Quality & Medication Safety Pharmacy Manager

What Health System Pharmacy contributes to Cardinal Health
Pharmacy Operations is responsible for the safe, efficient and effective coordination of Cardinal Health's pharmacy operations that service acute care hospitals, hospital retail customers, ambulatory care and alternate site facilities, oncology and cardiology practices as well as retail customers.

Health System Pharmacy is responsible for providing customized pharmacy program solutions that reduce costs and improve patient care quality for hospitals, health systems and other integrated healthcare providers may also consult with and advise healthcare team on prescribed medications, supplies and related processes.

Job Summary

Reporting to the Health System Director of Pharmacy, the Quality & Medication Safety Manager is responsible for planning, organizing, and directing the design, implementation, maintenance, and evaluation of safe medication systems and quality assurance programs throughout the MSOPS organization. Working closely with the pharmacy management team, the Quality & Medication Safety Manager assumes a leadership role in formulating policy and instituting practice models that promote medication safety and pharmaceutical care in all aspects of the medication management process. The Quality & Medication Safety Manager is viewed as the organizational leader and champion for all medication safety and quality initiatives and works independently to investigate, implement, and monitor medication safety and quality initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Serves as the authoritative resource on medication safety and quality; assists the pharmacy management team with all aspects of medication management and clinical services, distributive functions, and ensures compliance with all regulatory and accrediting body requirements (TJC, MA BORP, DPH, FDA, etc.).

• Serves as the designated person for USP 797 and USP 800; collaborates with pharmacy leadership and site clinical leads to ensure standardization of and compliance with USP 797 and USP 800 initiatives.

• Coordinates the development of criteria for safe and effective medication use as well as monitors the compliance with established criteria and other quality improvement programs as defined by MSOPS.

• Conceptualizes, designs, demonstrates, and documents in formulating policy and instituting practice models that promote medication safety in all aspects of the medication management process.

• Serves as the medication safety expert and participates in Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) Committees. Participates in, or leads, multidisciplinary teams concerned with medication errors, adverse drug events and reactions, near misses, policy review, safe medication use, new product review, and patient safety to identify risk points and prioritize system improvements to reduce the potential for medication errors and patient harm.

• Develops, evaluates, reports, and otherwise participates in Continuous Quality Improvement, Drug Utilization Evaluation, Adverse Drug Reaction reporting, Medication Use, and other projects as assigned. 

• Independently investigates medication safety events or issues, including specific error reports. Utilizes data driven performance-improvement methodologies and tools to identify and develop recommendations for action. Proactively analyzes current practices that contribute to medication errors and identifies steps for prevention. Facilitates and implements process and system changes to reduce the likelihood of occurrence and recurrence of error.

• Collects, reviews and analyzes established departmental and system-wide Medication Quality and Safety programs including medication-use, medication error, adverse drug reactions, and continuous quality improvement data. Identify needed improvement; develop and lead implementation of high-leverage error-reduction strategies.

• Constructs and directs root cause analyses. Evaluates systems and process change recommendations to determine where medication management risks exist and opportunities for improvement are needed. Develops plan for implementation of recommendations as well as increased awareness of the risks identified with this type of event.

• Formulates recommendations for standardizing analytical and reporting processes for medication safety and adverse event reporting.

• Encourages system-wide medication error reporting. Foster a culture of safety through "lessons learned" education and communication across the entire the system. Support principles of high-reliability organizations (HRO) within medication-use processes and workflows.

• Implements clinical trending reports and other quality assurance activities as indicated to ensure appropriate and safe drug utilization; organizes, designs, and conducts drug utilization evaluations to promote rational drug therapy, quality improvement, and fiscal stewardship.

• Assists in the design, implementation, and documentation of pharmacy clinical programs such as drug consults, pharmacokinetics, antimicrobial stewardship, medication safety, opioid stewardship, and other programs as determined appropriate based on patient populations and literature guidelines.

• Responsible for formulary management, policy and procedure development, and education across the MSOPS organization.

• Collaborates with the pharmacy management team to develop, review, implement, and evaluate clinical practice guidelines, policies and procedures, and process improvement initiatives that address cost-effective, safe, and appropriate drug therapy.

• Provides, coordinates, and evaluates staff development opportunities for practicing pharmacists; develops and documents pharmacy staff education and competency in relation to medication safety and quality programs on an ongoing basis and assists the pharmacy management team in developing improvement plans when deficiencies in competencies are identified.

• Develops and actively participates in training and mentorship programs for pharmacists, residents, students, technicians, nurses, and independent providers based on reports in the literature, responses to corrective action plans, and recommendations from committee activities.

• Precepts and coordinates the precepting of pharmacy students and residents; serves as a role model to pharmacy students and residents; and acts as a project advisor in area of expertise or as assigned by the pharmacy management team.

• In collaboration with the Residency Program Director, maintains the PGY1 residency standards as set forth in ASHP Accreditation Standard for Postgraduate Pharmacy Residency Programs.

• Maintains excellent communication with the pharmacy management team on medication safety and quality issues on a consistent basis. Provides detailed action plans and documentation to support updates.

• Manages medication safety issues driven by drug shortages, replacement drug products, and Look-alike/Sound-alike drugs. 

• Maintains knowledge of trends and developments in the patient safety field. Collaborate with external medication safety organizations, including Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Medwatch program. Share locally identified and reported medication quality and safety issues with national organizations and manufacturers as appropriate. 

• Provides guidance and coordination for medication related information systems and technologies. Provides operational, clinical, and safety recommendations related to installation, maintenance, and enhancements of Pharmacy related systems and technologies. Ensures information system and technology processes support established clinical standards of care, meet or exceed patient care quality standards, are in compliance with various regulatory agencies, and integrate with other departments.

• Participates in the development, implementation, and evaluation of pharmacy information systems and technology to consistently meet or exceed customer's needs, through effective continuous quality improvement practices. 

• Maintains knowledge of leading-edge developments, best practices, and evolving information technology systems and solutions by participation in ongoing independent study, educationrelated professional activities, and affiliations. 

• Work closely with Cardinal Health Accreditation, Regulatory, and Medication Safety Subject Matter experts to develop actions plans for identified areas of improvement.

• Maintains understanding of and accountabilityfor the requirements and all deliverables of the RFR/Contract and all attachments including but not limited to reports and hours of operation and coverage by management team to include weekends/holidays.

• Maintains safety-integrity-professionalism of pharmacy at all times including communication with coworkers.

• Provide in-services to pharmacy staff and professional staff.

• Review of monthly medication area inspections for trends and areas of needed improvement.

• Conducts periodic staff meetings to assure staff understanding of accreditation expectations.

• Perform special projects as requested.

• Perform as Staff Pharmacist as needed.

• Other duties and work scheduled as assigned to assure continuity of service to MSOPS.

• Work cohesively with Cardinal Health account leadership and accreditation team.

Qualifications

• Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree or equivalent from an ACPE-accredited school of pharmacy.

• Registered Pharmacist in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

• Five (5) years of experience as a Pharmacist with acute care experience or related experience highly preferred.

• Experience in the development of programs focused on achieving positive outcomes in the use of medications highly preferred.

• Sterile and non-sterile compounding experience highly preferred.

• Management experience preferred.

• Substantial knowledge in project management, performance improvement, risk management principles, patient safety and planning preferred.

• Completion of an American Association of Hospital Pharmacist (ASHP) accredited PGY1residency preferred.

• Advanced training or certification in Medication Safety preferred.

• Ability to integrate clinical services, training and education, and research activities.

• Strong leadership ability with excellent communication (verbal and written) and presentation skills. 

• Possesses a data driven mindset and must understand and use basic statistical methods and formal analytic methods.

• Must have a positive work ethic and excellent interpersonal skills to motivate other team members and promote a professional work environment.

• May require vendor credentialing.

What is expected of you and others at this level

• Coordinates and supervises the daily activities of operations or business staff.

• Administers and exercises policies and procedures.

• Ensures employees operate within guidelines.

• Decisions have a direct impact to work unit operations and customers.

• Frequently interacts with subordinates, customers, and peer groups at various management levels.

• Interactions normally involve information exchange and basic problem resolution.

Anticipated salary range:$123,100 - $184,590.

Bonus eligible:No

Benefits:Cardinal Health offers a wide variety of benefits and programs to support health and well-being.

• Medical, dental and vision coverage

• Paid time off plan

• Health savings account (HSA)

• 401k savings plan

• Access to wages before pay day with myFlexPay

• Flexible spending accounts (FSAs)

• Short- and long-term disability coverage

• Work-Life resources

• Paid parental leave

• Healthy lifestyle programs

Application window anticipated to close:05/13/2025 *if interested in opportunity, please submit application as soon as possible.

The salary range listed is an estimate. Pay at Cardinal Health is determined by multiple factors including, but not limited to, a candidate’s geographical location, relevant education, experience and skills and an evaluation of internal pay equity.

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