What are the responsibilities and job description for the Pharmacy Inventory Control Specialist position at Cayuga Health, A Member of Centralus Health?
Job Description
Job Title: Inventory Control Specialist
Department: Pharmacy
Reports To: System Director of Pharmacy
Job Summary: The inventory control specialist is responsible for procuring medications and supplies from appropriate sources and ensuring proper storage to maintain drug quality and integrity. The inventory control specialist, under the supervision of a registered pharmacist, performs inventory management activities that ensure adequate stocks of medications, purchasing contract compliance, effective cost management, and compliance with laws, regulations and medication management standards.
Job Responsibilities Include
Education - High School diploma/equivalent. College courses desirable, but not required.
Experience - 5 years pharmacy technician experience required. 2 years of purchasing experience preferred.
Licensure - National certification (NHA/PTCB) or eligible.
Physical Requirements - Repetitive use of hands and fingers (e.g., use of computer keyboard); may require lifting and carrying light loads (up to 40 lbs.) including boxes, equipment, and IV solutions; stooping and kneeling (e.g., to pick up items from the floor, to remove and replace items on lower shelves, and to file documents in lower file drawers); sitting, walking, or standing for long periods of time (4-8 hours) is often necessary; must be able physically to operate the equipment used for the job. Travel (up to 50 miles round trip) from site to site as needed.
Job Title: Inventory Control Specialist
Department: Pharmacy
Reports To: System Director of Pharmacy
Job Summary: The inventory control specialist is responsible for procuring medications and supplies from appropriate sources and ensuring proper storage to maintain drug quality and integrity. The inventory control specialist, under the supervision of a registered pharmacist, performs inventory management activities that ensure adequate stocks of medications, purchasing contract compliance, effective cost management, and compliance with laws, regulations and medication management standards.
Job Responsibilities Include
- Places orders and returns for main pharmacy medications and supplies from appropriate sources in compliance with hospital pharmacy contracts and sustains the hospital formulary by minimizing non-formulary items.
- Navigates all vendor platforms to optimize product procurement and also possesses an understanding of split-billing software program related to the 340B Program.
- Leads the annual physical inventories of all pharmacies and manages inventory on an ongoing basis for opportunities for enhanced inventory turns and decreased expired medications.
- Coordinates inventory to resolve/manage backorders, shortages, outdates, or recalls and secures acceptable product alternatives when necessary.
- Verifies orders received from vendors; segregates incorrect, expired, and damaged items for return to the original source or reverse distributor.
- Identifies and retrieves all recalled medications; disposes of recalled medications per manufacturer and FDA instructions; maintains documentation on all recalled medications and actions taken.
- Ensures optimization of group purchasing organization (GPO) contract purchasing.
- Liaises with vendors and maintains evergreen alternate supplier awareness to navigating shortages and supply chain issues.
- Trains, supervises, orients, pharmacy technicians in inventory practices and management (i.e., wholesaler purchasing and order receiving, barcoding, and labeling).
- Responsible for the ordering of specialty items including consignment items and specialty prescriptions.
- Works collaboratively with other pharmacy leaders to notify staff of drug shortages; acquires drugs from alternative sources with the approval of system pharmacy director and/or works with pharmacy department on alternate strategies to mitigate the shortage.
- Lead resource for technicians on unit dosing practices and performs routine preventative maintenance to relevant equipment.
- Assists the department in ensuring medications are stored in a secure, organized manner within the pharmacy department under the correct storage conditions.
- Assists the pharmacy department in the maintenance of Pyxis inventories and champions the optimization of its use. Reviews and updates Pyxis inventories in collaboration with outside departments.
- Assists community agencies with their medication inventory inquiries and requests.
- Monitors purchasing statistics; charges departments for drugs and supplies; and maintains appropriate inventory levels based on established usage and financial parameters.
- Maintains appropriate documentation of purchasing activities as required by hospital policy, law and regulations.
- Is flexible in assuming other appropriate responsibilities not noted above.
Education - High School diploma/equivalent. College courses desirable, but not required.
Experience - 5 years pharmacy technician experience required. 2 years of purchasing experience preferred.
Licensure - National certification (NHA/PTCB) or eligible.
Physical Requirements - Repetitive use of hands and fingers (e.g., use of computer keyboard); may require lifting and carrying light loads (up to 40 lbs.) including boxes, equipment, and IV solutions; stooping and kneeling (e.g., to pick up items from the floor, to remove and replace items on lower shelves, and to file documents in lower file drawers); sitting, walking, or standing for long periods of time (4-8 hours) is often necessary; must be able physically to operate the equipment used for the job. Travel (up to 50 miles round trip) from site to site as needed.
- = Essential functions
