Medication Access and Coordination Hub Clinical Pharmacist, Full-time Days

The MA+CH Pharmacist serves as a clinical expert supporting the Medication Access + Coordination Hub (MA+CH), a centralized team that streamlines ambulatory infusion referrals. This role partners with providers, MA+CH pharmacy technicians, and financial clearance teams to ensure infusion therapy plans are clinically sound, complete, and aligned with payer requirements to support timely patient access.

The Clinical Pharmacist reflects the mission, vision, and values of NM, adheres to the organization’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines and all other regulatory and accreditation standards.

The Clinical Pharmacist is responsible for identifying, preventing, and/or resolving medication related problems; for providing authoritative information to other health care professionals, patients, and the public; and for assuring that the informational, clinical, and drug distribution components of pharmacy services function as an integrated system to provide patient centered care to the patients and staff of Northwestern Medicine.

The mission of the Department of Pharmacy is to deliver the safest, highest quality, most effective and efficient patient care while developing the best people, advancing research, and integrating pharmacy services to successfully coordinate care across the Northwestern Medicine enterprise.

The vision of the Department of Pharmacy is to be a recognized as a national leader in advancing the pharmacy enterprise through excellence, innovation, education and research.

Responsibilities:

• Review infusion therapy plans for clinical appropriateness, completeness, and accuracy prior to precertification
• Identify and resolve therapy plan gaps that may delay authorization or pose clinical risk
• Communicate clinical recommendations to providers and interdisciplinary teams
• Serve as the clinical resource for financial clearance staff on pharmacist-level questions (e.g., lines of therapy, staging, diagnosis specificity, supporting clinical documentation)
• Collaborate with MA+CH Technicians to interpret payer criteria and support drug selection and site-of-care decisions
• Support denials management, step-therapy requirements and timely progression to treatment
• Contribute to MA+CH program goals, including reducing time to treatment, referral leakage, and provider message volume
• Interprets medication orders to ensure safety and proper use of medications and is alert to compatibilities, incompatibilities, medication duplication, medication allergies, and potential medication administration errors. Coordinates the solving of medication related problems between pharmacy, nursing, and prescribers, demonstrating initiative and sound judgment.
• Monitors medication therapy for significant drug-drug, drug-diet, or drug-laboratory test interactions. Intervenes in circumstances of significant interactions, therapeutic duplications, and other occasions where pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetic expertise is warranted.
• Evaluates and documents that the medication(s) selected are appropriate for achieving the desired therapeutic outcome. Communicates potential problems and likely solutions to the prescriber.
• Acts as a consultant in the areas of pharmacokinetics and adverse reactions to physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals. Participates in all therapeutic drug monitoring or intervention programs; adjusting therapy as indicated by patient condition and laboratory results.
• Processes all medication order information into the Electronic Health Record to ensure accuracy of records regarding past, current and future dispensing and charging.
• Maintains a comprehensive pharmacy patient profile. The profile should include age, maturation, weight, allergies, diagnosis, estimated and actual pharmacokinetic parameters, and pertinent information which may affect medication therapy decisions.
• Oversees the packaging labeling, and distribution of medications for all patients and employees according to established policies, procedures, and guidelines.  Monitors the use of scheduled medications on the nursing units and maintains controlled inventories of medication in the dispensing areas.
• Compounds and dispenses pharmaceuticals including sterile products, chemotherapy and parenteral nutrition products.
• Verifies medication orders before delivery to patient care areas and ensures accuracy and completeness. Resolves discrepancies as necessary.
• Reviews all laboratory data for appropriateness of medication use and recommends changes when needed. Including microbial culture and sensitivity data, toxicology, therapeutic drug monitoring, etc.
• Develops and presents orientation, education and training programs for medical, nursing, hospital and pharmacy staff, as well as assisting in the educating of pharmacy students, residents, and fellows.
• Educates patients and their families about specific medications.
• Responds to emergency situations to assist with medication management (e.g. response to cardiac arrests)
• Provides accurate and timely medication information and or teaching to healthcare professionals or patients.
• Maintains the hospital formulary and acts to limit medication usage to formulary items when appropriate
• Documents all clinical activities and interventions performed. Collects data, maintains logs, records and other documentation as required by the department
• Communicates professional knowledge effectively in both oral and written forms to patients and other health professionals.
• Participates in quality improvement and medication use review activities of the department.
• Organizes, prioritizes, and plans workload within given time constraints. Works cooperatively with fellow pharmacists to oversee and direct the activities of the work area, to assign work to technicians, and to assure that the established department objectives are accomplished
• Reviews restocking automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs) throughout the hospital and resolves any problems.
• Ensures compliance with hazardous waste collection and disposal procedures.
• Maintains proficiency and expertise in area/s of practice through continuous professional development.
• All other job duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Required:

• Active Pharmacist license in the state of Illinois (IDFPR)
• Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy or a Doctor of Pharmacy Degree

Preferred:

• Pharmacy Practice Residency training
• Epic EHR proficiency (work queues, therapy plan navigation, chart review, messaging)
• Experience with payer policies, medical benefits, reimbursement processes, or infusion services
• Strong clinical judgment and ability to evaluate complex therapy plans
• Comfort working in a highly protocol-driven environment
• Strong attention to detail with the ability to manage multiple concurrent workflows
• Experience in healthcare customer service or patient‑facing roles
• Collaborative mindset with experience working across interdisciplinary teams
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for cross-functional coordination

Additional Information

Northwestern Medicine is an equal opportunity employer (disability, VETS) and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of age, sex, race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation or any other protected status.

Background Check

Northwestern Medicine conducts a background check that includes criminal history on newly hired team members and, at times, internal transfers. If you are offered a position with us, you will be required to complete an authorization and disclosure form that gives Northwestern Medicine permission to run the background check.  Results are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and we follow all local, state, and federal laws, including the Illinois Health Care Worker Background Check Act.

Artificial Intelligence Disclosure

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools may be used in some portions of the candidate review process for this position, however, all employment decisions will be made by a person. 

Benefits

We offer a wide range of benefits that provide employees with tools and resources to improve their physical, emotional, and financial well-being while providing protection for unexpected life events. Please visit our Benefits section to learn more.

Sign-on Bonus Eligibility (if sign-on bonus offered for position): Internal employees and rehires who left Northwestern Medicine within 1 year are not eligible for the sign on bonus. Exception: New graduate internal employees seeking their first licensed clinical position at NM may be eligible depending upon the job family.