Clinical Pharmacy Specialist-28254

Responsibilities

• Provide pharmacotherapy consultation for inpatient and transitional care patients with acute and chronic pain, and palliative care needs, collaborating with physicians, pharmacists, providers, nurses, and interdisciplinary team members.
• Lead development and implementation of the institution's pain stewardship program, establishing policies, protocols, and clinical care pathways aligned with current evidence-based guidelines.
• Monitor medication therapy for appropriate selection, dosing, dosage form, route, therapeutic duplication, and drug/dietary/disease state interactions; document pharmacist interventions in the medical record.
• Serve as the clinical pharmacy liaison to the Substance Use Intervention Team (SUIT), Pain, Palliative, and Hospice teams providing pharmacotherapy consultation for patients, medication order set reviews, guideline, and policy review and ownership.
• Support evidence-based treatment initiation and management including buprenorphine, naltrexone, methadone, and CIWA/COWS-guided alcohol withdrawal protocols in collaboration with SUIT physicians, social workers, and care coordinators.
• Ensure continuity of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and pain pharmacotherapy across care transitions in collaboration with the ambulatory pharmacy.
• Support naloxone access initiatives including co-prescribing programs, patient and family education, and dispensing availability across inpatient and discharge settings.
• Support implementation and prescriber utilization of opioid risk assessment tools (e.g., ORT, DIRE) and state PDMP integration into clinical workflows.
• Maintain formulary integrity for analgesic, adjuvant, and addiction medicine agents; evaluate new agents and therapeutic alternatives for System Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee consideration.
• Aid in navigation of drug shortages to minimize impact on addiction medicine, pain, and palliative care patient populations.
• Monitor and evaluate opioid utilization, patient safety, and pain management metrics across the health system to support quality improvement, opioid stewardship, and evidence-based prescribing practices through development and maintenance of pain stewardship dashboard indicators.
• Develop and maintain a pain stewardship dashboard tracking key performance indicators.
• Conduct targeted Medication Use Evaluations (MUEs) for controlled substances and pain pharmacotherapy agents; present findings and recommendations to the System Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee.
• Contribute to organizational performance improvement by monitoring Medicare Core Measures relevant to pain management and identifying opportunities to optimize outcomes and reduce prescribing variation.
• Develop and deliver educational programming — including in-services, newsletters, and online modules — for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and advanced practice providers on pain pharmacotherapy, opioid stewardship, and SUD treatment.
• Develop and facilitate competency assessments in pain and addiction pharmacotherapy for clinical pharmacists and pharmacy staff.
• Serve as a preceptor and mentor for pharmacy residents and students.
• Participate as an appointed member of the System Pharmacy & Therapeutics Subcommittee and relevant hospital and health system committees supporting pain stewardship, substance use, and patient safety initiatives.

  Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy.
  • Illinois Pharmacist License.
  • Minimum of four years of Clinical Pharmacy experience OR PGY 1 residency completed within the last seven years, which includes Clinical / Specialty Pharmacy experience.
  • Knowledge in intravenous admixture services, intravenous drug therapy and chemotherapy.
  • Must be able to work effectively with others to provide safe and effective drug therapy.
  • Excellent problem solving skills and the ability to work independently and quickly in responding to and resolving a wide range of problems.