Clinical Antimicrobial Stewardship Pharmacist (40, hr Rotating)

Job Type: Regular

Time Type: Full time

Work Shift: Rotating (United States of America)

FLSA Status: Non-Exempt

When you join the growing BILH team, you're not just taking a job, you’re making a difference in people’s lives.

The pharmacist will work towards the overarching task of improving antimicrobial utilization at individual institutions as part of the BILH system. Through collaborative work efforts, the person in this position will also help to implement processes to improve the clinical and microbiological effectiveness of antimicrobials. This will include use of computer systems including provider order entry, microbiology and online medical records. This candidate will assist in the tracking and trending of antimicrobial resistance particularly as it relates to utilization. He/she will participate in the education of prescribers and other healthcare providers including pharmacists and nurses toward improvements in the process of maximizing antibiotic efficacy and cost- effectiveness. They will work toward identification of adverse drug reactions and plans to avoid future events as well as improvements in patient care through potentially decreased length of stay. They will participate in antimicrobial Formulary optimization to help realize further cost benefits and improve congruence with evidence-based practice.

Job Description:

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Practices pharmacy with a focus on antimicrobial management in accordance with the laws, rules and regulation of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy, Department of Public Health, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Drug Enforcement Administration and in accordance with established policies and procedures. Maintains certification and credentials in accordance with the Board of Registration and submits proof to department of certification annually.

2. Assumes responsibility for daily activities of the Stewardship program including pre-prescriptive approval reviews, post prescriptive review and feedback, Clinical decision support alerts relative to drug duplication, bug-drug mismatches, therapeutic drug monitoring and intravenous to oral conversions.

a. Reviews patient specific data and identifies opportunities for intervention such as

· De-escalation based on microbiologic data

· Dosing optimization based on microbiologic data/patient specific pharmacokinetics

· Medication adjustments to avoid clinically significant drug interactions

3. Assists the Pharmacy Director in the preparation of monthly/quarterly summaries of interventions to include:

a. Quantification and qualification of interventions by: acceptance rate, cost avoidance, service and unit specific trends.

4. Participates in the planning and implementation of clinical staff development for pharmacists toward antimicrobial management. Serves as a mentor to the pharmacy staff in terms of pharmacy practice and patient care.

5. Collaborate with the ID Physician overseeing the Antimicrobial Stewardship Subcommittee to P&T Committee through the following activities.

a.) Submits items for the monthly agenda.

b.) Assists in the preparation of anti-infective drug Formulary reviews

i.) This will include literature searches and retrieval for a summative and evaluative review of basic science and clinical literature. A written summary in a format that is standardized and complete will need to be compiled. Within this summary, a recommendation for the addition or substitution of drugs on Formulary will be written a rationale according to hospital utilization and published evidence.

c.) Assists in the performance of drug utilization reviews by any of the following categories:

1. Drug based: drugs with high use, drugs associated with high costs, drugs with narrow safety margins.

2. Pathogen based: pathogens with high frequency, pathogens associated with high costs.

3. Resistance trending: identify potential relationships between utilization and local resistance.

d.) Assists in Guideline development relevant to antimicrobials and/or infectious diseases through work with multidisciplinary groups to devise and implement drug specific guidelines and disease state specific guidelines, particularly around core measure initiatives.

· This will involve literature searches and retrieval for a summative and evaluative review of basic science and clinical literature.

· From this, a gradation of evidence-based practice will be compiled

· A written draft will be prepared.

e.) Participates in Guideline Quality Assurance and dashboard metrics through identification and tracking of key core measures as well as preparation of monthly/quarterly/annual report summaries

h.) Works collaboratively and systematically to review the current standard antimicrobial susceptibility reports based on site of infection and pathogen. Assists in the evaluation of the impact of panel changes on antimicrobial ordering as well as rapid diagnostic reporting.

6.) Contributes to physician education programs aimed to build awareness about institution/system-specific best practice relative to antimicrobial utilization.

7.) Works with the pharmacy director and other BILH leaders overseeing the infectious disease and antimicrobial stewardship programs to test and continually evaluate clinical decision support changes in the electronic medical system relative to antimicrobial utilization.

8.) Assists in the preparation-validation-and quality reviews of antibiotic utilization submissions to the National Health Safety Network (NHSN) to meet regulatory compliance.

9.) Assists the Pharmacy Director to ensure the components of Clinical Pharmacy Services relative to antimicrobials meet the requirements necessary for TJC accreditation.

10.) Assists in the implementation of departmental short- and long-term goals, and participates in accomplishing agreed-upon goals. Assists in the coordination, implementation, administration and quality assessment of clinical pharmacy programs.

11.) Provides on-call service for Antimicrobial Stewardship or Infectious Diseases on a rotational basis, as applicable

12.) Participates on Infectious Diseases consult rounds as the Infectious Diseases Pharmacy representative contributing to evidence-based recommendations on the initiation, discontinuation, and monitoring of medications. Provides timely and evidence-based responses to drug information questions serving as a resource to other healthcare professionals, patients and family members.

Qualifications/Skills & Knowledge Requirements:

Required Qualifications:

1. Bachelor's degree in Pharmacy required. Doctoral degree in Pharmacy (PharmD) preferred.

2. License to practice as Massachusetts Pharmacist required.

3. Pharmacy Residency PGY2 Infectious Diseases training plus 2 years’ experience or 5 years of clinical pharmacy experience in Infectious Diseases in a hospital setting.

4. Experience with computer systems required, including web-based applications and some Microsoft Office applications which may include Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Access.

Preferred Qualifications:

1. Board certification in Infectious Diseases.

2. Project management and program development experience a plus. Pharmacy residency preceptor experience preferred. Coaching and mentoring of pharmacy staff experience preferred. Demonstrates advanced pharmacy knowledge related to area of practice.

3. Highly functional interpersonal skills, verbal and written communication skills as well as experience with clinical program development and/or clinical management skills.

As a health care organization, we have a responsibility to do everything in our power to care for and protect our patients, our colleagues and our communities. Beth Israel Lahey Health requires that all staff be vaccinated against influenza (flu) and COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Learn more about this requirement.

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