Clinical Pharmacy Specialist-PMOP (Pain Mgmt, Opioid Safety, and RX Monitoring Program) Coordinator

About the role

The Clinical Pharmacy Specialist is the Facilities Pain Management, Opioid Safety, and Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PMOP) Coordinator and will support Facility Pain POC/Clinical Leads in the coordination of pain management, opioid safety, and prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP)-related initiatives and implementation of VHA and the Joint Commission standards.

Responsibilities

• Serves as a professional consultant to VA medical facility management concerning planning and coordination of the programmatic responsibilities related to policy and services in pain management, opioid safety, and prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs).
• Supports a high functioning Pain Committee that includes stakeholders from across the facility, and supporting subcommittees, task forces/work groups as indicated.
• Develops processes/procedures to ensure implementation and compliance with national policy related to pain management, opioid safety and risk mitigation strategies, Overdose Education and Naloxone Distribution (OEND), management of Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), initiatives in compliance with national policy, clinical practice guidelines, and regulatory requirements.
• Supports review of community provider opioid prescribing practices as required by the MISSION Act Section 131.
• Supports OSI reviews, data-based risk reviews for opioid-exposed patients (including Stratification Tool for Opioid Risk Mitigation (STORM) data-based reviews), and other interdisciplinary pain care forums.
• Supports and tracks full implementation of the Stepped Care Model for Pain Management (SCM-PM), including a high functioning PMT/Pain Clinic at the facility, and access to tertiary pain center within the VISN including a GARF-accredited interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation program.
• Facilitates implementation of the OUD stepped care model within the facility, in particular for Step 1 of the Stepped Care for Opioid Use Disorder Train-the-Trainer (SCOUTT) program expansion, e.g., within PMTs/Pain Clinics.
• Supports access to tertiary advanced diagnostic and therapeutic interventional pain care modalities.
• Supports and facilitates veteran outreach events, inclusive of women's health initiatives for pain management.
• Identifies opioid safety improvement and risk mitigation opportunities for facility leadership and develops strategic planning efforts in accordance with VA policy, inclusive of, but not limited to POMP compliance, urine drug screening, and establishing population management processes for targeted risk mitigation.
• Collaborates to evaluate acute pain care prescribing and processes at the facility and leads improvement opportunities.
• Tracks facility level dashboards regarding pain management, opioid safety, and POMP, including key parameters such as access, productivity, workload, and staffing.
• Maintains measurement and reporting of quality and compliance outcomes related to pain management, opioid safety, and POMP.
• Partners with Academic Detailing and other stakeholders to monitor and disseminate best clinical practices related to PMOP initiatives.
• Participates in VISN Pain Committee/Community of Practice meetings and other VISN directed activities as appropriate.
• Reports to the VISN PMOP Coordinator quarterly, with a formal written report at least twice per year describing progress in implementing PMOP office initiatives and status of pain management and opioid safety initiatives and mandates throughout the facility.
• Facilitates facility responses to formal, sensitive inquiries related to pain and opioid safety per patient reported concerns as presented by Patient Advocacy, Executive Leadership, VISN, Congressional, or others.
• Prepares responses to formal inquiries from the PMOP office.
• Performs other related duties as assigned by PMOP and SCS leadership.

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:

• Citizen of the United States.
• 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.
• 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. A pharmacist who has, or has ever had, any license(s) revoked, suspended, denied, restricted, limited, or issued/placed in a probationary status may be appointed only in accordance with the provisions in VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, section B, paragraph 16.

GS 13

• In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.
• Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following KSAs:
• Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions.
• Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for their program area.
• Ability to solve problems, coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in their program area or area of clinical expertise.
• Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or specialty area of pharmacy.
• Advanced skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters.