About City of Hope
City of Hope, an innovative biomedical research, treatment and educational institution with over 6000 employees, is dedicated to the prevention and cure of cancer and other life-threatening diseases and guided by a compassionate, patient-centered philosophy.
Founded in 1913 and headquartered in Duarte, California, City of Hope is a remarkable non-profit institution, where compassion and advanced care go hand-in-hand with excellence in clinical and scientific research. City of Hope is a National Cancer Institute designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation's leading cancer centers that develops and institutes standards of care for cancer treatment.
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Position Summary
The 340B pharmacist is a licensed professional individual, who is responsible for assisting the director and managers in the operational aspects of a department or unit on a 7-day/week, 24-hour basis. This individual is the subject matter expert in all aspects of 340B program and actively works to ensure 340B Program compliance, through efficient monitoring, policy and procedure development, education, self-audits, program optimization, reporting, purchasing/inventory duties, as well as assisting in performance improvement initiatives. He or she participates in the supervision of human and material resources, as well as, program planning, and evaluation. He/she provides input into and is expected to meet budget, revenue and expense targets. This position supervises employees, assigns work, coaches, trains, and evaluates performance. It is expected that the individual who holds this position is able to actively participate with peers, subordinates, and supervisors in constructive problem solving, as well as, to facilitate frequent team building interactions with staff.
Key Responsibilities include:
Policy and Procedure Development
- Maintain up-to-date policies and procedures on 340B purchasing processes.
- Develop systems and processes to limit program liabilities and provide proper audits to identify risk and prevent duplicate discounts and diversion.
- Review 340B Program policies and procedures on an ongoing basis and offer contributions and changes to ensure 340B compliance.
Education Development
- Develop proper 340B quality assurance training for employees as appropriate.
- Provide proactive education to staff on policies and procedures related to inventory management and 340B procedures.
- Expand professional development through related classes and seminars, current publications, and regional/national association membership participation.
- May assist in the development, implementation, or promotion of programmatic resources/tools to support staff.
Audit and Program Control
- Involvement in all 340B Program audits.
- Perform audits on a scheduled basis; may involve presenting and resolving reconciliation issues as they arise during the monitoring and reconciliation process.
- Perform audits of contract pharmacies monthly at the minimum
- Perform internal audits of 340B pharmacy operations monthly at the minimum
- Ensure compliance with 340B Program requirements for qualified patients, drugs, and locations.
- Monitor and audit state Medicaid claims to ensure compliance to prevent potential duplicate discount rebates.
- Using Excel or a comparable data management program, filter out non-eligible transactions, including, but not limited to, drugs used to treat patients during inpatient care, Medicaid patients, drugs provided free by manufacturers, those provided at non-eligible locations, or prescriptions written by non-eligible providers.
- Evaluate patient eligibility for qualified and non-qualified patients in mixed-use areas and clinics by reviewing patient medical records, insurance plans, and, if applicable, hospital status.
- Ensure that facilities maintain adherence to 340B Program regulations and guidelines.
- Develop and foster working relationships with internal working counterparts (IT, internal audit, results, accounting, and others) to facilitate productive exchanges of information to improve program efficiency and promote program compliance. Provide data, information, and reports as needed for other business units within the organization.
- Monitors and assesses 340B guidance and/or rule changes, including, but not limited to HRSA/OPA rules and Medicaid changes. Attends regular 340B trainings and shares lessons and hot topics with staff.
- Routinely monitors industry publications and websites as well as the professional media, literature, and peers to ensure that the institution has the latest information regarding interpretations, rulings, suggestions, and advanced ideas for improving participation.
- Ensures that the 340B pharmacy program is continuously compliant with 340B federal regulations.
- Provides expertise on all 340B Program legislation and policy changes from HRSA and OPA, informing and collaborating with legal and compliance teams
Program Enhancement/Optimization
- Develop a thorough understanding of the 340B Program and improve the overall efficiency, value, and internal support of the 340B Program.
- Assess opportunities for cost savings and system improvements to yield higher compliance.
- Continue to build knowledge of the health care and pharmacy services industry; use that knowledge to identify ways, and make recommendations, to improve the 340B Program.
- Evaluate and implement cost savings opportunities.
- Assist all customers to clarify requirements and propose sourcing options; evaluate and recommend the best sourcing solution
Reporting
- Develop reports that can be used to educate staff and assist management in tracking the overall financial impact to the organization. D other reports, as appropriate, to monitor and improve 340B Program compliance and performance.
- Maintain copies of reports for compliance and audit purposes.
- Collaborate with the Pharmacy, Compliance, and 340B Oversight Council to develop monthly, quarterly, and yearly audit metrics.
- Construct appropriate financial metrics to assess areas of improvement.
- Develop and update 340B Program reporting packages detailing volume, financial value, and other reporting metrics as needed.
- Use provided tools to monitor prescription data, patient data, hospital data, payer data, site of care, and, if required, ICD-10 codes. Summarize and report results to the appropriate individuals.
- Monitor, report, and analyze contract pharmacy 340B activities; provide financial reports to hospitals or other covered entities relative to financial impact and liabilities; make recommendations that would improve efficiency.
- Perform covered entity-specific gross financial analysis and make recommendations to improve program performance. Track financial impact over time, identify root causes of adverse trends, and make recommendations to improve the program's financial stability.
- Review and refine monthly 340B cost savings reports detailing purchasing and replacement practices, as well as dispensing patterns.
Purchasing/Inventory Duties
- Oversee all aspects of the inventory purchasing process as relates to compliance with the 340B Program for applicable pharmacies.
- Facilitate purchasing proposals and contract negotiations as relates to the 340B Program.
- Monitor purchasing activity to ensure compliance with the 340B Program.
Split-Billing or Third-Party Administrator Duties
- Develop a thorough understanding of the split-billing/third party administrator systems and the functions to be performed.
- Educate others involved in the purchasing process to ensure proper operation and compliance.
- Provide each buyer with information needed to place orders using the appropriate accounts (e.g., WAC, GPO, and 340B and non-340B) to replenish inventory in the mixed-use inventory setting.
- Coordinate purchasing for dual or multiple split inventories within pharmacies.
340B Billing Duties
- Responsible for monitoring charges as it relates to 340B Medicaid and Medicare billing.
- Perform 340B cost updates.
- Responsible for the 340B build in the EMR system.
Minimum Education:
- Graduate of ACPE-accredited Pharmacy School or School with ACPE accreditation pending. Experience may substitute for minimum education requirements
Minimum Experience:
- Two years of experience as a pharmacist in a hospital setting
Required Certification/Licensure:
- Current California Pharmacist License.
- American Heart Association BLS or receive one within 3 months of hire date.
Preferred Education:
- BS Pharmacy Degree, Pharm D preferred
Preferred Certification/Licensure:
- 340B ACE Certification
- Epic Willow Certification
Preferred Experience:
- Three years of experience working as a 340B Pharmacist
- Full-time, day shift, Monday-Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm
- To protect the health of patients and staff and to comply with new State of California mandates, City of Hope staff are required to show proof of full vaccination by September 30, 2021. Compliance is a condition of employment.
- Posting Date: Dec 15, 2021
- Job Field: Allied Health
- Employee Status: Regular
- Shift: Day Job