Specialty Pharmacy Technician

General Purpose of Job

The Specialty Pharmacy Technician supports the management and optimization of specialty pharmacy services in both clinic and outpatient pharmacy environments. The Specialty Pharmacy Technician assists the pharmacist with the preparation, filling, and delivery of medications and also serves as a clinic liaison to perform the benefits investigation, prior authorization, and financial assistance work needed to ensure patient access to specialty medications.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Adheres to all federal, state, and local laws pertaining to drug dispensing and patient information.
• Adheres to health system, pharmacy and accreditation policies and procedures.
• Maintains utmost level of confidentiality at all times.
• Demonstrates business practices and personal actions that are ethical and adhere to corporate compliance and integrity guidelines.
• Prioritizes job duties, provides rationale for actions and decisions, recognizes problems and escalates concerns to management as needed.
• Communicates with patients and caregivers, pharmacy staff, healthcare providers, payers and health system employees in an effective and courteous manner.
• Documents appropriately within the pharmacy dispensing system, the specialty pharmacy management system and the electronic medical record.
• Maintains prescription files, documents and records according to federal, state and department standards.
• Maintains a work environment that is clean, neat and organized.
• Serves as a teacher and trainer for new pharmacists and technicians.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Outpatient Pharmacy

• Obtains pertinent patient information required to process outpatient prescriptions.
• Accurately enters prescription data into the pharmacy dispensing system.
• Affords assistance with insurance claims processing, including adjudication and rejected claims resolution.
• Communicates with providers to clarify and resolve prescription discrepancies.
• Affords assistance in the preparation of prescription orders, including non-sterile compounding.
• Ensures all orders filled accurately, are labeled neatly and correctly, and verified by a pharmacist prior to dispensing.
• Packages medications appropriately for shipping/delivery according to manufacturer guidelines and established cold chain procedures.
• Operates the cash register, including end of day procedures, with minimal shortage/overages.
• Delivers medications to patient care areas and clinics as needed.
• Maintains pharmacy inventory by ensuring medications are stored and rotated properly, received and dispensed accurately, and unacceptable medications are promptly removed from stock.
• Navigates drug wholesaler and 340B vendor software as appropriate.
• Facilitates daily ordering of medications and supplies.
• Completes and documents required quality assurance checklists including ambient temperature logs, refrigerator logs, equipment maintenance and cleaning.
• Maintains prescription documents and records according to federal, state and department standards.

Clinic

• Engages with clinic staff to promote health system owned specialty pharmacy services.
• Explains the benefits of enrolling in the specialty pharmacy program without impeding patient choice of pharmacy.
• Conducts a thorough benefits investigation and processes any necessary prior authorizations and/or appeals for pharmacy claims.
• Explains benefit coverage and financial responsibilities to patients.
• Provides financial assistance information and/or initiates patient assistance and copay assistance applications on behalf of the patient.
• Conducts outbound patient calls, including but not limited to: prescription status updates, refill reminders, adherence checks, question and complaint resolution, and delivery coordination.
• Identifies additional patient supplies needed such as sharps containers and alcohol swabs.
• Documents all patient, payer and provider communication within the pharmacy dispensing system, the specialty pharmacy management system and the electronic medical record as appropriate.
• Utilizes Microsoft Excel spreadsheets to maintain specific data and metrics.