Pharmacist- Medication Reconciliation

Overview

St. Francis Hospital, The Heart Center is New York State's only specialty designated cardiac center. A member of Catholic Health, St. Francis is consistently recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a national leader for Cardiology & Heart Surgery, as well as for Gastroenterology & GI surgery, U.S. News rates St. Francis as high performing in Geriatrics, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, and Pulmonology. Nursing care at St. Francis is also nationally recognized, with multiple Magnet designations, as well as the AMSN PRISM Awards and Beacon Awards. St. Francis has regularly out-scored other hospitals on Long Island.

St. Francis Hospital is dedicated to providing a supportive environment, committed to the highest standards of patient care, where health care professionals can develop their expertise and strengthen their credentials.

Job Details

Pharmacist (Medication Reconciliation)

The Medication Reconciliation Pharmacist will be based in the Emergency Department and collaborate with interdisciplinary professionals to serve as the designated expert in medication reconciliation. The term "medication reconciliation" is defined by the Joint Commission as "the process of comparing the medications a patient is taking (and should be taking) with newly ordered medications" in order to resolve discrepancies or potential problems. The goals of medication reconciliation are to obtain and maintain accurate and complete medication information for a patient and use the information within and across the continuum of care to ensure safe and effective medication use. The successful candidate will have a unique opportunity to make impactful changes and reach every aspect of the Department and institution, such as but not limited to interviewing patients and families, collecting medication histories, reconciling information received from medication histories, participating in designing and managing patient-centered medication reconciliation systems, educating patients about medications and health care professionals about the medication reconciliation process. A typical day may include interviewing patients, coordinating care with interdisciplinary & external providers, attending safety rounds, precepting pharmacy staff, working with practitioners to resolve acute events, attending medical staff meetings, and educating staff across the hospital on the culture of safety.

Responsibilities:

Medication Reconciliation

• Serve as resource on medication reconciliation for the organization
• Responsible for accurately collecting and entering patient medication histories into the hospital's information system for utilization
• Responsible for obtaining additional medication information from outside sources when necessary or practical (including physician's office, mail-order pharmacy, retail pharmacy, extended care facility, or another acute care facility)
• Reconcile, via compare and contrast all information obtained from medication histories and evaluate accuracy of information obtained.
• Completes the computer entry of the home medication list in a timely manner so it can be used as the patient's admitting orders
• Responsible for communicating & resolving any relevant medication discrepancies to providers
• Commits to a customer service-oriented culture within his/her area which includes service orientation to work processes, patient experience, and actively participates and supports development of key performance indexes
• Provide & procure pharmacy services to patients in need such as but not limited to emergency code responses
• Communicates in a courteous and tactful manner with co-workers and visitors
• Participate in development of competency and assessment materials
• Participate in quality improvement projects & present outcomes in venues such as but not limited to local, state, national conferences
• Promote and implement cost-savings ideas that will contribute to the well-being of the hospital
• Collaborate with other departments (e.g., pharmacy, risk management, patient safety), hospital or health system senior leadership, frontline staff, and nursing and medical staff leadership to identify and prioritize safety issues and develop risk-reduction strategies to identify opportunities to improve medication safety.
• Participate and serve on department, hospital or system committees
• Maintain knowledge of trends and developments in the practice area through continuous professional development: reading articles, journals, and related material such as Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP)
• Other relevant tasks as assigned by management

Research and education:

• Design and assist in the implementation of research programs such as but not limited to education, orientation, and documentation of research programs to ensure safe & effective medication use
• Develop staff competencies & in-service materials
• Provide effective ongoing education to promote culture of safe medication use
• Precept and provide oversight for pharmacy students, residents, technicians

Requirements:

Education:

• Graduate of an ACPE-accredited School of Pharmacy with a BS in Pharmacy, an MS in Pharmacy, or a Doctor of Pharmacy required

• Active NYS Pharmacist license

• Successful completion of PGY1 pharmacy residency within the past seven years, preferred.

• Obtain the following American Society of Health System Pharmacist (ASHP) professional certificates within three months of employment

• Medication history-taking & reconciliation

• Emergency medicine

• Obtain BLS & ACLS certification prior to the end of orientation & training period

Experience:

• Previous health-system pharmacy experience in medication reconciliation, preferred
• Knowledge of and experience with all aspects of the medication-use system, including procurement, prescribing, transcribing, preparation, distribution, administration, documentation, and monitoring in a health-system setting, preferred
• Excellent writing, speaking, and editing skills, including use of Powerpoint and Excel

Skills:

• Continually demonstrates attention to detail and accuracy
• Able to maintain concentration and accuracy despite a busy environment
• Basic and advanced computer skills; proficient in the use of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Outstanding oral and written communication skills
• Able to work collaboratively on a multidisciplinary team
• Able to precept and provide oversight for pharmacy students, residents, and technicians

Salary Range

USD $65.20 - USD $85.28 /Hr.

This range serves as a good faith estimate and actual pay will encompass a number of factors, including a candidate's qualifications, skills, competencies and experience. The salary range or rate listed does not include any bonuses/incentive, differential pay or other forms of compensation that may be applicable to this job and it does not include the value of benefits.

At Catholic Health, we believe in a people-first approach. In addition to the estimated base pay provided, Catholic Health offers generous benefits packages, generous tuition assistance, a defined benefit pension plan, and a culture that supports professional and educational growth.