Summary Under the direction of the Outpatient Pharmacy Supervisor, Associate Chief, Pharmacy Operations and/or Chief of Pharmacy, and in concert with other supervisory personnel within the Pharmacy Department, the incumbent is the resident expert for Care in the Community prescriptions and responsible for the program management of Care in the Community prescriptions for Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center's (FHCC's) Pharmacy Department. Responsibilities Functions of the Position: The Care in the Community Pharmacy Program Manager will: develop local policies; educate staff; assist in receiving, assessing for appropriateness, and processing Care in the Community prescriptions; ensure all community care prescriptions for special-authorization drugs are documented in the veteran's medical record; FHCC processes, requests additional documentation, or denies prescriptions within 96-hours of receiving them; coordinates pharmacy services for these VA Community Care patients; review processed FHCC Care in the Community in the Community prescriptions for appropriateness and compliance with VA policy and procedures and VA local and national formulary; ensures providers are adhering to national VA and local formulary management restrictions/regulations; responsible for reporting a community provider to the medical facility's community care office when the provider does not comply with VA documentation requirements for special-authorization drug requests. For those medications requiring a prior authorization, criteria for use, imaging, or laboratory data, the incumbent will ensure all information is received from the external provider before providing the information to an FHCC Clinical Pharmacist Specialist for clinical review and approval or denial. Major Duties and Responsibilities: A. Program MGMT: Provides pharmacist oversight for VA Community Care Programs by reviewing related prescriptions of VA authorized community care programs including Choice, NVCC (Non-VA Care Coordination), and CCN (Community Care Network) with regards to medication order review, approval and/or exchanging, and processing for patients enrolled at the medical center. Assist Care in the Community Pharmacy Technician(s) in processing electronicprescriptions in Cerner (ERx Q) Serves as consultant and information resources to the VA Community Care Programsphysicians and applicable medical/pharmacy staff. Ensures patient prescriptions written by outside providers conform to both nationaland local VA formulary and assists in adjudicating non-formulary requests ifnecessary. Utilize and follow non-formulary and restricted drug approval process through facilitation of therapeutic substitutions that do not require a Scope of Practice. Participates in Community Care Vendor Relations provider outreach/education as needed. B. Non VA Prescription Support: Receives faxed, mailed, electronically prescribed, or delivered prescriptions written by non-VA providers and document accordingly in Cerner-PowerChart and Cerner- Message Center. Reviews Community Care Referral & Authorization website and Cerner-PowerChart to determine authorization of Care in the Community by FHCC. Communicates with patients concerning prescriptions received from unauthorized provider visits, and handles prescriptions appropriately by forwarding to primary care provider or returning to patient. Reviews authorized prescriptions for clinical appropriateness, as well as knowledge concerning the national drug formulary and local VA formulary requirements. Communicates with non-VA physicians and nurses to request clarification of prescriptions or medication changes due to VA formulary and forwards all changes and clarifications to a licensed pharmacist to receive from the non-VA representative. C. Controlled Substance Non-VA Prescription Support: Reviews the state Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) website to ensure appropriateness of received prescription, determine exact due date of medication, and prevent duplicate and overprescribing of controlled substances and documents in Cerner-PowerChart. Assist in preparing prescription and medication for the final verification by a Staff Clinical Pharmacist. Maintains a current knowledge of national, state, and local laws, regulations, directives, policies, and procedures pertaining to controlled substances. D. Community Triage: Answers the Care in the Community Pharmacy telephonic line and assist in handling phone calls when Care in the Community Pharmacy Technician is otherwise engaged. Utilizes pharmacy information systems to answer patient or provider questions related to status of their prescription(s), completion date, package tracking, etc. Educates patients on how to use the automated phone service. Transfers calls to other clinical pharmacy staff when appropriate. Documents all phone conversations in Cerner-PowerChart Message Center for future reference. Work Schedule: Rotating Shifts, Days and Weekends. Telework: Eligible Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: Licensed Pharmacist (Facility Program Manager) - Care in the Community/PD000000 Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. You may be required to serve a probationary period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Must pass pre-employment physical examination. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. 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. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/07/2024. 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. Language: Must be proficient in spoken and written English Education 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. GS-13 GRADE EXPERIENCE Experience. In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. Preferred Experience: In addition to basic Qualification Standard: completion of ASHP-accredited PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Residency and/or PGY-2 Specialty Pharmacy Residency (in an applicable specialty) or equivalent experience in the major duties for at least 3 years. Assignment. Candidates at this grade level are to be in one of the assignments listed below. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. The clinical pharmacy specialist (CPS) functions at the highest level of clinical practice, works independently under their scope of practice as defined by the individual medical center to directly care for patients. A CPS plays a defined role in budgetary execution and serves as a mid-level provider who functions to initiate, modify or discontinue medication therapy and as a consultant for intensive medication therapy management services. This includes, but is not limited to, the following: designing, implementing, assessing, monitoring and documenting therapeutic plans utilizing the most effective, least toxic and most economical medication treatments; helping achieve positive patient centric outcomes through direct and indirect interactions with patients, providers, and interdisciplinary teams in assigned areas; performing physical assessments; and ordering laboratory and other tests to help determine efficacy and toxicity of medication therapy. Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following KSAs: 1. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions. 2. Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for their program area. 3. Ability to solve problems, coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in their program area or area of clinical expertise. 4. Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of pharmacy. 5. Advanced skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters. References: VA Handbook, 5005, Part II, Appendix G15, Licensed Pharmacist Qualification Standard Physical Requirements: Employees are typically expected to work forty hours per week. This may include evenings and weekends functioning as a CPS. Principle duties require repetitive use of hands and fingers (e.g., handling prescriptions, use of a computer keyboard, etc.). May require lifting and carrying light loads (up to 25lbs.), including boxes, packages, and equipment, stooping or kneeling (e.g., to pick up items from the floor, remove and replace items on lower shelves, and to file documents in lower file drawers, etc.); sitting, walking, or standing for long periods of time (4-8 hours). Normal ranges of hearing and vision are required to perform work and communicate effectively; must have the visual ability to distinguish between basic colors and shades of color. An ability to perform tasks requiring rapid mental and muscular coordination functions simultaneously is necessary. Employees must be physically capable of operating various types of equipment used on the job. Employees may be asked to work voluntary overtime within different pharmacy locations during periods of extreme staffing shortages. If there are no volunteers, reverse seniority will be utilized to work mandatory overtime within their respective clinical areas or as coverage for fellow pharmacy specialists. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. 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. Additional Information This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.