Informatics Pharmacist

Breakthrough Maker Opportunity

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A Brief Overview

Participates in planning, implementing, supporting and optimizing Pharmacy based projects related to Information Systems & Applications within the CHOP Pharmacy department - Inpatient, Retail, Specialty Care and Home Care.

EPIC

Serve as a liaison between the Pharmacy Department and EPIC Willow to coordinate and facilitate Pharmacy requests for changes, maintenance, and enhancements.

Participates in support, implementation, and troubleshooting of the Epic EHR system, identifying potential problems, and implementing resolutions in collaboration EPIC Willow and other EPIC Clinical teams as needed.

PHARMACY TECHNOLOGY & AUTOMATION

Maintains the integrity of automation systems, relevant databases and interfaces.

In collaboration with Information Services and product vendors configures, implements, and maintains Pharmacy automation and technology to optimize pharmacy practice, pharmacy systems, and the medication-use process.

INFUSION PUMP DATABASE MAINTENANCE

In concert with Medication Safety, Biomedical Engineering, and Clinical Pharmacy, maintains and updates smart pump infusion databases.

What You Will Do

EPIC

• Track, maintain, prioritize and manage Pharmacy EPIC maintenance/ enhancement requests
• Assesses problems and recommends solutions related to Epic interfaced Pharmacy applications and the medication dispensing process. This includes; identifying and engaging in organizational quality improvement activities to improve patient care, medication use processes, and pharmacy operations
• In collaboration with Epic Willow assesses available application enhancements to determine benefits and feasibility of implementation
• In support of EPIC Willow, evaluates, develops, implements, and maintains Epic / Pharmacy Automation test systems functionality to meet clinical objective
• In concert with Epic Willow, perform testing of Epic interfaced Pharmacy applications prior to Epic upgrades

PHARMACY TECHNOLOGY AND AUTOMATION

• Performs Systems Assessments
• Works with Pharmacy Department - Inpatient, Retail, Specialty, Homecare to determine operational needs and available technology options
• Performs continual assessment of available application enhancements and department requirements to facilitate continued improvements in software capability as required to meet the Department of Pharmacy goals
• System analysis, design, and implementation of software systems where applicable
• Assists in installation and support of vendor applications
• Assures existing systems are processing effectively and accurately according to system and objectives
• Supports application implementation, upgrades and maintenance where applicable. Includes but is not limited to:
• Software installations : including; routine updates/fixes, product upgrades, patches, enhancements, customizations, and new version releases
• Database maintenance
• In concert with EPIC Willow and application vendors, identify interface requirements to support build by the interface team to then allow coordinated testing of the interface between applications
• Identify need for custom programming logic and validate implemented logic within the application
• Provides support for internal and external contacts
• Serves as liaison between department stakeholders and vendor representatives during assessment of applications and application configuration processes
• Coordinates with staff members and vendor to prepare for implementation and support of new and existing application upgrades
• Assists in initial and on-going user training and education in the use of new department applications
• Provides on-going user support and/or assist in education for enhancements to existing applications
• Participates in project planning
• Participates in the management of projects directly related to Pharmacy applications or other hospital projects impacting pharmacy as designated by department management
• Prepare/review project documentation. Examples of documentation include; current procedure review, functional requirements, project management plans (PMP), test plans, solution requirements documents (SRD), meeting minutes, request for change (RFC), issues documentation or other documentation required by department management and/or Information Services
• Participates in application optimization and training
• Provides onsite optimization and support of department applications
• Continuous review of application upgrade release notes to determine benefits and feasibility of implementation
• Works with department leaders and educators to prioritize and determine timelines for scheduling of training for end-users as necessary for upgrades, changes to functionality or workflows and optimization of current functionality
• Works with department leaders and educators to facilitate integration of new applications or system enhancements into department SOPs and work processes
• Participates in developing and delivering communication for all upgrades/changes and disseminates them to providers and staff
• In concert with stakeholders, provides communication to department staff regarding planned systems outages and ensures downtime materials are up to date and staff is trained
• Assists with staff training, particularly in conjunction with new implementations and significant upgrades
• Communicates enhancement requests to application vendors
• Monitors Pharmacy Informatics Status
• Co-chair with a Drug Information Specialist weekly Formulary Technology committee meetings to assess impact of formulary and product changes on department dispensing technologies and prioritize supporting changes
• Prepares quarterly status summary of submitted Pharmacy change/maintenance/ enhancement requests and projects for presentation to department Informatics subcommittee and other stakeholders
• Co-chairs the Pharmacy Informatics sub-committee
• Collaborates with department leadership to summarize and prioritize Pharmacy Information Services (IS) project requests for presentation at Pharmacy / IS leadership bi-monthly committee meetings
• INFUSION PUMP DATABASE MAINTENANCE
• Manages infusion pump libraries for CareFusion Alaris pumps, Medfusion pumps, B. Braun pumps, and CADD Solis Epidural pumps
• Updates pump library databases per recommendations of the Infusion Pump Data Set Advisory Group and Medication Safety Team
• Provides recommendations for optimal pump library protocol build for integration with Epic
• Coordinates new library releases with Medication Safety, Epic Willow, and Biomedical Engineering

Education Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree Pharmacy - Required
• Doctorate Pharmacy - Preferred

Experience Qualifications

• At least two (2) years Pharmacy experience in a hospital - Required
• PGY1 Residency training or equivalent clinical experience - Preferred and
• PGY2 in Pharmacy Informatics, Master's Degree in Healthcare Informatics or equivalent Informatics experience - Preferred

Skills and Abilities

• Knowledge of contemporary hospital/clinical practice and service and understanding of general hospital operations
• Must possess strong oral and written communication skills including the ability to translate computer technology to user friendly language
• Ability to interact constructively with supervisors and coworkers
• Requires excellent organizational skills and the ability to work independently
• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of pharmacy and the medication use process, pump technologies and databases, perpetual inventory management software, automated dispensing cabinets, medication carousels, dispensing robots, point-of-sale cash registers, and barcode medication administration
• Demonstrates strong project management skills through project plan development, tracking and workflow analysis. This includes functioning as a strong team member and leader
• Exceptional aptitude or knowledge may be considered in lieu of experience (Preferred proficiency)
• 340B split-billing software (Preferred proficiency)

Licenses and Certifications

• Licensed Pharmacist (Pennsylvania) - Pennsylvania State Licensing Board - upon hire - Required

To carry out its mission, CHOP is committed to supporting the health of our patients, families, workforce, and global community. As a condition of employment, CHOP employees who work in patient care buildings or who have patient facing responsibilities must receive an annual influenza vaccine.

Salary ranges are