Pharmacist Employment


There are good reasons to think about hiring a Pharmacist to join your medical staff. A Staff Pharmacist (aka clinical pharmacist) will assume a sizable amount of the patient management load, giving your physicians more time to treat those in need of help. A Staff Pharmacist can directly manage patients on a number of levels such as making vaccination recommendations, providing diabetics counseling, and assisting with the use of home testing equipment like blood pressure monitors.

The contributions of a Staff Pharmacist will be based on the needs of your medical practice and on the skills and knowledge of the pharmacist. Typically, a Staff Pharmacist will assist medical staff with ongoing counseling of chronically ill patients, assume responsibility for research and recommendation regarding drug therapies, liaise with pharmaceutical representatives, institute patient education programs and provide patients with general pharmaceutical information.

Employ a Pharmacist

There are many options available for employing a Staff Pharmacist. The method you choose will widely depend upon the size of your practice. Employing a full-time pharmacist can be costly—a base salary for an individual with 2-5 years experience can run in excess of $90,000 a year. Add in insurance, benefits and other employment related expenses and the cost could be prohibitive to all but the largest practices and hospitals. If your practice can't afford a full time pharmacist there are good alternatives.

College and University Professors

Your practice can employ a Staff Pharmacist through programs at your local pharmacy college or university. Students seeking credit toward pharmacy doctoral degrees can work with a professor to complete rotations and clinical experience. The professor's services as a Staff Pharmacist are also offered part-time. The college or university may substantially pay part of the cost of the Staff Pharmacist's salary and other benefits. Details of salary, benefits, schedules and responsibilities are determined upon hire and are drawn up in a contract. Terms vary and will be on a case-by-case basis.

Consultants

Working on as a contractor, a consultant Staff Pharmacist can fulfill your need for on-site patient consultation and education. These pharmacists can be found and contacted via associations such as the APhA and ASHP's CareerPharm, as well as through agencies that specialize in the placement of pharmacy staff like Pharmacy Placement Professionals. If the consultant is placed through an agency, a fee is negotiated with the agency. Due to the high demand for pharmacists and pharmacy personnel hourly wages for temporary and contract/consultant pharmacists are high. However, they still represent a savings over hiring a full-time salaried Staff Pharmacist.

Don't Forget the Legal Matters

Whether you hire a Staff Pharmacist full-time, part-time, as a consultant or even as a temp, make sure to consult with your insurance agent regarding malpractice coverage. Your practice may need to increase its liability to cover any additional staff as well as add any riders to the policy as required in your State. This is also a good time to consult with a CPA or attorney regarding any regulatory issues having a pharmacist on staff might cause. Concerns regarding billing and dispensing should be discussed. One last thing to do before hiring or contracting any pharmacist—visit the US Human Health Services Office of Inspector General (HHS OIS) site to check if the pharmacist has been sanctioned or excluded from participation in Federal programs.

By MS Kauffman           


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