Clinical Informatics Pharmacy Technician

Job overview

As a Clinical Informatics Pharmacy Technician, you will support and contribute to the specialist Pharmacy Informatics team, actioning and co-ordinating the resolution of business-as-usual requests directed to the team surrounding the use of pharmacy digital systems, as well as actively supporting ongoing project work conducted by the team on pharmacy digital systems.

As a member of the pharmacy technician team, you will provide safe and effective pharmacy support to the dispensary and adult wards within BFT. This role includes a 3 hour per week commitment to supporting pharmacy clinical teams working on wards as directed by the lead medicines optimisation pharmacy technician/clinical pharmacy team lead for the day, and a 3 hour per week commitment to supporting BRI inpatient dispensary activity under the direction of the dispensary coordinator. The post holder will be required to work late duty shifts, weekends and bank holidays on a rota basis and across trust sites if required.

You will develop your existing professional, technical and clinical skills through your own continuing professional development to provide and service of excellence to both patients and staff alike.

The successful candidate will be recruited to AfC band 4 or 5 depending on qualifications. Please see the attached job description and personal statement for full details.

Main duties of the job

• To complete and document work towards the resolution of business-as-usual requests directed to the Pharmacy Informatics team.
• To provide clinical knowledge to the Pharmacy Informatics service, and support clinical, operational and technical pharmacy teams with associated processes.
• To contribute to digital projects within the pharmacy department.
• To develop and maintain skills relevant to working within digital health.
• To provide safe and effective pharmacy support to the dispensary and adult wards within Bristol NHS Foundation Trust.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Job description and main responsibilities below have been truncated due to character count. Please see the attached job description and personal statement for full details of responsibilities under the categories of: Service development and improvement, Finance and resource management, Leadership and team management, Information and data management, Innovation and continuous improvement, Autonomy and decision authority, Physical demands, Cognitive demands, Emotional resilience, and Work environment.

Interpersonal and communication skills

• Able to communicate updates to the progression of problems being actioned by the Pharmacy Informatics team via the most appropriate route.
• Communication of sensitive information, understanding Information Governance principles.
• Submit change requests to the relevant governance groups as appropriate.
• Support the training on the effective use of pharmacy digital systems.
• To communicate basic IT troubleshooting advice effectively.
• To liaise with ward pharmacists, ward-based pharmacy technicians, specialty pharmacists and non-pharmacy ward staff to ensure prescriptions are clear to enable the efficient delivery of the clinical/dispensary pharmacy services.
• Able to advocate for Pharmacy department requirements with other digital/clinical teams within the trust and feedback input received in discussion with other specialist trust teams.
• Contact with patients, carers and relatives, prescribers, general practitioners and nursing home staff when providing a ward-based medicines management service for inpatients and dispensing and counselling service to outpatients.
• To report any problems, discrepancies, concerns relating to pharmacy service delivery to the relevant senior pharmacy technician or lead specialty pharmacist.
• To deal with queries and complaints pertaining to the dispensary service via the telephone or in person. Ensure that accurate and clear details are gathered. Answer these queries fully and to the satisfaction of the complainant or to pass to the senior technician, pharmacist or pharmacy operational manager as appropriate.
• Requirement to undertake any other suitable duties delegated that are within the post holder’s competence, including working in other pharmacy teams within the trust.

Professional knowledge and expertise

• Able to develop a strong working knowledge of both digital clinical systems and non-clinical digital systems (e.g. Microsoft Office packages, PowerGate, label printers) used within the pharmacy department to be able to support the effective use of these systems by colleagues in Pharmacy.
• Able to develop an advanced working knowledge in the use, configuration, support, and governance of pharmacy managed digital systems.
• Knowledgeable and proficient user of digital systems used in pharmacy including, but not limited to: CareFlow clinical portfolio (including CareFlow Connect, CareFlow EPR, CareFlow Medicines Management), BD supplied systems (Pyxis, Rowa, PIC), PTS, WebTracker)
• Some familiarity with using Philips ICCA EPMA system.
• Trained to be able to fulfil the duties of a medicines optimisation pharmacy technician, including activities involving:
• Consultation with patients and hospital staff at ward level to ensure effective supply of Patient Own Drugs/One-Stop Dispensing and discharge medication.
• Advising and counselling patients and carers to ensure that patients have sufficient knowledge and understanding of the appropriate use of their medicines to ensure treatment concordance.
• Obtaining and verifying patient’s drug histories to ensure the accurate continuation of patient’s medication from primary to secondary care.
• Assisting clinical pharmacists and medical staff in identifying and resolving patient medication related problems.
• Ordering medication for patients which have been clinically verified by a pharmacist within own competence.
• Support the prioritisation of patients in high-risk categories within competence and in line with department policy.
• To provide support and input to clinical pharmacy teams.
• Trained to be able to fulfil the duties of an accuracy checking pharmacy technician, including activities involving:
• Final accuracy checks of dispensed medication as required to ensure safe and accurate dispensing within the BRI inpatient dispensary.
• Support of ward-based dispensing activity within allocated dispensary/clinical time when appropriate.
• Supporting others in the effective production of patient pharmacy labels within local labelling and dispensing standards.
• To participate in dispensary services, including weekend and bank holiday services as agreed with the clinical pharmacy manager/dispensary lead pharmacy technician.

Problem-solving and decision-making

• Able to use SOPs and reference guides to complete configuration and troubleshooting activities of pharmacy digital systems.
• Able to use supplier documentation to support troubleshooting, identify system limitations and identify requirements for system configuration.
• Make use of system supplier support portals/contacts to resolve emerging problems which cannot be resolved using local documentation.
• Able to assess the impact and severity of problems or change requests which arise and prioritise them appropriately.
• Contribute to testing the functionality of pharmacy digital systems following software changes and advise/communicate staff of changes where appropriate.
• Able to apply the skills required to complete basic IT troubleshooting to support quick fixes within the department or escalate issues to trust Digital Services teams.

Planning and coordination

• Support the management of digital products used within department primarily governed by the Pharmacy Informatics team.
• Identify, write, develop and maintain departmental and service policies and procedures relating to pharmacy stock control system and other digital medicines systems and processes where appropriate.
• Prioritise individual daily tasks depending on workload, staffing and the needs of the service.
• To support the timely maintenance of any system/process documentation required as part of business-as-usual activity.
• Identify, implement, and transition new digital pharmacy processes into business-as-usual operations, working closely with relevant multidisciplinary teams and digital suppliers to support high-quality patient care.
• Support the scheduling of time-sensitive system configuration activities with respect to team capacity and intended go-live dates.
• To be involved in the prioritisation of dispensary workload. To work with colleagues to ensure that appropriate cover is available during breaks/lunch periods and periods of staff shortage/short term absence.
• To support the planning and organisation of training needs of new staff, working with the pharmacy technician leads.
• Supportive of project planning that seeks to achieve completion of activities within a defined deadline.

Practical and technical skills

• Able to dispense prescriptions for inpatients, outpatients, day patients and patients waiting for discharge within legal requirements, local policy and patient safety guidance.
• To dispense controlled drugs to wards and patients in line with local policies and procedures regarding the safe storage and handling of controlled drugs.
• To arrange with the Senior Technician the regular destruction of controlled drugs with a representative from the Trust Board present when required.
• Support the effective stock control, waste management, and stock rotation of pharmacy products within the dispensary.
• To follow safe lifting and handling techniques, be aware of health and safety issues pertaining to the pharmacy area and ensure the appropriate use of departmental equipment.
• The post holder is required to comply with all trust, directorate, and departmental health and safety policies and procedures.
• To attend training and development courses as may be desirable in the interest of the service and personal development within the role.

Patient care and support

• To take responsibility for clinical pharmacy activities that provide patient care, such as escalating identified omissions to a patients medication regimen, supporting the aim to complete medicines reconciliations within 24 hours of admission, ordering of required patient medication clinically verified by a pharmacist, and safe dispensing and accuracy checking processes.
• Consult with patients and/or their representatives on the effective use of their medicines within competence.
• To follow trust protocols, procedures and guidelines.
• Work in line with legal requirements and GPhC standards for pharmacy professionals.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.