Pharmacy Services and Sharp HealthCare. The role supports behavioral health patients through medication review, therapeutic monitoring, medication reconciliation, patient education, consultation, and collaboration with prescribers and other clinicians. It also provides operational support to the Behavioral Health Department and Central Pharmacy, contributes to medication safety and quality improvement, and helps ensure regulatory compliance and effective pharmacy operations. The position also supports clinical research, resident and student education, and staff development.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in pharmacy or Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD).
• One year of postdoctoral experience in a hospital pharmacy environment.
• American Heart Association Basic Life Support for Healthcare Professionals certification.
• California pharmacist license from the California State Board of Pharmacy.

Nice To Haves

• Completed PGY-1 Acute Care Residency.
• Completed PGY-2 Psychiatric Care Residency.
• Board Certified Psychiatric Pharmacist (BCPP) certification from the Board of Pharmacy Specialties.
• Mental Health First Aid Certification.
• Computer skills, especially word processing, spreadsheet, and database creation and management.

Responsibilities

• Provide clinical advisory services, identify medication-related issues, make evidence-based recommendations, follow up with prescribers and clinicians, document interventions, respond to drug information requests, and participate in medication-use evaluations.
• Review patient medication profiles for appropriateness, including dosing, allergies, duplications, interactions, organ function, and other patient-specific factors; communicate and document prescribing, formulary, and therapeutic issues.
• Participate in code-blue emergencies as required, prepare and label medications, provide medication information, complete applicable billing, and restock medications.
• Contribute to cost-savings initiatives and oversee medication shortages in the Behavioral Health arena.
• Perform formal clinical consultations and monitoring, including services such as pharmacokinetics, heparin, and pain management, and document recommendations and outcomes in the clinical chart.
• Provide comprehensive pharmaceutical care to behavioral health patients, including review of medication orders, monitoring of targeted or narrow-therapeutic-index medications, and support for prescriber dose adjustments.
• Review psychotropic medication regimens for polypharmacy and tardive dyskinesia risk; clarify medication orders with prescribers and communicate changes to others.
• Oversee medication scheduling and delivery in the Outpatient Long Acting Injection clinic and document compliance with inpatient long-acting injectable free-trial program rules.
• Work with clinicians and other health-care providers on disease-management programs and clinical pharmacy services, and help develop medication-use programs, guidelines, critical pathways, and drug-use initiatives.
• Provide operational support in Behavioral Health and Central Pharmacy, resolve drug-distribution and Pyxis issues, facilitate medication information transfer, and coordinate formulary conversions or non-formulary procurement.
• Promote rational and cost-effective drug therapy, monitor use of expensive medications against approved criteria, and report potential effects of therapy changes on hospital and drug budgets.
• Reconcile home medications and pharmacy and nursing medication records; facilitate patient discharge, admission, and transfer; and provide medication-use teaching for discharge medications when appropriate.
• Communicate goals, instructions, and shift handoffs to staff; participate in orientation and resident/student training; troubleshoot workflow issues; attend staff meetings; and read work-related email on assigned workdays.
• Maintain professional, timely, and respectful communication with internal and external customers.
• Help develop evidence-based protocols, algorithms, and clinical pathways; assess technologies used in the behavioral health medication-use process; support accreditation compliance and adverse-drug-reaction surveillance; and participate on hospital committees.
• Support daily pharmacy operations by directing and supervising technical and ancillary staff and ensuring accurate, timely medication preparation and dispensing in accordance with professional, legal, regulatory, and hospital standards.
• Counsel patients on medication use when applicable; ensure controlled-substance accuracy and record integrity; assist with narcotic inventories; dispense investigational medication according to policy; and accurately enter and verify medication-profile data.
• Use pharmacy technology and automation, including EHR, Pyxis Profile, Dose Edge, repackaging robotics, and physician order entry; apply appropriate age-specific medication delivery and IV admixture/aseptic technique standards.
• Participate in inventory and cost-management efforts, including reducing waste and expired medications and maintaining appropriate inventory levels.
• Complete assigned medication-storage inspections and documentation, identify discrepancies, bring critical issues to management, support National Patient Safety Goals and medication tracer audits, and maintain medication-storage security and compliance.
• Assist with facility compliance for inpatient psychiatric services core measures related to medication utilization.
• Participate in clinical research and pharmacy teaching programs, provide resident training, assist with residency program development and evaluation, and contribute to research presentations and publications.
• Provide staff development support and presentations or publications on emergency medicine and other drug-related topics; maintain professional knowledge through literature and professional meetings.
• Participate in medication-safety monitoring, event analysis, reporting, and trigger-based monitoring; oversee the hospital Clozapine REMS program; assess fall risk for patients receiving antipsychotics; and review restraint reports for opportunities to restart or titrate antipsychotic medication.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time