Advocacy

The RWJBarnabas Health Pharmacy Enterprise is an integrated part of the health care team. Pharmacists are responsible for ensuring safe, effective, and appropriate medication use for all patients.

  • Acute Care Service Line

In 2022, the Acute Care Service Line workload statistics include:

  • The team prevented more than 84,871 adverse reactions
  • The team intervened and prevented in excess of 166,557 medication errors from occurring
  • There were more than 32 million doses dispensed
  • The number of medication orders verified was more than 7.5 million
  • The median turn around time to process a STAT order was 6.7 minutes
  • There was a 8.5 minute median turn around time to process a routine order
  • The pharmacists performed more than 1.96 million clinical activities
  • The pharmacists performed in excess of 298,553 laboratory assessments
  • The pharmacy technicians performed more than 156,144 activities
  • Performed greater than 65,425 Antibiotic Stewardship activities
  • More than 90,400 patients were seen directly by a pharmacist
  • More than 4,400 ambulatory activities performed by a pharmacist across the continuum of care

Members of our team were named to a state or national organization and editorial board leadership positions

ASHP

  • ASHP Policy Advisory Panelist
  • Council on Pharmacy Management - Co-Chair
  • Clinical Leadership Section Advisory Group - Vice Chair
  • CV Reviewer
  • Fellow
  • New Jersey Delegate to ASHP
  • Pediatric Section Advisory Group (vice chair)
  • PGY1 Program Reviewer
  • PGY2 Program Reviewer
  • Poster Reviewer
  • Standardize 4 Safety Pediatric Advisory Committee
  • Value, Quality and Compliance Section Advisory Group - Chair

NJSHP

  • Annual Meeting Planning Committee
  • Director of Public Policy
  • Director of Social Media
  • Director for Council on Educational Affairs

ACCP

  • Adult Medicine PRN Poster Reviewer
  • Adult Medicine PRN Walk Rounds Committee Member
  • Board Member
  • Cardiology PRN research and scholarship committee
  • CV Reviewer
  • Educational Affairs
  • Emergency Medicine PRN – Media Committee Member and EMED CODE member Faculty Member
  • Fellow
  • Task Force

Alcohol & Drug Abuse Prevention Team (ADAPT): The Essex Prevention Coalition

  • Prescription Drugs Committee

American Society of Consultant Pharmacists

  • Fellow

American College of Cardiology

  • Associate Appointment
  • State Liaison for the NJ Chapter

American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP)

  • Annual Meeting Student Poster Competition Abstract Reviewer
  • Annual Meeting Program Committee Member
  • Annual Meeting Speaker/Topic Selection Subcommittee Member
  • Leadership Development Special Interest Group
  • Pharmacy Practice Section Faculty Mentoring Program Mentor
  • Laboratory Instructors Special Interest Group
    • Chair
    • Immediate Past Chair
    • Mentoring Program Mentor
    • Nominations Committee Chair
    • Resolutions Committee Chair

American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists (AACP)

  • Chair of Public Education Committee
  • Recertification Editorial Board Member
  • CCBHC Task Force

American Pharmacists Association (APhA)

  • Abstract Reviewer
  • Immunizing Pharmacists Special Interest Group
    • Webinar Task Force Co-chair

Annals of Pharmacotherapy

  • Chairperson, Internal Medicine Panel, Editorial Advisory Board

Board of Pharmacy Specialties

  • Geriatric Board Certification Exam study team

Heart Failure Certification Council

  • Fellow
  • Member
  • Multi-disciplinary exam writer and reviewer

Interfaith Homeless Outreach Council

  • Board Directors

National Academies of Practice

  • Fellow

New Jersey Pharmacists Association

  • Membership Committee Member
  • New Jersey Delegate to APhA

New Jersey Reentry Corporation (NJRC)

  • NJRC Program Ambassador

Pharmacy Times Health System Edition

  • Advisory Board

Pediatric Pharmacy Association

  • Advocacy Committee Member
  • Drug Development Committee Member
  • Fellow

Rho Chi Society

  • Awards Committee Chair
  • Awards Task Force Chair
  • Centennial Planning Task Force Member
  • President-Elect
  • President
  • Student Executive Council Task Force Chair
  • Town Hall Task Force Member

Society of Critical Care Medicine

  • Accreditation and Learning Strategies Committee
  • Board Appointment

Trans-Atlantic Renal Council

  • Board of Trustees

The Acute Care Service Line consists of 492 pharmacists, 365 pharmacy technicians and more than 13 support staff. Our acute care pharmacy team is deployed in both centralized and decentralized staffing models. The inpatient decentralized model operates to verify orders on the patient care units, and attending rounds and counseling patients. The decentralized model is supported by computerized prescriber order entry (CPOE), automated dispensing cabinets (ADC) on the units, and bed-side barcode medication administration. Technicians support the decentralized pharmacists by restocking the ADCs and delivering non-stocked medications to the units from the central pharmacy. In the central pharmacy, the technicians assist pharmacists by answering phones, filling labels, compounding and picking medications, and performing deliveries. Centralized clinical pharmacists provide telephone consultations to members of the interdisciplinary care team, verify orders, and oversee technician activities and sterile product compounding.

The RWJBarnabas Health Pharmacy Enterprise encourages all teammates of all roles to pursue advanced certifications within their respective area of practice. These certifications are not required but are obtained by our teammates due to the self motivation to continuously improve the skill sets they offer our patients and fellow practitioners.

Certifications in 2022

  • Seventeen teammates achieved Board Certification in 2022
  • There are currently 146 teammates who currently are board certified in one of the following and 30 teammates hold more than one of the following:
    • AQCD, BCACP, BC-ADM, BCCCP, BCCP, BCGP, BCIDP, BCNSP, BCOP, BCPP, BCPPS, BCPS, BCSCP, BCSPS, BCTXP, CACP, CHSE, CPhT, CSP, CSPT
    • The RWJBarnabas Health Pharmacy is proud of our teammates who have pursued these certifications and offer this expertise to our patients, families and fellow practitioners. In fact, 28% of all pharmacists in our Enterprise are Board Certified Pharmacy Practitioners

The Qualitas Pharmacy Division consists of 33 pharmacists, 45 pharmacy technicians, 50 support staff and 34 nurses

  • Qualitas Home Infusion Division

The Qualitas Home Infusion Division delivers medications, nutritional support, infusion pumps and supplies as well as comprehensive education and infusion therapy management to patients in need of home infusion therapy.

  • Our nurse colleagues performed 23,964 home visits to our patients
  • The division made and administered in excess of 67,212 intravenous medications
  • Home infusion division achieved a 0.01 % infection rate per 1,000 patient days
  • The Acute Care Service Line referred 4318 patients to our service
  • The Home Infusion division provided 2015 days of free care for patients from our system

  • RWJBarnabas Consolidated Pharmacy Services Division

The RWJBarnabas Consolidated Pharmacy Services Division delivers medications, nutritional support, infusion pumps, and supplies as well as comprehensive education and infusion therapy management to patients in need of home therapy.

  • Our pharmacy team prepared and delivered more than 265,667 intravenous medications for the acute care service line
  • There were in excess of 23,277 Total Parenteral Nutrition intravenous preparations made and delivered to our Acute Care Service Line
  • Our service repackaged for the Acute Care Service Line over 559,280 tablets of medications into unit dosage forms because they were not commercial available
  • Our service repackaged for the Acute Care Service Line more than 119,425 doses of liquid medications into unit dosage forms because they were not commercially available
  • By utilizing this division in lieu of outsourcing and centralizing purchasing, the Health System saved $5,015,102

  • Qualitas Home Mail Order Division

The Qualitas Mail Order Division delivers and provides superior service and support for RWJBarnabas Health employees and dependents, ensuring appropriate therapy

  • Our mail order division filled more than 74,696 prescriptions for employees and their families
  • The mail order division coordinated deliveries averaging 12 driver deliveries a day
  • By utilizing this division in lieu of outsourcing to a chain pharmacy, the health system saved $4,879,194

  • Qualitas Specialty Pharmacy Division

The Qualitas Specialty Pharmacy Division offers a comprehensive therapy management service that focuses on
providing high cost, high touch medication therapy for patients with complex disease states. Our pharmacy offers
complete specialty care with a range of medications, therapies and services to manage conditions easier. Medications in specialty pharmacy vary from oral to cutting edge injectable and biological products. Our goal is to achieve superior clinical and economic outcomes while maintaining the utmost compassion and care for our patients.

  • Our dedicated team filled more than 86,031 prescriptions for our patients
  • The team made in excess of 27,419 deliveries to our patient’s homes
  • The division averages approximately 336 prescriptions on a daily basis
  • Our health system referred 492 transplant patients to our service
  • This division filled 17,858 specialty 340B scripts
  • By utilizing this division, the health system saved $30,388,144 in 340B dollars
  • The disease states managed under our care are:
    • Heart Transplant
    • Hepatitis C
    • Kidney Transplant
    • Lung Transplant
    • Oncology
    • HIV

  • Pharmacy Reimbursement Division

The Pharmacy Reimbursement Division (PRD) consists of a team of individuals with expertise in medication billing and reimbursement.

  • Recovered over $4.6 million in 2022 and $51.1 million since program inception for the Acute Care Service Line, a through dedicated review and incorporation of existing clinical, reporting and surveillance applications
  • Transition from McKesson RxO/Cardinal eRecovery to Carexst Drug Replacement/Patient Assistance Program across all Acute Care Service Line facilities resulted in over $150K in cost savings in 2022.
  • Payor Invoice Submissions: since implementation in April 2021, we have received over $893K in recoveries.
  • Epic Build/Go-Live
    • Pre & Post Go-Live Support
    • WQ Review and Education
    • Enhancements
    • Formulary additions/revisions
    • VitalWare import
    • Inbasket errors
    • Annual and Ad hoc Pricing Updates
    • Waste Billing Maintenance
    • Charge vs Reportable
    • Backend Logic Build
    • ESA’s
    • Leuprolide
    • Argatroban
    • Custom Pharmacy User Templates

  • Retail Pharmacy Network Division

The Retail Pharmacy Division members are responsible for dispending and controlling medicine, which includes both prescription and non-prescription. They also advise customers on general health care topics. Retail pharmacists must work to meet legal and ethical guidelines set by many different regulatory agencies, including the State Pharmacy Board.

In 2022, the retail pharmacies dispensed 172,467 prescriptions, averaging 473 prescriptions per day, with a staff of 11 full time pharmacists. A total of 16,994 prescriptions were filled for 340B for a system benefit of $2,168,477. The Dispensary of Hope program, which improves medication access to under-served populations by providing donated medications at no charge, was maintained at five retail locations. The Dispensary of Hope is a non-profit drug distributor, whose mission is to transform lives by creating pathways for donated medicine to reach individuals in need and without access. Our system has the only retail pharmacies authorized to provide this program in the state of NJ.

The retail pharmacy network continues to build upon and improve its current services which include home delivery, text messaging pickup availability, and refill reminders. Pharmacies provide clinical services to support care transitions, adult immunizations, medication adherence, and medication therapy management (MTM). The retail pharmacy staff is also involved in community outreach programs, brown bag events, and blood pressure screenings. At Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, the retail pharmacy initiated and built programs with the departments of bariatric surgery, emergency, maternal fetal medicine, geriatrics and colorectal surgery.

In 2022, the retail pharmacy generated more than $26,473,061 dollars in revenue with net benefit in excess of $728,956 dollars.

In 2022, the retail pharmacies:

  • Went live on Epic Willow Ambulatory at the BH Retail Pharmacy at CMMC
  • Maintained the Dispensary of Hope program at four retail pharmacy locations
  • Dispensary of Hope program implemented at BH Retail Pharmacy at Greenville
  • Consolidated 8 retail pharmacies to 6 retail pharmacies
  • Provided 104 outreach programs at 15 locations with over 1,100 attendees
  • Developed numerous disease state focus patient education materials

  • 340B Drug Pricing Program Division

The 340B Program continues to meet its original goal of helping eligible patients and hospitals make the most of scarce resources while saving taxpayers money. The RWJBarnabas Health 340B covered entities are committed to caring for the vulnerable and use 340B savings to stretch otherwise limited resources to enhance services and increase access. For patients, this means affordable medications, expanded access to community-based primary and specialty care, and help managing chronic conditions. This program supports all these benefits while reducing federal, state, and local health care spending.

In addition to lower costs and affordable medications, our programs support better care and better health outcomes allowing us to provide more services and offset losses from providing care without compensation.

Throughout 2022 the Corporate Pharmacy 340B Team:

  • Remained focused on elevating responsibilities related to auditing hospital pharmacies and contracted pharmacies along with supplying compliance tools, 340B training and other support services.
  • Integrated a new 340B covered entity into RWJBH operations
  • Assisted with the transition of RWJBH’s first 340B covered entity to EPIC
  • Performed audits of thousands of patient dispensations and thousands of purchasing invoices to ensure program eligibility.
  • Completed 3 external audits in conjunction with hospital pharmacy personnel
  • Generated $3.4 million in contract pharmacy revenue through manual order processing due to requests for additional manufacturer information (AMI)
  • Contracted with additional specialty pharmacies to increase overall contract pharmacy benefit
  • Audited all wholesaler accounts to ensure proper configurations and billing practices
  • Assisted with the implementation of BD Logistics at RWJ New Brunswick
  • Helped the health system leverage Apexus contracts and purchasing strategies to continue the reduction of wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) spending.

As federal dollars shift and resources become scarce, it is critical that health centers participate in programs like this that will continue to increase patient access and expand services. The 340B Program will enable health centers to increase access to affordable medication, which will ultimately improve outcomes, and assist in overcoming the impact of the decline in federal and state funding.

  • Ambulatory Care Division

The Ambulatory Care Division consists of 9 pharmacists who act as health care extenders, offering services such as patient counseling, medication reconciliation, and chronic disease state management which can optimize medication use while reducing costs, side effects, and readmissions.

  • More than 4,400 ambulatory care interventions were performed by the division
  • The most common types of intervention categories include:
    • Transitions of Care
    • Patient Counseling
    • Laboratory Assessment
    • Modifying and Clarifying Therapies—including brand to generic change, cost, inappropriate dose, and efficacy
    • Value-Based Measures
    • Adherence counseling and diabetes management/self-monitoring
    • Medication classes most commonly assessed included cholesterol lowering medications, anticoagulants, anti-diabetic agents, and anti-hypertensives
    • The division is represented on the Patient and Family Advisory Councils to support aligning our
      treatments with patient needs