Team Lead, Application Specialist, Pharmacy

University Health Network • Toronto, ON

4d • CA$101,907 - CA$127,399 • Onsite

About The Position

UHN Digital is one of the largest public sector health-care information management and information technology (IM/IT) service delivery organizations in Canada. As a department of University Health Network (UHN), UHN Digital is committed to its vision of transforming health-care delivery by improving the patient experience, addressing issues facing coordination of care and enhancing customer service and quality through outstanding project management and operational support. The Team Lead, Application Specialist, Pharmacy is an integral member of the Digital Software Services (DSS) team. This position works closely with other members of the DSS team to support identified applications for University Health Network (UHN) including both clinical and business applications. The Team Lead, Application Specialist, Pharmacy will use their clinical pharmacy, computer science and/or technical skills to support the Epic Health Information System (HIS), overseeing Pharmacy workflows and build in Epic. The Team Lead, Application Specialist will work closely with clinical and other teams to gather and analyze information and specifications regarding clinical practices/workflows and business processes; configure the system based on decisions; test the system at various stages; develop and document policies and procedures that will support use of the system; and act as a liaison between end users, Epic and third-party vendors to ensure clear communication and understanding of requirements. Additionally, the specialist will act in a supervisory capacity for the electronic drug distribution system to ensure safe and accurate medication order processing, verification, dispensing and administration. The Team Lead, Application Specialist, Pharmacy will participate in support activities, system and business analysis, system upgrades and testing. The energy, enthusiasm, and dedication of this individual will allow the Digital Software Services team to contribute to the successes of the organization. The Team Lead for Application Specialists, Pharmacy will guide and support team members, monitor progress and direct focus on team tasks, provide clear direction and communication, create a positive and productive work environment, and continuously strive to improve team performance and efficiency. They will act as a liaison between the team and upper management, ensuring that the needs and concerns of the team are effectively communicated and addressed. Ultimately, their goal is to lead by example and empower their team to reach their full potential.

Requirements

• At minimum, completion of a bachelor's degree in Pharmacy or recognized equivalent required.
• At minimum over 6 years up to and including 8 years practical and related experience and/or 2 years on-the-job training required.
• Experience with one or more clinical/business applications in a large healthcare organization required
• Licensed with the Ontario College of Pharmacists, Part A required
• Proven understanding of how clinical requirements for Closed Loop Medication Safety Management can translate to into a technical solution
• Experience with Closed Loop Medication Safety Management systems – e.g. clinical processes, nomenclature etc.
• At minimum 2 years experience as a practicing hospital pharmacist
• Strong understanding of the healthcare system and hospital sector
• Previous project/systems implementation experience
• The ability to lead meetings, prioritize, resolve conflicts, maintain issues lists, and manage a project plan
• Demonstrated success in leading change and utilizing change management frameworks and tools
• Excellent verbal and written communication and follow-up skills
• The ability to probe for information about the underlying needs of the organization and user community, which directly influences how the system will be built
• The ability to communicate effectively with project leadership and subject matter experts
• Proficient organizational, time management and critical thinking skills with the ability to effectively problem solve and prioritize in a high-pressure environment
• The ability and interest to learn and apply new technologies
• Eagerness to learn the system and promote it within the organization
• Knowledge and understanding of relational databases, management and schemes
• Advanced skills using software tools such as Visio, Microsoft Project, Excel, Word and SharePoint and other tools as necessary
• Familiarity with PHIPA and PIPEDA legislation and translation into practice
• Understanding of key ICT concepts and components (e.g. networks, storage devices, OS, information retrieval, data warehousing, applications, firewalls etc.) and their inter-relationship

Nice To Haves

• Certification in one or more of the following Epic applications is preferred: Willow Inpatient, Willow Inventory. Other Epic certifications welcome.
• Graduate Degree in Clinical/Health Informatics/Technology/Business preferred
• Experience in a health-care environment – basic understanding of clinical workflows and terminology preferred
• Certified Associate in Project Management or Project Management Professional certification would be considered an asset

Responsibilities

• Leads, mentors and coaches the Application Support Team on day-to-day work
• Organizes, directs activities and evaluates the daily operation of the Application Support staff within team
• Allocates staff resources; monitors the workflow to ensure efficiency and consistency, in keeping with departmental or team objectives.
• Supports, encourages and provides direction to Application Support staff, ensures that staff maintain an organized and efficient work area.
• Manages escalations from end-users as they occur
• Serves as a Working Group or Committee member when needed and provides input and advice on process improvements.
• Maintains expert knowledge of supported applications
• Provides day to day support and management of systems and applications, including complex and/or escalated issues that arise
• Uses medication knowledge and expertise to propose improvements to build rules including clinical decision support
• Responsible for ensuring patient safety with respect to the medication ordering, verification, dispensing and administration processes
• Responsible for designing and building medication workflows for order entry processes including order entry user interfaces, order sets, order panels, therapy plans, express lanes, navigators, etc
• Responsible for implementing applicable required operational practices and complying with the medication management standards of Accreditation Canada and the Ontario College of Pharmacists
• Participates in clinical review of clinical decision support solutions, including FDB updates for Pharmacy applications as well as applications involved in allergy documentation/verification
• Identifies and assesses downstream impacts of application or workflow change to other applications using allergy, medication and/or immunization-related information
• Supports other UHN teams with workflows where medications are involved
• Performs/coordinates user acceptance, application, performance, stress, regression and integration testing of new releases, upgrades, enhancements, fixes and other product changes; makes changes and corrections as needed
• Leads current and future state system analysis and flow
• Analyzes and interprets clinical requirements and expected outcomes to produce clear recommendations that drive design decisions
• Builds, tests and maintains the training environment
• Assists with system workflow issues and provides guidance and expertise in implementing changes requested by the business
• Handles production and operational problems in an expedient and efficient manner requiring individual judgement and latitude for independent action to solve problems within generally defined policies and procedures
• Communicates with external software vendors when needed to ensure that ongoing business and functional requirements are maintained
• Informs management of potential service level problems before they occur and communicates solutions
• Maintains responsibility and accountability for system quality control and quality assurance
• Collaborates with Manager and staff to ensure an atmosphere is fostered where exceptional customer service is the standard.
• Collaboratively resolves process and system issues with all levels of management to effective and efficient operation of systems and associated processes
• Contributes to the development of new and/or improvement of existing policies and procedures.
• Prepares project status reports as required
• Participates in roadmap planning for application upgrades in conjunction with business users and vendors
• Builds/creates training material or other documents that improve application support
• Provides customer service in the form of end user meetings (clinical or business); attend and/or facilitate monthly established end user meetings or ad hoc meetings;
• Periodic assignment to Digital projects e.g. Epic Optimization Phase demand items, new application implementation or integration
• Provides advice, guidance and training to end-users in the operation of supported application(s)
• Creates and updates literature for information related to the application
• Works closely with other UHN Digital teams to ensure high service levels are maintained and to solve complex production and operational problems for the applications supported
• Documents system problems and resolutions for future reference
• Provides training, advice, guidance, and mentoring to more junior members of the team
• Exercise ITIL Change Management principles/techniques
• Participation in organizing and conducting weekly team meetings and huddles
• Participates in an on-call roster for 24/7 support coverage

Benefits

• Competitive offer packages
• Government organization and a member of the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP)
• Close access to Transit and UHN shuttle service
• A flexible work environment
• Opportunities for development and promotions within a large organization
• Additional perks (multiple corporate discounts including: travel, restaurants, parking, phone plans, auto insurance discounts, on-site gyms, etc.)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level