WHAT DOES A CLINICAL PHARMACY SPECIALIST DO?
Updated: Dec 10, 2024 - The Clinical Pharmacy Specialist provides consultative services to medical, nursing, and pharmacy staff, under the supervision of the Clinical Manager. This individual ensures appropriate drug therapy in special populations, implements and monitors clinical protocols and guidelines, and enhances the delivery of evidence-based medicine. The role also involves participating in research and drug use and outcome management programs within specialty areas, documenting clinical activities and outcomes, and providing advanced patient care and education.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Clinical Pharmacy Specialist
1. Clinical Pharmacy Specialist Functions
- Antimicrobial Review: Concurrent review of antimicrobial therapy to determine appropriateness
- Antibiotic Optimization: Working with providers to optimize antibiotic therapy
- Adherence Monitoring: Ensuring adherence to antimicrobial-restricted drug criteria
- Clinical Software Utilization: Utilization of Sentri-7 Clinical Intervention software to identify areas for AMS review and to document interventions
- Committee Participation: Participation in hospital and health system committees related to AMS
- Report Preparation: Preparing and presenting AMS-related reports
- Education and Training: Education of pharmacy, medical, nursing, and ancillary staff on AMS and infection control information and acting as an educational resource for professional pharmacy school students and pharmacy interns
- Drug Therapy Management: Manages drug therapy protocols and attends rounds as a part of an interdisciplinary team
- Medication Review: Reviews, interprets, and evaluates medication orders to identify, prevent, and resolve potential or actual drug-related problems
- Order Verification: Verify/Enter medication orders in the pharmacy system
- Clinical Research Participation: Participates in clinical research activities (e.g., study protocol development, dispensing, oversight of study medication management processes, data collection, analysis, and record-keeping)
- Quality and Cost Evaluation: Evaluate products and care to determine quality and cost-effectiveness
2. Clinical Pharmacy Specialist Overview
- Fiscal Documentation: Documents the fiscal effectiveness of the specialist position.
- Project Participation: Participates in projects as determined by the strategic goals of the department and facility related to budgetary requirements.
- Resource Collaboration: Collaborates with Pharmacy management concerning patient care and professional issues to determine the most effective use of resources.
- Medication Recommendations: Provides appropriate recommendations regarding new or existing medications to ensure optimal patient care at the lowest cost to both the patient and healthcare system.
- Provider Collaboration: Collaborate with physicians, nurses, and other allied health providers to provide excellent pharmaceutical care and services in the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology specialization.
- Medication Therapy Management: Ensures safe, appropriate, cost-effective medication therapies for patients according to established policies, procedures, and protocols.
- Drug Information: Provides accurate, adequate, and timely drug information.
- Staff Education: Provides staff education to physicians, nurses, and pharmacists.
- Quality Support: Responsible for supporting quality initiatives through data analysis and management.
- Operational Support: Supports effective operation through policy development, staff engagement, and expeditious medication order verification and delivery.
- Guideline Development: Provides oversight and assists with the development and implementation of evidence-based medication guidelines/protocols.
- Data Analysis: Supports quality initiatives through data analysis and management.
3. Clinical Pharmacy Specialist Tasks
- Clinical Practitioner Skills: Utilizes practice knowledge and skills to serve as a Clinical Practitioner.
- Committee Participation Skills: Serves as a member of patient care committees for medical specialty service.
- Patient Care Improvement Skills: Makes recommendations and implements change to improve patient care.
- Medication Safety Skills: Ensures safe and effective medication use process.
- Educational Skills: Participates in the education of parents/patients, caregivers, pharmacists, pharmacy residents, and students.
- Program Development Skills: Develops educational programs, both practice-area specific and general education for pharmacists to ensure good patient care.
- Committee Activities Skills: Participates in Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee activities
- Formulary Evaluation Skills: Evaluates medications for formulary additions.
- Therapeutic Consultation Skills: Functions as a therapeutic consultant in areas that may include rational and appropriate use of medications, clinical pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, disease state management, and nutrition.
- Drug Interaction Monitoring Skills: Monitors drug interactions and problems, ensuring the safety of patients.
- Medication Preparation Skills: Prepares medications by reviewing and interpreting physician orders and detecting therapeutic incompatibilities.
- Medication Dispensing Skills: Dispenses medications by compounding, packaging, and labeling pharmaceuticals.
4. Clinical Pharmacy Specialist Roles
- Project Coordination and Documentation: Assist staff members with more complex and detailed projects such as setting up and maintaining tracking systems, composing and proofreading documents, collecting and compiling data, and coordinating the flow of reports, data or records.
- Formulary Research and Documentation: Research, resolve and document formulary changes and issues within internal systems.
- Client Communication: Communicate plan design parameters including prior authorization criteria, benefit coverage, and formulary information to clients and account teams.
- Client Research: Research client topics of interest and aid in presenting to clients.
- Inquiry Resolution: Research, resolve and document client inquiries.
- Meeting Participation: Participate in internal and external clinical meetings to support and present relevant information.
- Authorization Research: Provide research on prior authorization or plan issues as requested by the clinical lead.
- Report Analysis: Provide analysis of reports in support of client plan performance.
- Information Response: Respond to internal and external requests for information within the scope of assigned responsibility and departmental guidelines.
- Special Project Coordination: Coordinate or independently complete special projects such as presentation materials.
- Meeting Support: Assist and participate in regularly scheduled meetings. Activities include agenda preparation, preparing minutes, and ensuring follow-up on identified tasks.
5. Clinical Pharmacy Specialist Details
- Consultive Services: Under the supervision of the Clinical Manager, provides consultive services to medical, nursing, and pharmacy staff.
- Drug Therapy Management: Ensuring appropriate drug therapy in special populations, implementing and monitoring clinical protocols and guidelines, and enhancing the delivery of evidence-based medicine will also be expected.
- Education and Research Collaboration: Other responsibilities include education, representation on medical center committees, and collaboration on research initiatives.
- Documentation: Documents clinical activities and outcomes.
- Medication Dispensing: Provide prescribed medications and compounds according to professional standards and practices.
- Advanced Skills Level: Perform at an advanced skills level.
- Multidisciplinary Collaboration: Encourages multidisciplinary collaboration to ensure the appropriate therapeutic use of clinical drugs resulting in optimal patient outcomes.
- Committee Participation: Works within appropriate committees to ensure that the drugs available are appropriate for the patient populations served.
- Direct Patient Care: Provide a high level of direct patient care pharmacy services for an assigned, specialized patient population to assure adequate patient care according to professional standards and practices.
- Consultation: Advise/consult with patients, their families, and the medical and nursing staff.
- Research Participation: Participate in research and drug use and outcome management programs within specialty area.
- Data Publication: Responsible for publishing data or giving presentations at local, regional, or national meetings.