This position is located at the Topeka, KS VA Medical Center. The Community Care Pharmacist (CCP) is a licensed pharmacist who displays expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of Pharmacy Service. The CCP manages all aspects of community care pharmacy to include policy development, quality assurance, cost effectiveness, patient outcomes, daily professional and clinical operations, and specialty functions unique to the program.

Duties

The Community Care Pharmacist (CCP) for Community Care is responsible for managing and coordinating prescription related benefits associated with community care programs utilized by the facility. The CCP is responsible for final technical and administrative quality of the work. S/he coordinates work assignments to ensure timely product delivery to a variety of patients referred by the facility for care in the community. Is responsible for developing, reviewing and enforcing all policies and procedures related to community care and associated national and local formulary requirements. Interfaces with community care staff and programs, generating, preparing, and providing information as requested. Identifies discrepancies and develops systems to ensure Pharmacy Service compliance with laws, rules, and regulations. Duties include but are not limited to: Provides high quality, patient centric care by incorporating sound management and evidence-based medicine principles to ensure safe, effective and efficient medication dispensing. Manages administrative, clinical, and technical aspects of medication related benefits associated with community care programs, planning short, intermediate, and long-term objectives for Pharmacy Service and the facility. Maintains working knowledge of the VA national formulary and medication criteria for use. Adjudicates prior authorization requests for prescriptions issued by community care providers. Communicates with providers to resolve issues. Interfaces with VA staff and third-party vendors (EHIM for example) in administering pharmacy benefits for prescriptions issued by VA providers for filling in community pharmacies. Coordinates safe, effective, and timely processing of prescription orders for the patient. Processes community care prescriptions sent directly (mail, fax, electronic) from community providers. Enters prescriptions into the facility database for mail dispensing to patients. Serves as a technical information resource to pharmacists processing community prescriptions for patients presenting to the facility. Receives and processes for mail forwarded prescriptions from pharmacists, when mail processing is acceptable, or prior authorization is required. Receives requests from VA staff to review reimbursement requests for prescriptions filled at community pharmacies. Completes reviews according to requirements. Provides results to requestor, when needed. Completes required actions in the VA database. Ensures safe and appropriate medication therapy by carefully executing each step in the dispensing process according to law, regulatory standards, VHA policies, and standard of care. Completes required actions for internal and external quality assurance and regulatory bodies such as Patient Safety, Performance Improvement, VA Pharmacy Benefits Management (PBM), and Joint Commission. Develops and meets goals for assigned quality and clinical metrics. Evaluates processes and makes timely and effective decisions to facilitate change and produce results that improve performance and patient care. Collects and compiles data, prepares reports, and presents to appropriate bodies. Designs and implements program evaluation and quality assurance programs accurately representing current and desired states. Builds and presents business case for program justification and modification. Complies with all Pharmacy Service and Medical Center policies and procedures including security, corporate performance standards, professional conduct, infection control, and environment of care. Maintains current, comprehensive knowledge of evidence-based practices, and actively pursues opportunities for continuous professional development. Exhibits expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for the program area. Keeps current with changes in the Service, and professional practice standards including VHA, DEA, FDA, OIG, JC and other regulators, their policies, and procedures. Actively participates in VHA and medical center committees and professional work groups. Participates in teaching pharmacy students and residents. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00AM - 4:30PM, weekends evenings and holidays as determined by the agency Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency: Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d). Education: Must be a graduate of an Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) accredited College or School of Pharmacy with a baccalaureate degree in pharmacy (BS Pharmacy) and/or a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree. Graduates of foreign pharmacy degree programs meet the educational requirement if the graduate is able to provide proof of achieving the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Commission (FPGEC) Certification, which includes passing the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT). Licensure: Full, current and unrestricted license to practice pharmacy in a State, Territory, Commonwealth of the United States (i.e., Puerto Rico), or the District of Columbia. The pharmacist must maintain current registration if this is a requirement for maintaining full, current, and unrestricted licensure. A pharmacist who has, or has ever had, any license(s) revoked, suspended, denied, restricted, limited, or issued/placed in a probationary status may be appointed. May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Grandfathering Provision: All licensed pharmacists employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure/certification/registration that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: (1) Employees grandfathered into the GS-660 occupational series may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. (2) Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration, that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. (3) If a licensed pharmacist who was retained under this provision leaves the occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. GRADE REQUIREMENTS Creditable Experience: (1) Knowledge of Professional Pharmacy Practices: To be creditable, the experience must have demonstrated the use of knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with professional pharmacy practice. Professional practice means paid/non-paid employment as a professional or unlicensed graduate pharmacist as defined by the appropriate licensing board. (2) Residency and Fellowship Training: Residency and fellowship training programs in a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice may be substituted for creditable experience on a year-for year basis. The pharmacy residency program must be accredited by the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP). A fellowship program that is not accredited by the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) will need to have comparable standards for experience to be creditable (Professional Standards Board refers to the Deputy Chief Consultant for Professional Practice for the determination). (3) Quality of Experience: Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to pharmacy experience at the next lower level. Experience as a Graduate Pharmacist is creditable provided the candidate was used as a professional pharmacist (under supervision) and subsequently passed the appropriate licensure examination. (4) Part-time Experience: Part-time experience as a professional pharmacist is credited according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. For example, a pharmacist employed 20 hours a week, or on a 1/2-time basis, would receive 1 full-time workweek of credit for each 2 weeks of service. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. GS-11 Pharmacist: Experience, Education, and Licensure: None beyond the basic requirements. Assignment: Pharmacists at this grade level serve in a developmental capacity. GS-12 Clinical Pharmacist (Full Performance Level): Experience or Education: In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must meet one of the following: 1. 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, or 2. Completion of an ACPE-accredited Pharm.D. program. Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs): 1. Knowledge of professional pharmacy practice. 2. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to both patients and health care staff. 3. Knowledge of laws, regulations, and accreditation standards related to the distribution and control of scheduled and non-scheduled drugs and pharmacy security. 4. Skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters. Assignment: A pharmacist in this assignment handles routine medication-related activities in accordance with local, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN), and national policies and regulations. These include, but are not limited to: reviewing, interpreting, and verifying medication orders for appropriateness; processing and filling medication orders; interacting with and making recommendations to other clinical staff regarding medication therapy ordered to ensure safe and effective care; reviewing the patient's medications, allergies, labs, and other pertinent information from the medical record to identify and solve medication-related problems; contacting providers as appropriate; documenting recommendations and interventions; providing refill extensions and partial medication supplies; taking health and medication histories; performing medication reconciliation; providing drug information; assisting in formulary management including therapeutic substitutions, nonformulary reviews and medication usage evaluations; documenting and assessing adverse drug events (ADEs); assisting in medical emergencies; providing oversight of technical staff in all aspects of medication distribution. Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs): References: VA Handbook 5005/55, Part II, Appendix G15 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System 2200 SW Gage Blvd Topeka, KS 66622 US
• Name: Sonja Nixon
• Phone: 3104783711 X44895
• Email: [email protected]