Pharmacy Director

Job Summary

The Pharmacy Director will provide the full range of supervisory and administrative duties in support of the Pharmacy Department within KIC Tribal Health Clinic (KICTHC).  Ensures a high level of compliance to accreditation standards and Total Quality Management principles.  Serves as a key member of the KIC Clinic management team. Sets the goals, objectives and direction; monitors all aspects of the pharmacy department to assure goals and objectives are being met.

Assures Pharmacy prescription service is provided in a safe and effective manner. Responsible for managing all pharmaceutical care programs, all prescription program development, clinical and community relations, and accreditation compliance. Assures that the staffing level, staff skill level, and level and extent of clinical programs is appropriate to meet the KICTHC pharmacy needs.  Advises the Health Director and/or Medical Director on the development and direction of the pharmacy program

Supervises all Pharmacy Department staff and PharmD students including evaluation, direction, and discipline/reward, as necessary.  Required to provide clinical pharmacist duties in a leadership role for the entire pharmacy staff.  Provides pharmacy services to the patient population.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Personnel Management

Directs personnel management for consistency in the programs and services for Pharmacy Department.  Monitors and approves staff development and training standards. Ensures the personnel policies are followed, interprets policy, and monitors personnel actions for adherence to Tribal policy.  

Supervises Clinical Pharmacist(s), Pharmacy Technician(s), as well as PharmD student interns.

Monitors staff evaluations process and annual employee safety programs.  Ensure adhere to local, state or federal standards for employee training, specifically, HIPAA compliance, safety, workplace violence, and preventing sexual harassment.

• Recruits, selects, orientates, trains, coaches, counsels, and disciplines the Pharmacist and Pharmacy Technicians;
• Recommends all hiring, promotions, salary increases, merit increases, transfers, discipline and removal of Pharmacy staff to the Health Director.

Financial Oversight

Monitors and enforces internal financial policies and procedures regarding the KICTHC Pharmacy budget.   Coordinates with Health Director in the preparation of the annual budget.  Complies with federal regulations outlined in the self-governance compacts, and other state and federal funding sources.

Administers the approved KICTHC Pharmacy operating budget by monitoring expenditures and recommending justifiable changes to the Health Director.

KICTHC Policy System

Responsible for establishing and maintaining KICTHC Pharmacy department and administrative policies.  Ensures policies are in compliance with accreditation standards and state, federal, funding laws, and regulations.  Develops policies as needed for programs and services. Monitors the policy review process and interprets policy and procedures for efficient operations.  Attends the Policy Committee of the Tribal Council when KICTHC Pharmacy policies are being reviewed.

Initiates, coordinates, and enforces program, operational, and personnel policies and procedures with ethical business practices.

Maintains AAAHC, CARF, Accreditation Standards By:

• Recognizing and supporting the basic human rights of patients;
• Acknowledging the governing body that sets policy;
• Assuring the provision of high quality health care services that fulfills the Tribe’s mission, goals, and objectives;
• Providing high quality health care services in accordance with the principles of professional practice and ethical conduct, and with concern for the costs of care and for improving the community’s health status;
• Striving to improve the quality of care and to promote more effective and efficient utilization of facilities and services;
• Maintaining a clinical records and health information system from which information can be retrieved promptly;

• Striving to improve the professional competence and skill, as well as the quality of performance, of the health health care professionals and other professional personnel it employs;
• Providing a functionally safe and sanitary environment for its patients, personnel, and visitors.

Scope and Effect

To provide quality clinical pharmacy services and assure that acceptable pharmaceuticals are used in a program of rational drug therapy. The Employee consults with the prescribing physician ensuring that correct and cost-effective therapy is initiated, resulting in cost savings in drugs purchased and a decrease in medical risk and legal liability for inappropriate drug therapy.    The work affects the patient's health and error in judgment could result in serious injury or death to a patient. The work includes patient assessment of clinical-pharmaceutical needs, planning for the pharmaceutical needs and teaching pharmacy patients and their immediate families.  The work directly affects the health and well-being of individual patients, families, groups of patients, and impacts upon the total community

The scope of the clinical pharmacist non-routine responsibilities and prescriptive authority will be determined and granted in writing by the Medical Director.  Prescriptive authority will be granted in writing to the clinical pharmacist specialist, consistent with their documented and approved scope of practice and will not require physician co-signatory.  Clinical (primary care) privileges will be determined and granted in writing to the clinical pharmacist by the Medical Director

PHARMACY SERVICES

Administrative Duties

Assures program has an active Pharmaceutical Care Program.  Program includes chronic disease management or chronic medication refill programs. Works with the Medical Staff and other clinical departments to set the overall Pharmaceutical Care goals and objectives.

Oversee and coordinates pharmacist participation on medical teams. Works in conjunction with Medical Director to facilitate meeting the team's pharmacy needs.  Works with the Health Director and other members of the Health Leadership team to develop, implement and monitor clinical operations.  Responsible to work with other Health Leadership Team members to improve patient access, clinic flow, third party resource development, and patient satisfaction.

Establishes and maintains cooperative beneficial relationships with groups served by, related to, or involved with the pharmacy program.  Resolves patient complaints related to pharmacy services of the health clinic. Maintains necessary legal records and requirements on controlled medications and other prescription products.  Responsible for all pharmacy reports.

Serves on various committees and initiates and monitors new programs.  May serve as Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee Chair overseeing formulary management, through provision of research, evaluation, and in-services for medical staff.  Assures pharmacy consultant services are available for the various medical staff members and medical specialty clinics, including consultation on the drug formulary, pain management, and other complicated pharmacotherapy issues.

Participates in pharmacy quality assurance and performance improvement activities using predetermined, established audit criteria.  Reports results, with recommendations for compliance, to Quality Improvement Coordinator

Routine Clinical Duties

Routine Clinical Duties are performed on a regular basis and which involve risk to patient’s life, safety, health, or well-being.  Job duties are not inclusive due to individual patient medical needs.  Serve as a therapeutic consultant to the medical staff 

Incumbent will provide primary care under conditions where protocols have been developed using independent judgment.  Judgmental failure may cause serious injury to a patient. This includes conducting medical staff authorized outpatient pharmacy clinics for examination, screening, and treatment of specialized patients. Takes the appropriate history and performs limited physical assessment related to the specialized pharmacy clinics.  Follows and adjusts the developed treatment plan and monitors the patient’s outcome to the prescribed treatment plan. Discriminates between normal and abnormal findings to recognize early stages of serious physical, emotional or mental problems. Medications will be monitored, titrated and/or altered per Pharmacy Clinic Protocols.

Document all clinical activities, update medication allergy information, and recommend and/or provide updates to problem lists in the medical record.  May order and interpret laboratory tests as needed.

May refer to appropriate services as needed via consultations.  May provide appropriate treatment plan as described by consultant.

Accurate filling and dispensing of prescription and over-the-counter drugs on orders of physician, physician assistant, family nurse practitioner, dentist, and other authorized prescribers. This service includes: assuring a pharmacy program that correctly reads and interprets prescriptions, computes dosages, weigh and measure drugs and mixes and compounds drugs and chemicals. 

Reviews patient's health record for therapeutic appropriateness including diagnosis/treatment, patient allergy, and medication compatibility with other current medication (drug interaction screening).  Provide pharmaceutical services to focus on therapeutic drug monitoring. Analyze medication regimens to ensure the most effective, least toxic, and most economical treatment plan.

Resolves problems related to the clinical, chemical and therapeutic applications of drugs, including biopharmaceutical effectiveness, utilization of new therapeutic agents and special formula and dosage requirements. Interprets prescriptions and dispenses products prescribed which require accuracy in dosage and identification of therapeutic incompatibilities to avoid serious injury or death to the patient.

Notifies prescriber concerning any discrepancies.  Assures proper attention to labeling needs, including specifying directions for use and precautions to assure protection of contents and patient.  Interview patients to ascertain significant past medical history and medication history.  Evaluate medication regimens for appropriateness, drug interactions, therapeutic duplications, non-compliance and adverse drug events.  Counsel patients on medications dispensed, which may include instruction on use, storage, cautions, and side effects, as well as documentation of cognitive services provided.

Dispense over-the-counter drugs per established protocols without the patient seeing the doctor to treat minor ailments. 

Pharmaceutical Education

Provide formal and informal education and in-services to clinic staff as requested. Provide training for pharmacy residents / students and medical students.

Provide education to patients and their families about medications, common disease states and information on health promotion. Participates in community health education programs regarding topics such as drug abuse, poison prevention, and proper use of medications and chronic disease therapy as requested.

KIC COMPETENCIES

Cultural Competency: To be respectful and responsive to the health beliefs, practices, and cultural and linguistic needs of KIC Tribal Members. Developing cultural competence is an evolving, dynamic process that takes time and occurs along a continuum.

Commitment: To serve Tribal Members and set a high standard for yourself in your performance; strive for results and success; convey a sense of urgency and bring issues to closure; and stay persistent despite obstacles and opposition. 

Customer Service: Meet/exceed the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers; identify, understand, and monitor the needs of both internal and external customers, always talk and act with customers in mind; and recognize working colleagues as customers.

Effective Communication: Ensure important information is passed to those who need to know; convey necessary information with respect, clearly and effectively orally or in writing

Responsiveness and Accountability: Demonstrate a high level of conscientiousness; hold oneself personally responsible for one's own work; and do the required fair share of work.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Knowledge of the physical and chemical properties and characteristics of substances, therapeutic action of drugs and the principles of chemical, biological, pharmacological and biopharmaceutical science.;
• Knowledge of drug literature evaluation and research design, pharmacology, pathophysiology, advanced pharmacotherapeutics, pharmacokinetics and advanced clinical pharmacy practice in order to provide patient care regarding drug therapy;
• Knowledge of appropriate resource and reference materials and their use;
• Knowledge of Federal and State regulations, Accreditation Body Standards, IHS policies and procedures, and other regulatory agency guidelines in order to ensure the pharmacy meets all standards and requirements;
• Knowledge of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA);
• Knowledge in planning, monitoring and evaluation of drug therapy in a clinical setting.
• Knowledge of Federal and State regulations, Accreditation Body Standards, IHS policies and procedures, and other regulatory agency guidelines in order to ensure the pharmacy meets all standards and requirements. 
• Skill to operate software programs;
• Ability to communicate with patients regarding the proper administration, use, actions, precautions and storage of their medications;
• Ability to communicate with other health care providers in regards to the total treatment of the patient, and educational activities related to patient care and Health Professional Students.
• Ability to follow pharmacy primary care acute and chronic care protocols, record all information in the patient's medical record, and to monitor clinical pharmacists in the these activities;
• Ability to prepare and/or assess workload statistics, quality assurance data, productivity and workflow reports.
• Ability to communicate professionally over the telephone and in person in a positive and clear manner;
• Ability to manage multiple tasks, including telephone, computer operations and in-person visits simultaneously;
• Ability to take verbal instruction and complete assigned project by established deadline;
• Ability to be flexible in order to perform at the highest level as a team player;
• Ability to utilize maximum degree of professionalism and diplomacy with those who may be experiencing a high degree of stress both mentally and/or physically (both patients and co-workers);
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and able to prioritize assignments;
• Ability to maintain confidentiality of all KIC operations and staff.

Physical Activities

Long periods of bending, standing, and walking are required.  Packages lifted occasionally may weigh up to thirty (30) pounds.  Management of patient/family behavior can be stressful and tedious.

Working Conditions

The work is performed in the clinic and/or pharmacy.  Exposure to infectious and contagious disease is common.  May be required to wear specialized personal exposure equipment or clothing to prevent exposure to blood and body fluids. Safety precautions for employees such as blood drawing for screening of various diseases such as hepatitis, required immunizations, etc., are necessary. Employee is required to have vaccination for Hepatitis B.

Licensure

Possess current valid State of Alaska driver's license with a record acceptable to KIC’s Insurance carrier.

Must have current and unrestricted State of Alaska Pharmacist licensure as required for registration as Pharmacist-In-Charge per Alaska State Regulations.

Education

Must possess a minimum of a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Pharmacy from an ACPE approved college or university.

Specialty Board Certification, completion of an ASHP or APHA hospital or ambulatory pharmacy residency, or National Clinical Pharmacist Specialist certification is preferred.

Experience

Three (3) years supervisory experience in a Pharmacy Department of an ambulatory health care facility required. Prefer experience with regulatory and accreditation of ambulatory clinic operations.

Salary : $151,403 - $227,105