High Cost Drugs Pharmacist, Band 8a

High Cost Drugs Pharmacist- Band 8a, 15 hours a week This is a great opportunity to make a significant contribution to the Gloucestershire Health Economy. As part of a job-share, the post-holder will lead and develop the dedicated specialist pharmacy service for management of high-cost medicines use within GHNHSFT, in collaboration with the Formulary-, Biologics-, Homecare-, Cancer Services, EPMA/Digital, and Procurement Pharmacy leads. The use of best value medicines will be optimised by utilising horizon scanning, benchmarking, and monitoring of Commercial Medicines Unit (CMU) contracts and NICE Patient Access Scheme (PAS) discounts. The post-holder will liaise with specialist clinical pharmacists, multidisciplinary clinical teams and commissioning stakeholders to identify, plan for and develop new opportunities for cost-effective management of high-cost drugs. The post-holder will: Manage the introduction of new high-cost drug treatments in GHNHSFT. Monitor and review high-cost drug therapy for inpatients and outpatients at GHNHSFT, ensuring drug treatments are appropriate and comply with current legislations and trust policies. Be responsible for the accurate collection and compilation of pharmacy data and reports submitted to finance and the commissioners under the supervision of the Formulary Pharmacist. This includes the checking of daily transaction reports, resolving any issues around the accuracy of data, assisting Director of Pharmacy to answer queries from the commissioners and updating existing high-cost drugs databases; to ensure they are accurately charged to the commissioners. Ensure optimisation of prescribing to minimise financial loss to the trust or commissioners. This will involve analysing, comparing and interpreting data and reporting to divisions and commissioners. To maximise uptake of CMU contract prices and Patient Access Schemes and ensure that the most cost-effective dispensing routes are used for high-cost drugs, to ensure optimal cost-savings for the trust and commissioners. Located just off the M5 between Birmingham & Bristol, and the beautiful Cotswolds and Forrest of Dean, GHNHSFT is one of the largest NHS Trusts in the UK. Our Pharmacy Department operates across two main sites; Cheltenham General Hospital and Gloucestershire Royal Hospital (Gloucester) and offers opportunities for cross-site working in a full range of clinical and technical specialities. Our large friendly Pharmacy team provides extensive services including an MHRA-licensed manufacturing unit supporting a large cancer centre, Non-Medical Prescribing posts, dedicated clinics, enhanced Medicines Optimisation Technician/ATO roles, and multidisciplinary teaching to under/post-graduate Medics, Nurses and Pharmacists from Birmingham, Bristol, and Bath Universities. At GHNHSFT Pharmacy, we are committed to delivering the very best care for our patients and we strive to provide the whole team with the necessary skills and ongoing support to make a real difference to patient care. We work closely with our partners in Primary Care to maintain and promote a Countywide Joint Medicines Formulary, prescribing guidelines, and local treatment pathways and provide support via our Medicines Information Service in addition to several innovative collaborative public heath projects. Come and join us, and see for yourself what a difference you can make to patient care.

• To support in the design and delivery of processes for high-cost drug management.
• To undertake regular horizon scanning to plan for the prompt adoption of generics and biosimilars.
• To work closely with Prescribers, Nurses and the Pharmacy team to facilitate the smooth transition from originator high-cost drugs to the most cost-effective generic / biosimilar.
• To support and deputise for the Formulary Pharmacist.
• To be a member of the GHNHSFT Drug & Therapeutics Committee and provide independent critical appraisals of new medicines in response to Formulary applications from GHNHSFT Consultants.
• To monitor NICE Technology Appraisals and Highly Specialised Technology Guidance, and work with lead clinicians to produce implementation plans.
• To monitor NHS England Commissioning Circulars and ensure that they are appropriately enacted.
• To support the development and delivery of approval processes and audit of high-cost drugs commissioned by NHS England and Gloucestershire ICB.
• To provide training to pharmacists in the screening of PbR-excluded drugs.
• To be a Blueteq Superuser responsible for registering and training relevant prescribers and Pharmacy team members to ensure that Blueteq drugs are only prescribed and dispensed following appropriate approval.
• To assist in the delivery of the medicines optimisation agenda by supporting the Pharmacy Medicines Savings Group and leading on medicines saving initiatives.
• To monitor the monthly Better Value Procurement report on Exend to identify and facilitate Pharmacy Procurement savings opportunities.
• To support the delivery of CQUINs relating to high-cost drugs.
• To support the Pharmacy Systems / EPMA Managers in maintaining an accurate digital drug catalogue that is consistent with the Gloucestershire Joint Formulary.