Specialist Clinical Pharmacist - Clinical & High-cost Medicine

Job overview

An opportunity has arisen for a motivated clinical pharmacist who wish to develop specialist knowledge and skills in high-cost drugs provision across various clinical specialties.   You will support the Principal Pharmacist - High-cost drugs in ensuring cost-effective use of this group of medicines excluded from NHS tariff payment system to meet commissioner requirements.

You will have the opportunity to work in a multi-disciplinary setting, liaising with clinicians, specialist nurses, as well as external organisations such as homecare providers to ensure safe, robust management of medicines to meet both clinical and patient needs.

This role will enable you to further utilise your clinical knowledge, developing your influential and critical evaluation skills to drive service improvement.

Throughout our department, we have a very strong team ethos and you will have good support from your peers, the senior pharmacists and technicians. You will work closely with our team of clinical pharmacists. We are in the process of implementing electronic prescribing and medicines administration on all our inpatient wards.

Main duties of the job

You will be working within our established high-cost drugs and homecare pharmacy team in the management, monitoring of high-cost medicines prescribing such as biologics.  In addition, you will provide pharmaceutical support to clinical areas that are high-users of high-cost drugs which include rheumatology, dermatology, neurology and adult medical day case unit.  The role involves medicines advice, cost-impact analysis as well as leading on safe introduction of new high-cost medicines.  You will regularly undertake work-based projects, service review, audits and participate in medicines pathway design and medicines optimisation agenda at local and regional level.

You will also be part of the wider clinical pharmacy team that is responsible for the pharmaceutical care of our patients from admission through to discharge.  This involves regular ward clinical commitment to enable you to develop close relationships with the wider Pharmacy team.  You will be expected to use your prescribing skills as part of your specialist clinical pharmacist role.  If you are not already a prescriber, we will support you to achieve this qualification.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Specialist Clinical Pharmacy Service:

• To provide information, advice and guidance on the safe, effective and economical use of medicines and to challenge poor practice.
• To maintain appropriate standards of service and safety; to develop and enforce guidelines, policies and procedures to ensure standards are met.
• To optimise medicines management by reconciling drug histories, performing medication reviews, counselling, and using patients' own medicines.
• To undertake adverse drug reactions and incident reporting where necessary.
• To record your clinical activity and to monitor the outcome of your advice.
• To participate in CQUINs and best value medicines pertinent to your area of specialty.
• To lead and support of quality improvement of medicines.
• To implement countywide and local prescribing strategies within the Trust.
• To undertake independent prescribing if/when qualified as Independent Prescriber.
• To facilitate the expansion of the tools within EPMA.
• To support the development and implementations of medicines related guidance, policies and procedures within specialty areas.
• To fulfil the requirements of the Code of Ethics and Standards of Good Professional Practice.
• To implement the Duty of Candour.

Specialist Pharmacist in High-cost Drugs:

• To develop specialist expertise in areas with a high use of medicines excluded from the NHS Payment System ie high-cost drugs.
• To have a working knowledge of current practises and protocols in these specialties.
• To facilitate the development and implementation of high-cost drugs related guidelines.
• To support high-cost drugs and homecare team on the appropriate prescribing, validation and supply of high-cost drugs.
• To lead the auditing of medicines within specialist areas,
• To undertake work-based QI projects with the support of the Principal High-cost drugs pharmacist and/or Homecare lead pharmacist
• To undertake data analysis and reporting relating to high-cost drugs to meet the requirements stipulated by commissioners.
• To attend appropriate Directorate meetings to ensure that pharmaceutical issues are considered.

Education, Training and Supervision

• Attend clinical pharmacy team meetings and education/training schemes relevant to post.
• To take part in formal and informal training of pharmacy staff and other healthcare professionals.
• To be a supervisor on the Clinical Pharmacy Diploma course.
• To supervise aspects of pharmacist trainee training.
• To line manage and lead those staff allocated, undertaking appraisals, supervision and identification of training and development of their skills and knowledge.
• To assist in the induction of staff into the service; to help identify training and development needs.
• To provide information to patients, parents and carers on admission, discharge and in outpatient clinics regarding treatment and medication to optimise patient concordance.
• To maintain up-to-date clinical knowledge in clinical pharmacy and pharmacy practice to ensure a broad base of pharmaceutical knowledge, clinical reasoning and judgement.
• To take responsibility for own personal CPD by participating in education and training programmes to improve competence.
• To develop specialist expertise in chosen speciality area.
• To obtain/maintain prescribing qualification and support speciality clinics and ward rounds as appropriate.
• To help provide the training for Technician’s enhanced patient counselling skills and Medicines Management Technician training.

Other Duties:

• To undertake duties elsewhere in the locality, if required.
• To undertake on-call duties.
• To provide a pharmacy service at weekends.