PHARMACEUTICAL CONSULTANT

DEFINITION

This is advanced professional pharmaceutical and related work of a consultative, regulatory, and supervisory nature in the statewide operation of state agencies which are concerned with social welfare, public or mental health.

Employees in this class have responsibility for supervising specific internal drug vendor unit activities or field audit operations, or perform equivalent independent work either in the field or in the Central Office of a state agency. Central activities common to this class concern interpretation of rules, regulations and procedures pertaining to the dispensing of drugs and related pharmaceutical standards of service; review and auditing of complex drug claims; conducting field investigations of pharmaceutical practices and procedures; utilization evaluation and investigation of pricing procedures. Independent work assignments may involve specialization in over-utilization, in-house field audit preparation, fraud investigation, or surveying health care facilities for compliance with Federal and State laws, rules and regulations. Supervision may be given to a moderate sized technical and clerical staff operating from the central office of a state agency. General supervision if received from upper level administrative and management staff but this employee is expected to exercise high independence and initiative in the performance of assigned duties.

Any one position may not involve all of the specified duties or knowledges, skills and abilities, nor are the listed examples exhaustive.

EXAMPLES OF WORK

Acts as advisor to the management and staff of a large state agency in the field of pharmaceutics concerning one or a combination of the following areas; pricing of drugs, standards and procedures in dispensing drugs, processing of prescriptions, maintenance of ethical practices and surveying of health care facilities for conformance to Federal and State standards.

Reviews pharmaceutical invoices and claims for the purpose of determining whether drugs are being dispensed in accordance with needs, prescriptions are being written in accordance with policies and regulations and drug costs are in line; establishes procedures for clerical review of claims and related activities of drug vendor units.

Consults with professional pharmaceutical associations, works with local medical consultants on special problem cases, and represents the state agency on matters involving pharmaceutical activities.

Corresponds by phone, in writing and through personal interviews in order to respond to a wide variety of complaints and questions lodged by pharmaceutical houses, pharmacies, doctors, hospitals, nursing homes, and recipients concerning pricing, duplication, overutilization, procedures and policies, violation of standards, and other pharmaceutical activities.

Conducts research and prepares materials related to drug pricing and revisions in the list of approved drugs, etc., analyzes statistics gathered on the drug programs and advises upper level management on program status and trends.

Recommends and develops changes in policies and regulations governing the payment for drugs based upon evaluation and analysis of comparative drug prices.

Supervises and participates in conducting field audits and surveys of pharmacies, dispensing physicians, nursing homes, hospitals, state institutions, and other pharmaceutical providers;

consults with the providers and pharmacists, with treating physicians and nurses, patients, nursing home operators, etc.; evaluates reports resulting from audits and advises upper level management of findings.

Writes reports detailing findings, supportive evidence, and final recommendations as indicated by in-house audits and/or detailed field audits.

Visits nursing homes, hospitals, and various other health facilities and institutions to review case records to verify pharmaceutical services received.

Develops, implements and coordinates drug inventory management procedures for the Department of Mental Health.

Surveys pharmacy services in Department of Mental Health facilities to evaluate the program.

Develops, installs, promotes and maintains an information and education program concerning departmental policies and regulations governing pharmaceutical services; prepares manual and bulletin material for circulation to the staff and management of the state agency, and participating vendors and physicians.

Performs other related work as assigned.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

Extensive knowledge of the professional principles and practices of pharmaceutics.

Considerable knowledge of pharmaceutical economics.

Considerable knowledge of federal and state laws regulating the practice of pharmaceutics.

Some knowledge of the principles and practices of management and supervision.

Ability to develop standards for use in policy determination and setting of regulations governing the prescribing, dispensing and payment of drugs in the public health and/or social welfare program.

Ability to make a detailed analysis and recommend a course of action.

Ability to express ideas effectively orally and in writing.

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with professional and lay personnel at various levels, both within and outside the agency.

EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS

(The following entrance requirements are used to admit or reject applicants for merit system examinations, or may be used to evaluate applicants for employment in positions not requiring selection from merit system registers. When applicable, equivalent substitution will be allowed for deficiencies in experience or education.)

Three years of professional experience as a licensed pharmacist of which one year must have been in management or administrative work in an institutional or commercial pharmacy or governmental health program.

NECESSARY SPECIAL QUALIFICATION

Ability at the time of appointment to secure a license to practice as a pharmacist in the State of Missouri.

(Rev. 3/1/83)