Pharmacy Technician - Sharp Grossmont Specialty Pharmacy – Day Shift – Per Diem

Shift: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM (8-hour shift, weekends as needed, no on-call required)

Pay

The stated pay scale reflects the range that Sharp reasonably expects to pay for this position: $30.98 – $38.73 – $43.37 per hour. The actual pay rate and pay grade will be dependent on factors including years of experience, unique skills and abilities, education, alignment with similar internal candidates, marketplace factors, and employer business practices.

Responsibilities

• Assist in the day-to-day operations of the pharmacist and pharmacy department to maintain quality service for physicians and patients.
• Support front-end and clinical procedures within the pharmacy department, including initial intakes, follow-ups, and discharges.
• Assist the pharmacist in providing pharmaceutical services that align with the mission, values, and philosophy of Pharmacy Services and Sharp Healthcare.
• Perform technical tasks involved in the preparation, documentation, and distribution of patient medications.
• Collaboration and Teamwork:
  • Clearly communicate goals and instructions to staff, including shift handoffs (written/oral).
  • Participate in staff orientation and training programs.
  • Intercept and troubleshoot problems, prioritizing issues based on significance and impact to patient care, safety, workflow, and communication.
  • Apply appropriate policies and procedures in complex situations.
  • Evaluate and direct daily workflow to maximize efficiency and resource utilization.
  • Attend and participate in staff meetings or review staff meeting communications.
  • Read work-related email on assigned workdays.
• Customer Service/Interdepartmental Relations:
  • Answer phones in a timely, friendly manner, stating department, name, and title.
  • Foster positive relationships through consistent, respectful, and professional interactions with customers.
  • Respond to requests promptly and accurately, adhering to Sharp behavior standards.
  • Provide excellent service to internal and external customers.
  • Develop professional working relationships with internal departments, vendors, providers, and other stakeholders.
• Data Collection and Documentation:
  • Communicate with medical offices to obtain laboratory data or chart notes for prior authorization requests.
  • Process information to verify eligibility, benefits coverage, and apply plan-specific criteria.
  • Make determinations to approve requests or provide rationale for non-approval, escalating to clinical reviewers as needed.
  • Document determinations and rationale for approvals and denials.
  • Maintain 100% accurate databases.
  • Collect data for SSPS QA pharmacist.
• Medication Adjudication:
  • Collaborate with the Sharp Health Plan pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) to ensure appropriate adjudication of authorized medications.
  • Monitor the PBM adjudication system and identify discrepancies.
  • Communicate prior authorization decisions to medical offices and/or pharmacies within Sharp Health Plan turnaround timelines.
• Prior Authorization Requests:
  • Receive and process prior authorization requests for medications from members, staff, physicians, and pharmacies within required turnaround times.
  • Evaluate requests using established guidelines or perform independent research for requests without guidelines.
  • Perform reviews and make approval determinations for requests meeting medical necessity, utilization management, and Sharp Health Plan criteria.
  • Prepare documentation supporting rationale for non-approval, including potential alternatives and proposed denial letter language, for clinical reviewer determination.
  • Send determination notifications within the required time frame.
• Other Duties:
  • Participate in special projects, audits, and back-up support for other departments.
  • Perform department audits and assist with national and state audits.
  • Resolve customer care issues and reach out to vendor contacts for problem resolution.
  • Maintain and adjust drug and supply inventory (patient supplies and packaging materials).
  • Organize and keep medication refrigerators and work areas clean per policy.
  • Schedule patient annual appointments in a timely manner.
  • Review weekly reports and take appropriate action as needed.
  • Perform quality checks of formulary programming and assist with Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee changes (e.g., new or revised guidelines, drafting Benefit Coding Requests, and communicating changes to PBM vendor).
  • Train new employees.

Requirements

• California Pharmacy Technician License (TCH) – CA State Board of Pharmacy (required).
• Experience with documenting in an electronic medical record (EMR) and competency in Microsoft Office.

Preferred Qualifications

• 1 year of general pharmacy practice experience.
• Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) – Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (preferred).

Skills

• Ability to provide support to pharmacists at multiple sites within Sharp Specialty Pharmacy.
• Strong organizational and prioritization skills for projects.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Basic knowledge of medical terminology.