Job Specification

Purpose :

To provide clinical expertise and advice to senior management on the therapeutic benefits/risks, cost, quality, utilization and listing of drugs provided by the Ontario Drug Benefits (ODB) program.
To develop and recommend policies, communications products criteria, methodologies and databases to support ODB program, branch activities and external advisory committees.

Key Responsibilities :

1. Expertise and Advice
- Provides professional and scientific knowledge and advice related to pharmaceuticals to the Drug Programs Branch director and management team. Ensures technical accuracy of committee notes, briefing material, correspondence and other documentation.
- Analyzes and assesses impact/usefulness/prioritization of funding proposals for research projects in accordance with ministry goals and objectives. Coordinates activities, branch response and participation in research projects.
- Provides analytical advice and interpretation to various stakeholders on ODB related policies and issues, e.g. consumer and professional organizations, other health care professionals and ministry staff.
- Develops and maintains knowledge base of scientific and technical information to support branch activities and external advisory committees.
2. Projects and Drug Reviews
- Coordinates and conducts projects for the research, monitoring, analysis and assessment of a broad range of data, issues, trends, legislation and service delivery methodologies and their impact and/or opportunity value for drug programs.
- Leads and/or supports drug utilization reviews. Coordinates sub-committees, recruits external expert consultants (physicians, scientists, pharmacists). Manages databases and technology to support reviews and conducts analyses of data.
3. Policy/Program Development
- Develops and outlines policy and program options, implications and cost/benefits in relation to branch/program resources and objectives. Evaluates current benefits, policies and processes to develop recommendations for change.
4. Stakeholder Relationship and Committees
- Represents Drug Programs Branch on a wide variety of committees at local, provincial and national levels.
Participates in discussions of pharmacy-related guidelines, standards, trends and issues. Maintains ongoing liaison with colleagues in other jurisdictions and stakeholder groups (pharmacists, physicians, drug manufacturers and ODB recipients).
- Coordinates Formulary modernization reviews, including subcommittee member recruitment, interaction with manufacturers literature searches, scheduling and setting meeting agenda.
- Provides updates and recommends responses to recommendations of Drug Quality and Therapeutics Committee (DQTC).
- Coordinate or represent Drug Programs Branch at various stakeholder Committees.
5. Individual Clinical Review:
- Authorizes funding based on requests from physicians for individual patients (Individual Clinical Review or Section 8 mechanism). Analyzes clinical situations and appropriateness of prescribed therapy.

Knowledge / Skill :

Bachelor's Degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences (B.Sc.Pharm., BSP or equivalent) and licensed by the Ontario College of Pharmacists.
Knowledge of and skills in:
- Pharmacology, epidemiology and health economics, trends in medical practice and technology used in prescribing and developing new drugs, to provide pharmacology and scientific advice to ministry and lead research projects.
- Federal/provincial legislation relating to drugs and pharmacy and medical practice, ministry policy to ensure compliance to requirements and assess the impact of changes on branch policy and programs.
- Stakeholder (pharmacists, physicians, drug manufacturers, ODB recipients) issues in relation to overall purpose of ODB program to develop and analyze viable proposals/policies/solutions, develop
recommendations for new/revised policies.
- Hospital and retail pharmacy practice, medical practice, health care delivery, pharmaceutical industry, to work constructively with committees formed of various stakeholders to analyze and anticipate the feasibility and input of policy decisions in a proactive environment.
- Project management to coordinate studies, data collection and analyses.
- Written and oral communication to conduct meetings, prepare technical reports, recommendations, correspondence and other materials.
- Computer applications for communication products, word processing, spreadsheets, Internet searches and database analyses.

Interpersonal / Influencing Skill :

- Persuasion, negotiation, mediation skills to develop policy options acceptable to stakeholder groups and the government, by identifying options to consider and providing operational context to elicit cooperation and resolve conflicting opinions on committees/sub-committees for drug reviews and projects by suggesting options to slow the rate of the growing costs of drugs.
- Communication skills to respond to practitioners on policy interpretation and requests for approvals (e.g.
Limited use policies and programs, Section 8 drug reimbursements and physician applications to Facilitated Access Prescriber List).

Analyzing / Problem Solving Skill :

Analyzing and problem solving skills to:
- Conduct/coordinate and research range of data, drug utilization issues, trends.
- Develop cost containment options based on analysis.
- Evaluate current benefits, criteria, policies and methodologies.
- Recommend policy/program options based on evaluation.
- Assess research proposals, project findings and potential impacts for drug program projects and drug utilization reviews.

Decision Making / Responsibility :

Responsible for:
- Approving Section 8 drug reimbursements and physician applications to the Facilitated Access Prescriber List.
- Recommending project funding and recommending policy and program changes.
- Project coordination of research projects and development/maintenance of databases.
Has latitude to make decisions in determining scientific criteria for evaluation, coordinating analyses and technical reviews of benefits, policies to ensure the quality, safety, efficacy and therapeutic value of drugs provided by ODB program.
Decisions are made within the framework of legislation, ministry policies and guidelines governing drug programs.
Decision-making is also guided by federal/provincial drug and pharmaceutical-related legislation, regulations, guidelines, protocols and professional standards.

Contacts / Stakeholder :

- External stakeholders and experts (pharmacists, physicians, scientists) to provide interpretations on policy/programs (e.g., Limited Use Program, Facilitated Access Prescriber Program) and recruit consultants for drug utilization reviews.
- External colleagues and stakeholders on various committees to coordinate meetings, reviews, data analysis, and to provide updates on special projects.
- Pharmaceutical manufacturers to interpret policy, provide information on drug utilization data, status of drug reviews and listing status of specific products.
- Staff from other ministries to provide information regarding ODB policy and eligibility, branch position on Ministry initiatives.

Guidance / Supervision :

- Provides project leadership to coordinate projects, committees to support drug reviews, research and evaluation and expertise on matters relating to quality, utilization and listing of drugs provided as benefits under the ODB program.
- Branch director, management team and staff to provide technical guidance, expertise and input to policy/program issues and responses.
- Provides technical advice/guidance to staff on Section 8 submissions, interpretation of Drug Quality & Therapeutics Committee decisions, policies, pharmacology, clinical practice issues, ODB drug reimbursement.

Demands / Pressures :

Work Demands :

- Routinely deals with tight deadlines to respond to inquiries/correspondence, requests from ADM or Minister's Office for briefing notes.
- Daily requirement to sign Section 8 letters which are high priority and medically urgent.

Mental / Sensory :

- Frequent listening intently to take meeting minutes. Frequent periods of concentration to read scientific and technical materials, analyze/assess data.
- Frequent interruptions to address time-sensitive and highly technical requests that often require quick research and decision-making under tight deadlines.

Conditions / Environment :

Work is performed in a typical office environment.