Pharmacy Specialist - Specialty Pharmacy Operations

University of Arkansas System•Little Rock, AR

About The Position

The Pharmacy Specialist serves as a member of Specialty Pharmacy Services, focusing on operations and prescription verification. The role provides pharmacy services with an emphasis on safety, efficacy, and positive patient outcomes. The specialist verifies specialty prescriptions, supports accurate billing and dispensing workflows, manages benefit investigations and claims issues, and helps coordinate medication shipping. The role also includes patient assessments, therapy reviews, clinical documentation and interventions, patient communications, staff and learner training, and drug-information support. The position participates in a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week, year-round on-call rotation, with each group member taking call for one week at a time.

Requirements

Graduate of an ACPE-accredited College of Pharmacy with a Doctor of Pharmacy or BS Pharmacy degree.
PGY1 residency training or three years of applicable experience.
Licensed by the Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy as a pharmacist, or eligible for licensure.

Nice To Haves

Doctor of Pharmacy degree.
Board certification in an applicable area.
Experience in retail, ambulatory care, or specialty pharmacy.

Responsibilities

Verify prescriptions for specialty patients and ensure that dispensing workflows are followed.
Review billing for accuracy, including Medicare Part B requirements, for specialty medications.
Understand shipping workflows, troubleshoot shipping issues, and operate point-of-sale and shipping software.
Conduct accurate benefit investigations using multiple sources to determine prescription coverage.
Apply advanced knowledge of adjudication to troubleshoot rejected claims and address payer problems.
Maintain operations-area workflows so prescriptions are processed on time and shipments are handled appropriately.
Perform patient assessments consistent with accreditation standards and evidence-based medicine within patient-management-program timeframes.
Cosign outreach documentation in a timely manner.
Assess therapy appropriateness for each patient, including safety, comorbidities, dosing, and side-effect management.
Document clinical interventions, promote adherence, monitor patient compliance, and recommend appropriate screening before medication initiation and monitoring for patient safety.
Respond to patient clinical communications promptly and facilitate communication between patients and clinics.
Participate in staff, student, and resident training; offer to take at least three IPPE students per year and participate in residency precepting.
Participate in a year-round, 24/7 on-call rotation, taking call for one week at a time.
Serve as a resource and provide accurate drug information to medical staff.
Submit prior authorization requests accurately and promptly, and serve as a resource for off-label-use prior authorizations and appeals.