Medication Historian

Medication historian (MH) serves as collaboration between the Pharmacy and Emergency Department Team. The MH provides a medication reconciliation service to patients pending admission to a floor within the facility. It is the MH’s responsibility to accurately obtain a comprehensive list of medications and other relevant information a patient is taking prior to presentation. This information includes but is not limited to:

• Prescribed, over the counter, herbal, and/or illicit medications:
  • Dosage
  • Frequency and typical administration time of medications when relevant 
  • Last doses of medication
  • Recent changes to medications prior to admission
  • Pertinent labs for medications when required (e.g., most recent INR, lithium level)
• Allergies and/or reactions to medications

The list of the above information is obtained via interviewing of patients’ outpatient prescribers offices and/or care facilities, retail pharmacies, patient and/or their caregiver’s interviews, and any other relevant sources when available. All information gathered is to be accurately documented within a patient’s electronic health record to guide treatment while they are admitted.

Responsibilities

Interpersonal Skills:

• Provides compassion and a welcoming experience to patients and their families amidst the stresses of hospital admission.
• Communicate openly and effectively with members of the integrated care team (nursing, providers, pharmacists, patients and/or their families) to ensure continuity of patient care upon admission to the hospital.
• Ensures high quality customer service for all members of a patient’s integrated care team.
• Triages and directs requests, outside of the scope of a pharmacy technician, to the responsible party when appropriate.
• Maintain professionalism within all interactions with the integrated care team.

Regulatory / Record Compliance:

• Clearly communicate discrepancies identified via the medication reconciliation process with medications, allergies, or other clinical information to nurses, providers, and/or pharmacists as appropriate for resolution.
• Participates in quality assurance activities to support patient care within the facility. 
• Accurately document required information into the electronic health record in an efficient and timely manner to support seamless patient care.
• Maintains other pertinent operational records not listed as required by department/state/federal policies and/or guidelines.

Qualifications

Minimum Education and Experience Required

Education Required: High School Diploma, GED, or a higher level of education that would require the completion of high school, is required. 

Experience Required: One year of work experience within a retail or hospital pharmacy

KSAs required upon hire or transfer (copy from KSA section below).

                                                            License and/or Certification

Preferred: Medication history certification through PTCB, active Connecticut pharmacy technician license registration, in good standing

                                                            Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Ability to triage, prioritize, and accurately complete work in a timely manner.
• Advanced verbal and written communication skills and the ability to present information effectively to care team members and patients.
• Foster a cooperative work environment.
• Develop, plan, and implement short and long-term goals.
• Help create change within the department to reach the goals of the department/organization
• Demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills to patients and team members

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