SHS-MEDICATION SAFETY OFFICER

General Purpose of Job:

Provides a leadership role in formulating policy and instituting models that promote medication safety in all aspects of the medication management process. In conjunction with designated facility leadership, the role is responsible for coordinating all activities related to medication safety provided by the facility. These activities involve reporting, system and process evaluation, formulation of recommendations and initiatives, coordination of intervention strategies, and monitoring of activities related to medication safety. This individual is responsible for identifying key projects related to medication safety and is accountable for coordinating the implementation of these projects system-wide. This individual serves as a liaison to facility pharmacy, nursing and the medical staff leadership.

Essential Duties:

This job description is intended to cover the minimum essential duties assigned on a regular basis. Caregivers may be asked to perform additional duties as assigned by their leader. Leadership has the right to alter or modify the duties of the position.

• Analyzes facility reporting systems to determine their effectiveness in terms of adverse drug event capture, timeliness of reporting, and usefulness of information captured. Create a system wide reporting policy for adverse drug events including standardized definitions.
• Identifies best practices for medication safety. Analyze current practices that contribute to medication errors and take proactive steps for prevention. Collaborates with other leaders and facilitates process and system changes and reduces the likelihood of occurrence and recurrence of error.
• Provides project management and overall facilitation for prioritizing and advocating patient safety initiatives related to the design and implementation of systems and processes that support medication safety. Develop project plans and implement in a timely fashion. Responsible for the facilitation of sustainable performance post implementation.
• Reviews medication safety bulletins, alerts, or publications and conducts an assessment of the medication management systems and process to determine where opportunities for improvement exist. Formulates recommendations, obtains stakeholder support, and works with affected departments to develop an implementation and education plan. Provides education, guidance and assistance to sites, departments, service lines and individuals as it relates to medication safety.
• Participates in facility based root cause analyses. Evaluates systems and process change recommendations on a system wide level to determine where medication safety risks exist and opportunities for improvement are needed. Develops a system wide plan for implementation of recommendations as well as increased awareness of the risks identified with this type of event.
• Performs a system wide analysis of adverse drug events based on data reported from each facility. Identifies trends from a system wide and facility basis to determine if corrective actions are needed. Use expert panels to review adverse drug events. Develops performance measures and reports on a frequent basis
• Formulates educational sessions for nurses, pharmacists, physicians, and allied health professionals based on reports in the literature, responses to corrective action plans, and recommendations from committee activities.
• Participates in the Patient Safety and Quality meetings and updates the Committees on the status of initiatives identified in the medication safety plan.
• Establishes a system wide working forum on medication safety. Develops and facilitates the implementation of meetings, selection of membership, agenda planning, minutes, follow-up, tracking, and timeliness across all facilities.
• Performance requires the ability to interact consistently and effectively with a large and diverse constituency consisting of members of the pharmacy profession, the nursing profession, medical and dental professionals and administrative staff from all levels of the health system.
• Mentors pharmacy students, as appropriate, in the areas of medication safety promotion and regulatory compliance issues.
• Has direct involvement in ensuring the ongoing safety of the SHS's technology related to medications (for example, computerized physician order entry system for electronic ordering of patient medications, pharmacy computer system, automated dispensing cabinets, electronic MARs).
• Trainer for instructing and assessing the competency of pharmacy personnel in non-sterile and sterile compounding.