Pharmacy Liaison

POSITION SUMMARY:

This pivotal position serves as the bridge between patients and pharmacists, employing a hands-on approach to deliver top-tier patient care. You will have a strong focus on customer service, serving as a pillar in reshaping both patient care and business excellence. It is more than a mere job; it is an integral component of our specialty pharmacy’s growth and success, with a direct impact on the health system’s operating margins. In this exciting role, handling specialty patients and their medications is like a skilled craft, much like nurturing valuable sales accounts. It is all about blending top-notch patient service with outstanding business performance, making it a one-of-a-kind and essential part of what we do.

You will provide an unwavering support system for patients, leveraging advanced tools and applications to ensure seamless adherence to medications. The primary objective is to encourage clinic patients to explore the full spectrum of Clearway Health’s superior patient care services, enriching their well-being while contributing to the continued success of our business. In this professional setting, you will seamlessly integrate with the clinic team, encompassing doctors, nurses, and support staff. This collaboration establishes essential connections, uniting efforts for enhanced healthcare.

NeighborHealth, East Boston, MA

ABOUT THIS LOCATION & OUR CLIENT PARTNER
This position will be located on site at our client partner, East Boston, a community health center that opened in 1970 and has since operated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Today they are the only health center in New England, and one of the few in the country to provide continuous care. Their services and development have been defined by the needs of the communities they serve. They provide a comprehensive system of services including primary and specialty care, a 24-hour Satellite Emergency Facility, two on-site pharmacies, and the comprehensive Neighborhood PACE plan for older adults, as well as innovative programs to help address the health and well-being of community members with specific needs, including HIV/AIDS, chronic diseases, children with multiple disabilities and childhood obesity. They are the largest community health center in Massachusetts and among the largest community health centers in the country. For the eighth time, East Boston Neighborhood Health Center has been named one of the Top Places to Work in Massachusetts by the Boston Globe.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES/DUTIES:

Patient Relationship Development and Client Sales – You will focus on sales/customer service with the goal of expanding your patient account base by enrolling and retaining specialty pharmacy services offered through Clearway Health.

Sales and Enrollment

• You accomplish set goals for enrolling patients into the Clearway Health Specialty Pharmacy program. Your success is measured consistently and evaluated through various sales and reporting platforms, focusing on customer relationships and the revenue performance of each individual specialty service line.
• You are responsible for performing enrollment functions, including following up on provided leads for new business and generating leads through your provider relationships or direct customer service engagements.

Patient Retention

• You build relationships with patients by offering them friendly, courteous, and efficient service, all while encouraging them to use Clearway Health to access its top-notch patient care services.
• You work closely with patients, delivering a full continuum of medication adherence support through various tools and applications.
• You provide outbound therapy/medication adherence check-ups by processing refills to eliminate any gaps.

Personnel Responsibilities – You are responsible for building and maintaining relationships with providers, care teams, and ancillary support to ensure the continuity of sales and enrollment functions.

Internal Relationships

• You develop and nurture trusting relationships to deliver the highest level of care for complex patients.
• You maintain and support pharmacy interdepartmental relationships and management, ensuring a smooth transition of patient care from clinic to pharmacy.

External Relationships

• You take the lead in creating and developing strategic partnerships with various healthcare professionals, providing them with the necessary information and support to ensure successful patient care transitions.

Operational Responsibilities – You are technically savvy, a natural problem-solver, and an effective communicator at all levels, both internally and externally.

• You skillfully navigate the patient Electronic Medical Record (EMR) to answer questions and provide documentation as needed for specialty pharmacy prior authorizations.
• You maintain effective communication with various healthcare professionals, such as doctors, nurses, clinical pharmacists, and practice managers, both in person, over the phone, and through written transmissions via EMR. Your interactions are consistently timely and professional, supporting new and ongoing initiatives.
• You excel at resolving high-level patient care issues, knowing when to involve managers or clinicians when needed. Your resourcefulness shines through when facing challenges, offering practical solutions to complex problems.
• Your capacity to work independently is evident as you manage your workload and consistently meet established goals in a fast-paced environment.
• You play a vital role in training and supporting new hires, helping them understand and meet the expectations for day-to-day operations in their specific roles.

EDUCATION:

• High School diploma or G.E.D. required, higher level education preferred.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS REQUIRED:

• You must be registered as a Pharmacy Technician with the Board of Pharmacy in the state where Clearway Health operates prior to the start date or per state requirements where registration is only valid upon employment.
• Active National Certification verified by PTCB or ExCPT. 

EXPERIENCE:

• 2+ years of direct pharmacy experience required.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

• Excellent verbal and written English communication skills required; as well as ability to communicate professionally over the phone.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to provide superb, personalized customer service to instill confidence and advocate for patients; ability to explain required information to customers in a comprehensible manner.
• Organized, strong attention to detail, ability to self-direct through multitasking and prioritizing, dependable, empathetic, focused on quality service, goal oriented.
• Cultural sensitivity, understanding, and comfort with a wide range of social, racial, and ethnic populations.
• Must practice discretion and confidentiality as position deals with extremely sensitive and confidential data.
• Ability to understand, explain, and actively promote the clients’ objectives through direct coordination and commitment to the program’s goals.
• Flexibility to adapt to changes in the departmental needs (i.e., assisting other team members, adjusting assignments, etc.).
• High proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Word, and Outlook. Ability to quickly learn other relevant applications that support management of patient care and assigned responsibilities; and ability to extract necessary information.

Additional preferred qualifications:

• Knowledge of transplants, hepatitis C, infectious diseases (including HIV), oncology and/or other specialty medication therapies preferred.
• Bilingual or multi-lingual skills (beyond that of English) appropriate to the patient population served is a plus.
• Knowledge of prior authorization request process to third party payors.
• Familiarity with 340B drug program and ACO hospital models.
• Knowledge of EPIC, Salesforce, Liberty, or other pharmacy and/or EMR systems.

Special Working Conditions (On-call, travel, shift, coverage):

• Clearway Health Specialty Pharmacies, serving patients in hospitals, health systems, and communities, may require employees at client sites to work on company-recognized holidays, with eligibility for holiday pay.   

The above statements in this job description are intended to depict the general nature and level of work assigned to the employee(s) in this job. The above is not intended to represent an exhaustive list of accountable duties and responsibilities required. External and internal applicants, as well as position incumbents who become disabled as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act, must be able to perform the essential job functions (as listed) either unaided or with the assistance of a reasonable accommodation to be determined by management on a case-by-case basis.