Pharmacy Medication Access Coordinator - Specialty Pharmacy, Hybrid

POSITION SUMMARY:

Boston Medical Center (BMC) provides a specialty pharmacy service to serve the complex medication needs of its chronic patients. BMC Specialty Pharmacy will provide patients who require specialty drugs a comprehensive service program that includes an on-site pharmacy staffed with a care team that includes: Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technicians, Pharmacy Liaisons, and Medication Access Coordinators. The cornerstone of BMC's Specialty Pharmacy approach is an unparalleled level of integration with the clinical team coupled with highly personalized service, thus driving better outcomes at lower cost.

The Medication Access Coordinator is a unique role that provides integrated support to patients and pharmacists by providing a ‘hands-on’ approach to total quality patient care. This position is considered essential to the growth and maintenance of the specialty pharmacy business line and is considered at the core of supporting health system operating margin. Management of specialty patients and their drugs is done in a manner that is similar to management of sales accounts. This hybridized role is a unique combination of patient service delivery and business performance.

The Medication Access Coordinator works closely with patients to deliver a full continuum of medication adherence support by utilizing BMC’s various tools and applications. This support includes encouraging patients of clinics to utilize BMC pharmacy to fully benefit from its superior patient care services, following the patient through successful medication acquisition, and taking ownership of patient outcomes. Given that the Medication Access Coordinator may be located in a clinical area, seamlessly integrating with the clinic team (doctors, nurses, staff, etc.) is critical to the liaison’s success. The Medication Access Coordinator is responsible for providing technician pharmacy services with an emphasis on performing assigned tasks that require working independently and increased competency skills relating to patient medication therapy. As a key individual providing pharmacy services within the clinic, the Medication Access Coordinator is responsible for liaising between patients, pharmacies, payers, and providers with high accountability for follow through and task management.

Position: Pharmacy Patient Liaison - Medication Access Coordinator

Department: Specialty Pharmacy

Schedule: Full Time

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES / DUTIES:

Patient Relationship Development and Client Sales – Responsible for managing and growing patient account base by recruitment and retention of specialty pharmacy services driven through BMC Health System

• Sales and recruitment functions

  • Patient Liaisons are assigned specific responsibilities in which they are given target goals and expectations in recruitment of patients into the specialty program at BMC

  • Such target goals are measured and evaluated on a consistent basis through various reporting customer relationship platforms, and through revenue performance of each individual specialty service line

  • Recruitment functions may include following up on provided leads for new business in clinic, and generating leads through provider relationships or direct customer service engagements

• Patient Retention

  • Encourages patients of clinics to utilize BMC pharmacy to fully benefit from its superior patient care services

  • Work closely with patients to deliver a full continuum of medication adherence support by utilizing our various tools and applications

  • Responsible for ensuring patient outcomes associated with medication adherence and triaging patient needs to pharmacist to ensure patient maintains safe usage of medication

  • Provide outbound therapy/medication adherence check-ups by process refills to ensure no gaps in refills/treatment

  • Boost customer loyalty by offering exceptional care and a positive experience Retention of patient business is essential for growth and thus is measured as closely as the sales and recruitment functions of patient liaisons

Personnel Responsibilities – Responsible for building and maintaining relationships with providers, care teams, and ancillary support necessary to sustain sales and recruitment functions

• Internal Relationships

  • Developing and growing trusting relationships with providers and hospital staff to provide highest level of care for a complex patient panel

  • Integrating with clinic staff to represent the department of pharmacy and take ownership of medication needs for patients seen in the clinic

  • Motivate team members by training, mentoring and providing support to colleagues in operational area

  • Maintaining and supporting pharmacy interdepartmental relationships and management to ensure seamless transition of patient care from clinic to pharmacy

• External Relationships

  • Developing and growing trusting relationships with patients to provide highest level of care

  • Growing and maintaining relationships with payers and manufacturers to aid in medication access and patient care

Operational Responsibilities – Technical savvy, communicating at all levels of the hospital organization and problem solving are required

• Oversight over operational area, serving as an area expert for leadership across hospital.

• Able to answer questions, suggest improvements, and streamline operations in oversight area effectively and efficiently.

• Coordinate care across patient health care needs including lab and appointment follow up as needed for medication access and adherence

• Ability to research needed information to provide the patient with comprehensive care using available resources

• Process orders, forms, and applications such as initiating prior authorizations, copay assistance or connecting patient with financial services

• Advocate for patients towards achieving health goals by reducing barriers for medication access and encouraging patients towards proper medication use

• Ability to interpret and pull clinical documentation as needed to meet payor criteria for drug approvals

• Remain up to date with payer criteria in designated work area and act as an area expert in medication approval requirements

• Route calls to other team members whenever appropriate

• Make relevant notes from customer interactions. Identifying any pharmacy related issues that customers might be struggling with or need guidance for.

• Navigate patient Electronic Medical Record (EMR) to effectively answer questions and/or provide documentation as needed for prior authorizations

• Achieve operational objectives by inputting data, performing adjudication on test claims and preparing action plans for follow-up.

• Communicate with providers (Doctors, Nurses, Clinical Pharmacists) in person, over the phone, and through written transmission via EMR in a timely and professional manner

• Communicate with Specialty Pharmacy Management, Medical Directors, and Practice Managers to provide support for new and ongoing hospital initiatives

• Resolve high level patient care issues and situational awareness around when to involve managers and/ or clinicians

• Demonstrate resourcefulness in the face of challenges and providing workable solutions to complex problems

• Capacity to work independently by managing workload and meeting established goals in a fast paced environment

• Participate in departmental and organizational committees as assigned.

• Train and support new staff in understanding and learning the expectations for day-to-day operations in a specific role

• Under the direct supervision of leadership, supports the department in the ethical practice of pharmacy on a daily basis by providing effective, appropriate, and safe pharmacy services. Exemplifies the creation and maintenance of a healthy work environment. A healthy work environment is one where each member of the team feels supported and held accountable for their actions based on clearly defined standards and expectations.

• Conducts interpersonal communications and assistance with patients, visitors, physicians, and fellow team members in a courteous and friendly manner. Refers patients and visitors to pharmacist or manager on matters requiring their attention. 

• Greets customers and provide a positive customer service experience and service recovery conflict resolution when appropriate; assist customers with their questions, problems and complaints in person and via the phone in professional manner; obtains information for new prescriptions, while maintaining customer / patient confidentiality.

• For prescriptions related inquiries offer a pharmacist consult.  Refer all clinician and customer clinical questions to a pharmacist as appropriate.

• Communicates to pharmacists and/or pharmacy manager on the maintenance and malfunctioning of equipment and unsafe working conditions.

Must adhere to all of BMC’s RESPECT behavioral standards.

Drug Testing Required

(The above statements in this job description are intended to depict the general nature and level of work assigned to the employee(s) in this job.  The above is not intended to represent an exhaustive list of accountable duties and responsibilities required).

JOB REQUIREMENTS

EDUCATION:

• HS Diploma or G.E.D. required

• AA or BA preferred

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS REQUIRED :

• Must be registered as a Pharmacy Technician with the Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy or have a Massachusetts Pharmacy Intern License.

• Technicians must have current active National Certification verified by PTCB or ExCPT.

• As part of the employment screening process, to be compliant with URAC (Utilization Review Accreditation Commission) r equirements, employees hired into this role must pass a drug screen

EXPERIENCE:

• Must have 4-5 years' of pharmacy experience

• Pharmacy Interns – must be in their 2nd year

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

• Excellent English oral and written communication skills required; as well as ability to communicate professionally over the phone.

• Excellent interpersonal skills to provide superb personalized customer service and to instill confidence and to advocate for patients; ability to explain required information to customers in a comprehensible manner.

• Other professional skills and qualities: organized, strong attention to detail, ability to self-direct through multitasking and prioritizing, dependable, empathetic, focused on quality service, goal oriented.

• Cultural sensitivity, understanding, and comfort with a wide range of social, racial and ethnic populations.

• Must practice discretion and confidentiality as position deals with highly sensitive and private data.

• Ability to understand, explain, and actively promote the hospital’s objectives through direct coordination and commitment to the program’s goals.

• Flexibility to adapt to changes in the departmental needs including but not limited to: offering assistance to other team members, adjusting assignments, etc.

• Highly proficient in Microsoft Office particularly Excel, Word, and Outlook. Ability to quickly learn other relevant applications that support management of patient care and assigned responsibilities; and ability to extract necessary information.

Additional preferred qualifications :

• Knowledge of transplant, hepatitis C, infectious diseases (including HIV), oncology and/or other specialty medication therapies preferred.

• Bilingual or multi-lingual skills (beyond that of English) appropriate to the patient population served is a plus.

• Experience with submission of prior authorization requests to third party payors

• Familiarity with 340B drug program and ACO hospital models.

• Knowledge of QS1/NRx, EPIC, Salesforce, Navinet

Compensation Range:

This range offers an estimate based on the minimum job qualifications. However, our approach to determining base pay is comprehensive, and a broad range of factors is considered when making an offer. This includes education, experience, skills, and certifications/licensures as they directly relate to position requirements; as well as business/organizational needs, internal equity, and market-competitiveness. In addition, BMCHS offers generous total compensation that includes, but is not limited to, benefits (medical, dental, vision, pharmacy), discretionary annual bonuses and merit increases, Flexible Spending Accounts, 403(b) savings matches, paid time off, career advancement opportunities, and resources to support employee and family well-being. 

NOTE : This range is based on Boston-area data, and is subject to modification based on geographic location.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Disabled/Veterans

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