Pharmacy Technician Specialist

Job Description - Pharmacy Technician Specialist - Medication Access (3285458)

Under the direction of a staff pharmacist and/or pharmacy leadership team, follow established policies and procedures to perform a variety of highly advanced technical and clerical support tasks that are vital to the operation of the pharmacy department. Tasks include responsibilities of technical training, compliance, and participation in departmental projects and initiatives. This requires successful experience and documented performance in focused key activities.

These tasks are designed to support the department in the preparation and delivery of pharmaceutical supplies and medications in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and other regulatory agencies as applicable. Most tasks require the review and authorization of a licensed pharmacist.

The Massachusetts General Hospital’s Division of Gastroenterology offers comprehensive care, patient centered care to meet the needs of a variety of patients with complex Gastrointestinal disease. Our team-based approach offers the opportunity to ensure our patients needs and offers professional satisfaction for our team members in making a difference in the lives of the patients we serve. To better optimize medication access for our patients, we are looking to expand our multidisciplinary team and recruit for a Medication Access Pharmacy Technician.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Work with physicians, nurses, and pharmacists to ensure that each patient receives the medications they need at the appropriate time:

§ Review medication regimen with patient and verify insurance and benefit information

§ Review and manage refill requests from patients by ensuring laboratory work and appointments for future visits are up-to-date per standard clinic protocol/workflows

§ Assesses patient's medication adherence and knowledge about each medication through use of open-ended questions and motivational interviewing

§ Monitor patient concerns, charts, and profiles to meet medication therapy needs

§ Answer patient questions about the service, insurance issues, and financial assistance needs

§ Ensure all questions are answered timely and accurately

§ Ensure clinical questions are appropriately escalated

§ Contact pharmacies, long-term care facilities, and ambulatory clinics to obtain additional information and confirm information provided by the patient

§ Obtain medication allergy history and related reactions to the medication

§ Use good judgement to assess accuracy of each medication by reviewing medication dose, route, frequency, and indication for use

§ Review appropriate information with members of the care team where applicable

40%

Medication Finance, Procurement, and Assistance:

§ Responsible for obtaining all medication prior authorizations

§ Research and review prescription benefit coverage to assist patients and meet individual needs

§ Must be able and willingly to call pharmacy, patient and insurance when needed in order to successfully complete PAs

§ Must be able to communicate effectively with providers and office staff through email and phone calls regarding any issue with the PA process and/or individual patients, such as incomplete information, answering status questions, denials etc.

§ Coordinate drug procurement operations and inventory management

§ Maintain purchase records, invoices, and inventory control reports

§ Understand CMS regulations and billing guidelines as they pertain patient pharmacy benefits

§ Understand billing primary, secondary, and tertiary insurance claims

§ Resolve any billing issues and obtain Prior Authorizations for medications

§ Obtain benefit information and verify patient insurance eligibility and level of coverage

§ Must determine which PAs require escalation or further assistance from management

50%

Informatics and Automation:

§ Navigate electronic medical records with proficiency

§ Document information gathered appropriately using approved templates

§ Work with Excel and other databases to track utilization

§ Relay medication information accurately and efficiently to pharmacy, nursing, and medical teams

Quality and Safety:

§ Contribute to institutional and departmental policies and procedures development and implementation

§ Demonstrate accountability and ownership of job responsibilities

§ Exhibit and promote professional behaviors and attitudes related to communication, punctuality, workplace attire, personal internet or phone use, and teamwork

§ Lead departmental and institutional patient safety initiatives

§ Encourage reporting of safety issues identified during job responsibilities and applicable follow-up

§ Assist in maintaining statistics, data metrics, and workload productivity as applicable

§ Compile, analyze, and report department-specific productivity or workload data for pharmacy leadership

§ Provide caring service, adjusting approaches to reflect developmental level and cultural differences of population served

§ Improve processes to facilitate communication and service between patient, and clinic, infusion center and discharge pharmacy teams to ensure accurate and timely delivery of medications

Staffing and Competency:

§ Required to be self-motivated, working with various systems, working with patients and caregivers

§ Establishing a relationship with other health care professionals

§ Expected to perform work in accordance with defined standard operating procedures

§ Serves as a liaison to other pharmacy divisions, nursing, and clinicians across the institution

§ Acts as a positive role model for other staff members

§ Demonstrates mutual respect and cooperation with others

§ Flexibility in work assignments and adaptability as needs change

§ Comfortable working autonomously

§ Ability to think broadly and longitudinally, constantly assessing and anticipating the needs of the patient and the practice environment

§ Must be flexible to accommodate patients’ immediate needs

§ Seeks to understand and value differences between employees

§ Treats other employees with dignity and respect

§ Demonstrates open, honest communication and behavior

§ Resolves conflict in a positive manner

§ Able to work independently, accountable for work, and manage workload

§ Provide training and or education to new staff related to medication access

SKILLS & COMPETENCIES REQUIRED

§ Exceptional customer service skills, ability to provide a high level of customer service to patients, caretakers, staff, and external customers in a professional, service-oriented, respectful manner using skills in active listening and problem solving.

§ Ability to remain calm in stressful situation.

§ Ability to work collaboratively in small teams to improve operations of immediate work group by offering ideas, identifying issues, and respecting team members.

§ Ability to communicate professionally and effectively, both verbally and in written form with both internal and external customers.

§ Ability to effectively learn and perform multiple tasks, and organize work in a systematic and efficient fashion, operates with consistency and integrity.

§ Ability to follow complex instructions and procedures, with close attention to detail

§ Understanding of HIPAA privacy rules and will use discretion when discussing patient related information that is confidential in nature as needed to perform duties

§ Ability to meet deadlines, has problem identification and solving skills.

§ Must have a strong desire to continually learn and a progressive mindset of continual process improvement.

§ Ability to follow precedents and procedures. May set priorities and organize work with general guidelines. Seeks assistance when confronted with difficult and/or unpredictable situations.

§ Ability to operate general office machines such as computers, facsimiles, copiers, and scanners.

§ Completion of appropriate on-site EPIC training to perform the duties of this position.

§ Upon departmental orientation and annually thereafter, must complete annual hospital required training.

§ Ability to effectively manage day-to-day work responsibilities and take initiative with minimal supervision, be self-motivated and resourceful, have sufficient knowledge to answer questions and find required resources of information.

§ Advanced skill with basic office software applications including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint is essential.

LICENSES, CERTIFICATIONS, and/or REGISTRATIONS

National certification required.

EDUCATION

High school diploma, GED or equivalent

Preferred:

Bachelor’s Degree

EXPERIENCE

Required:

Previous hospital or clinic-based experience (3-5 years), formal training, or completion of a pharmacy technician training program

Preferred: 

§ Bachelor’s degree and/or higher-level education or completed coursework.

§ Prior experience with Prescription Assistance Programs

§ Exposure to insurance benefits; ability to decipher insurance benefit information

§ Knowledge of third-party payers

§ One (1) or more years of customer services experience

WORKING CONDITIONS

There is opportunity for a hybrid arrangement which would allow for some remote work.

The information contained in this document is intended to describe the general contents and requirements of work being performed by people assigned to this classification.It is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive statement of all duties, responsibilities or skills of individuals so classified