The duties of this position include clinical support to the PACT, Mental Health, and Specialty Ambulatory Care Clinics, performing New Patient Calls, and assisting in population health efforts to support ambulatory care clinical pharmacy practice. The incumbent may be assigned additional clinical and technical management duties to other areas within the Pharmacy Service. The incumbent will promote coordination and improvement of care for patients at the William S. Middleton Memorial Hospital.

Duties

The Clinical Pharmacy Technician shall provide and support clinical operations of the clinics and its CPPs. All assigned clinical activities and function shall be completed in accordance with approved clinical pharmacy protocols or procedures. Coordinates with Clinical Pharmacist Practitioners (CPPs) to provide population health/management functions using patient care dashboards to identify patients for potential intervention across PACT, Mental Health, Specialty Ambulatory Care Clinics. Population health reports. Conducts initial outreach to the Veterans to explain services and offer appointments and services based on clinical situation. Completes new patient clinic calls for patients assigned to the Patient Aligned Care Teams. Supports care coordination in the Mental Health setting. Documents patient interactions in the patient's clinical record and utilizes clinical reminders and/or population management/health tools for tracking as appropriate. Complete medication histories, ask assessment questions, enter appropriate labs, medication changes and consults under the supervision of a CPP. Refer care in accordance with patient and/or clinician guidance. Maintains a comprehensive knowledge of pharmacy drug policies and procedures, as they pertain to ambulatory care CPP clinics. May assist in development or improvement of templates for patient care/tracking activities. May inform patients of lab results and communication of follow-up care based on CPP recommendations. May assist in completing follow-up calls under the guidance/supervision of CPPs consisting of, but not limited to, gathering patient information, providing information regarding patient prescriptions, inquiring about side effects and patient questions for refill prescriptions, evaluating patient's ability to understand instructions, and providing verbal and written instructions to promote patient medication adherence. Triage telephone calls from patients/caregivers and other stakeholders to address a variety of issues. May assist in other activities within scope as needed. Recognizes the limitations of practice authority and understands not to exceed them - In cases where there is any question about the technician's role, the incumbent consults a CPP. Serves as a resource between Pharmacy Service and other health care providers as needed. Identifies areas for improvement within the workflow of ambulatory care CPP practice to facilitate the delivery of care to Veterans. Displays competency in the use of all pharmacy resources, including computer software and hardware and other technology. Collaborates with pharmacy learners or other medical staff in research, when appropriate 5) Evaluates, analyzes workflows, and coordinates work activities to continually improve the efficiency and safety of clinic practices, including involvement with formal and informal improvement activities. Identify, initiate, and document cost savings initiatives. Knows and follows formulary guidelines and therapeutic and cost effective alternatives to non-formulary drugs. Independently gathers, evaluates, and analyzes data to generate workload reports and/or for other projects/statistical purposes. Provide status reports of the ambulatory care CPP programs at periodic intervals (examples may include pharmacy management meetings, staff meetings or workgroup specific meetings). Completes all required TMS training on a timely basis. Ensures that VA, hospital, and service policies are followed. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00AM - 4:30PM Telework: Available, 1-2 days per pay period. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be authorized for highly qualified candidates. 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. Education or Experience: None Required. English Language Proficiency: Pharmacy technicians appointed to direct patient care positions must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a, this part. Certification: For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either: Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) as a Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT.) OR National Healthcare Association (NHA ) as an Exam of the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians (ExCPT.) Loss of Credential: An employee in this occupation who fails to obtain licensure/certification/registration within the required time frame, or who fails to maintain the required licensure/certification/registration must be removed from the occupation, which may also result in termination of employment. For occupations which require an active credential (required licensure/certification/registration) at all grade levels, at the discretion of the appointing official, an employee may be reassigned to another occupation for which he/she qualifies if a placement opportunity exists. 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). Pharmacy technicians employed in VHA 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 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 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 journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. (2) Employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification/ registration only at higher grade levels must meet the licensure/ certification/registration requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels. (3) 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. (4) Employees who are converted to title 38 hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation. (5) 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. Grade Determinations: Pharmacy Technician GS-8 Experience: Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-7), which includes but is not limited to: Knowledge of pharmacy technician principles, practices, concepts and theories providing for sound independent work; Knowledge of the computerized prescription process and input of prescriptions and medication orders or electronic equivalent; Ability to resolve pharmacy/medication issues with other members of the healthcare team, Veterans, and external customers; Ability to train developmental pharmacy technicians and students; Ability to dispense medication or sterile products following all regulations, policies, and procedures to ensure safe medication distribution; and Ability to troubleshoot automated dispensing equipment (ADE) or technology platforms/databases. AND Knowledge, Sills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs for all GS-08 assignments and meet any additional KSAs for the assignment, if indicated: Comprehensive knowledge of concepts, principles, methodology and policies in a specialized area or section of pharmacy (such as sterile compounding, controlled substances, automation, clinical pharmacy, contact center, etc.) Skill in training and orienting new and existing pharmacy facility employees and students on proper polices and procedures. Ability to evaluate, analyze and coordinate workflow and work activities within a specialized area or section of the pharmacy. Basic knowledge of pharmacy procurement, distribution and storage requirements to maintain a safe working environment. This includes, but is not limited to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), United States Pharmacopeia (USP) and Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) requirements and regulations. Ability to assist in determining and modifying as necessary: ordering intervals, inventory levels and cost-effective ordering quantities from required sources based on current financial conditions in pharmacy, seasonal variations in drug usage, changing patterns in medical practice, delivery time requirements and urgency of medical need. References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G-28, Pharmacy Technician Qualification Standard, GS-661-08 The full performance level of this vacancy is 08. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of 08 to 08. Physical Requirements: Refence 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Certification: Certification is required for this position.

Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) as a Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT.)
OR
National Healthcare Association (NHA ) as an Exam of the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians (ExCPT.)

Contacts

• Address William S Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital 2500 Overlook Terrace Madison, WI 53705 US
• Name: Derek Fultz
• Email: [email protected]