Infectious Diseases Clinical Pharmacy Specialist - OPAT Program

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Join University Hospitals and help lead the development of a comprehensive OPAT program that improves patient safety, enhances care transitions, and drives value across the health system.

A Brief Overview
University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center (UH CMC) is seeking a highly motivated Infectious Diseases Clinical Pharmacy Specialist to join our Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT) team.

This role will help development and implementation of an OPAT program for UH Cleveland Medical Center, a strategic initiative designed to improve patient outcomes by safely managing patients requiring prolonged intravenous antimicrobial therapy in the outpatient setting. The Clinical Pharmacy Specialist will serve as a subject matter expert in antimicrobial therapy and OPAT management, working collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team to optimize care transitions and reduce complications, readmissions, and healthcare utilization..

Position Summary

As a core member of the OPAT team, the Infectious Diseases Clinical Pharmacy Specialist will:

• Serve as a clinical expert in antimicrobial stewardship and OPAT management
• Collaborate closely with Infectious Diseases physicians, Advanced Practice Providers (APPs), and RN coordinators
• Provide prospective review of OPAT laboratory data, particularly for high-risk therapies (e.g., vancomycin)
• Recommend and implement antimicrobial dosing adjustments and therapy modifications
• Support transitions of care for patients discharging on IV antimicrobial therapy
• Contribute to system-wide OPAT workflows, protocols, and quality initiatives

Key Responsibilities

• Review and interpret OPAT related labs and clinical data to ensure safe therapy
• Optimize antimicrobial dosing, monitoring, and duration of therapy
• Identify and mitigate adverse drug events and line-related complications
• Collaborate with APPs to implement therapy changes and patient management plans
• Participate in multidisciplinary OPAT care coordination and case review
• Contribute to development of policies, guidelines, and best practices
• Document clinical interventions and outcomes
• Participate in medication safety, stewardship, and quality improvement initiatives
• Serve as a resource for pharmacists and healthcare providers across the system

What You Will Do

• Provide Clinical Pharmacy Services (drug information, drug therapy monitoring, patient specific consultations, healthcare staff education, pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacoeconomic evaluations in selected patient populations)
• Investigate/research/report adverse drug reactions
• Participate in Medication Safety and Therapeutics (MS&T) Committee process: evaluate requests for new drug usage and old formulary drug relevance and review therapeutic classes for relevance, assist in maintaining and updating the system formulary
• Serve as an informational and patient problem solving resource for Clinical Pharmacists and other healthcare professionals
• Provide continuing education to Clinical Pharmacist staff
• Documentation of clinical activities
• Serve as a preceptor for pharmacy residents and pharmacy students
• Actively participate in local and system committees and workgroups pertaining to the Clinical Pharmacy Specialist's area of expertise

Additional Responsibilities

• Performs other duties as assigned.
• Complies with all policies and standards.
• For specific duties and responsibilities, refer to documentation provided by the department during orientation.
• Must abide by all requirements to safely and securely maintain Protected Health Information (PHI) for our patients. Annual training, the UH Code of Conduct and UH policies and procedures are in place to address appropriate use of PHI in the workplace.