Pharmaceutical Specialist

The Pharmaceutical Specialist oversees and verifies the work of pharmacy technicians and pharmacy interns, ensuring the safe use of medications within the Centra Health system in support of high-quality patient care.

Key Responsibilities:

• Evaluates medication orders for appropriate indication, dose, route, strength, dosage form, and frequency of administration in relation to the medication history and current medication orders utilizing fundamental clinical pharmacy knowledge.
• Utilizes pharmacy information systems and maintains and troubleshoots pharmacy automation and drug dispensing devices.
• Dispenses medication accurately in a timely fashion with appropriate labeling, storage, and education necessary to safely and effectively administer.
• Knowledgeable of sterile and non-sterile pharmaceutical compounding principles and ensures accuracy and safe preparation of compounded sterile and non-sterile medications.
• Compounds oral, topical, and intravenous products, as well as parenteral nutrition, cancer chemotherapy, neonatal, and other special products as assigned.
• Reviews the medical record and makes appropriate recommendations for drug therapy, applying knowledge of clinical fundamentals and pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles.
• Prepares outpatient prescriptions, creates required documents, and provides timely and accurate drug information to prescribers and nursing personnel.
• Assures proper drug storage, secures emergency supplies of medication when needed, and assigns appropriate beyond-use dates.
• Recognizes medication errors, adverse drug events, and controlled substance losses, files complete reports, analyzes causes, evaluates alternative strategies for avoidance, and makes recommendations for improvement.
• Supervises and trains new personnel, residents, interns, and other students.

Additional Functions:

• Serves as a member of various committees as needed.
• Maintains strict confidentiality of all information.
• Performs other duties as assigned.