JOB DESCRIPTION
1. Position Details
Job Title: Clinical Pharmacist – PharmD
Department: Clinical Pharmacy / Gastroenterology
Specialty: Gastroenterology
Experience Required: Minimum 4 years of relevant clinical pharmacy experience, preferably in Gastroenterology
Qualification: PharmD (Doctor of Pharmacy)
Reports To: Chief Clinical Pharmacist / Head – Pharmacy Services / Medical Director
Location: Coimbatore
Employment Type: Full-Time
2. Job Purpose
To provide safe, effective, evidence-based and patient-centred pharmaceutical care to patients with gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary disorders.
The Clinical Pharmacist will work closely with Gastroenterologists, Hepatologists, Surgeons, Oncologists, Intensivists, Nurses and other healthcare professionals to optimise medication therapy, prevent medication-related problems, improve clinical outcomes, promote medication safety and ensure rational use of medicines.
The role will include active participation in medication reconciliation, prescription review, drug-interaction monitoring, adverse drug reaction management, antimicrobial stewardship, therapeutic drug monitoring, patient counselling and clinical pharmacy rounds.
3. Key Responsibilities
A. Clinical Pharmacy Services
- Review and evaluate medication orders for appropriateness, safety, dosage, route, frequency and duration.
- Provide clinical pharmacy support for patients admitted under Gastroenterology, Hepatology, GI Surgery and related specialties.
- Identify and resolve drug-related problems and medication-related discrepancies.
- Monitor patients for therapeutic response, adverse drug reactions and medication toxicity.
- Recommend appropriate medication adjustments based on:
- Renal function
- Hepatic function
- Age
- Weight
- Clinical condition
- Drug interactions
- Laboratory parameters
- Participate in daily clinical rounds with the Gastroenterology and multidisciplinary medical teams.
- Provide evidence-based recommendations regarding drug selection, dosage and duration of therapy.
- Support safe use of high-alert medications and high-risk drugs.
B. Gastroenterology-Specific Clinical Responsibilities
The pharmacist should have sound knowledge of pharmacotherapy related to:
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- Peptic ulcer disease
- Gastritis
- Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy
- Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
- Ulcerative colitis
- Crohn's disease
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- Acute and chronic pancreatitis
- Liver diseases
- Cirrhosis
- Hepatic encephalopathy
- Ascites
- Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis
- Variceal bleeding
- Hepatitis
- Cholestatic liver disorders
- GI bleeding
- Malabsorption and nutritional deficiencies
- GI infections
- GI malignancies
- Post-GI surgery medication management
The pharmacist should understand the pharmacological management and monitoring requirements associated with commonly used GI medications, including:
- Proton-pump inhibitors
- H2-receptor antagonists
- Prokinetic agents
- Antiemetics
- Laxatives
- Antidiarrhoeals
- Digestive enzymes
- Antibiotics
- Antivirals
- Corticosteroids
- Immunomodulators
- Biologic therapies
- Lactulose and rifaximin
- Diuretics used in cirrhosis and ascites
- Albumin therapy
- Analgesics
- Anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents
- Nutritional supplements
4. Medication Reconciliation
- Perform medication reconciliation at admission, transfer and discharge.
- Obtain an accurate medication history from the patient/caregiver.
- Identify:
- Duplicate medications
- Drug interactions
- Allergies
- Incorrect doses
- Omissions
- Contraindicated medicines
- Potential medication-related problems
- Communicate discrepancies to the treating physician and ensure appropriate correction.
- Document medication reconciliation interventions appropriately.
5. Prescription & Medication Order Review
- Review prescriptions for:
- Correct drug
- Dose
- Route
- Frequency
- Duration
- Indication
- Patient-specific contraindications
- Check dosage appropriateness in renal and hepatic impairment.
- Verify intravenous medication compatibility and administration requirements where applicable.
- Identify potentially inappropriate medication combinations.
- Monitor for therapeutic duplication.
- Ensure appropriate antimicrobial selection and duration.
- Provide recommendations to physicians whenever a medication-related concern is identified.
6. Drug Interaction & Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring
- Identify clinically significant drug-drug, drug-food and drug-disease interactions.
- Monitor patients for adverse drug reactions (ADRs).
- Document and report suspected ADRs according to hospital policy.
- Participate in pharmacovigilance activities.
- Educate healthcare professionals regarding significant medication safety alerts.
- Maintain appropriate documentation of clinical interventions.
7. Antimicrobial Stewardship
- Participate actively in the hospital's Antimicrobial Stewardship Program.
- Review antibiotic selection, dose, route and duration.
- Monitor culture and sensitivity reports.
- Recommend de-escalation or modification of antibiotics when clinically appropriate.
- Support IV-to-oral antibiotic conversion when appropriate.
- Monitor antimicrobial consumption and inappropriate antibiotic use.
- Participate in antimicrobial audit activities.
- Coordinate with Microbiology and Infectious Disease teams where required.
8. Therapeutic Drug Monitoring
Where applicable, monitor medicines requiring therapeutic drug monitoring.
Responsibilities include:
- Reviewing drug levels
- Interpreting laboratory results
- Assessing dosing appropriateness
- Identifying toxicity
- Recommending dose adjustments
- Communicating findings to the treating team
9. Patient Counselling & Medication Education
- Counsel patients and caregivers regarding prescribed medicines.
- Explain:
- Purpose of medication
- Dose
- Timing
- Duration
- Method of administration
- Important precautions
- Common adverse effects
- Warning signs requiring medical attention
- Provide special counselling to patients with chronic GI and liver diseases.
- Educate patients regarding adherence to long-term medication therapy.
- Explain proper use of oral and injectable medications where required.
- Provide discharge medication counselling.
- Encourage patients to maintain an updated medication list.
10. Discharge Medication Review
- Review discharge prescriptions for accuracy and completeness.
- Check for duplication and potential interactions.
- Ensure appropriate medication duration.
- Compare admission, inpatient and discharge medications.
- Identify medication discrepancies before discharge.
- Provide medication counselling to patients and caregivers.
- Ensure patients understand important follow-up medications and precautions.
11. Gastroenterology Procedure & Peri-Procedural Support
Provide medication-related support for patients undergoing procedures such as:
- Upper GI endoscopy
- Colonoscopy
- ERCP
- EUS
- GI surgery
- Liver-related procedures
- Interventional procedures
Responsibilities may include reviewing:
- Anticoagulants
- Antiplatelet medications
- Diabetic medications
- Antihypertensives
- Sedation-related medications
- Antibiotic prophylaxis
- Bowel preparation medications
The pharmacist should coordinate with the treating physician regarding appropriate medication management before and after procedures.
12. Nutrition & Clinical Support
- Work with Dietitians and the clinical team in patients requiring specialised nutritional support.
- Review medications that may affect nutritional status.
- Monitor drug-nutrient interactions.
- Support medication management in patients receiving enteral or parenteral nutrition.
- Identify vitamin and mineral deficiencies requiring pharmacological supplementation.
- Provide medication-related recommendations for patients with malnutrition or malabsorption.
13. Oncology & GI Cancer Support
In a Gastroenterology & Oncology Hospital, the Clinical Pharmacist may also provide clinical pharmacy support for patients with GI malignancies.
This may include:
- Medication review for GI cancer patients
- Supportive-care medication review
- Antiemetic therapy optimisation
- Pain-management medication review
- Drug-interaction screening
- Nutritional supplementation
- Monitoring of adverse drug reactions
- Coordination with Oncology Pharmacists regarding systemic anticancer therapy
- Patient counselling regarding supportive medications
Where chemotherapy or other anticancer medications are handled by a specialised Oncology Pharmacist, the Clinical Pharmacist should coordinate appropriately and work within defined hospital privileges and competencies.
14. Medication Safety
- Promote safe medication practices throughout the hospital.
- Identify high-alert medications and medication-error risks.
- Participate in medication-error reporting and analysis.
- Assist in developing preventive measures for recurring medication errors.
- Review medication-related incidents and near misses.
- Participate in medication safety audits.
- Support compliance with hospital medication-management policies.
- Promote proper storage, labelling and handling of medicines.
15. Clinical Documentation
Maintain accurate documentation of:
- Clinical interventions
- Medication reconciliation
- ADRs
- Drug interactions
- Medication errors
- Patient counselling
- Pharmacist recommendations
- Antimicrobial interventions
- Therapeutic drug monitoring
- Discharge counselling
- Clinical pharmacy activities
16. Multidisciplinary Team Participation
Work collaboratively with:
- Gastroenterologists
- Hepatologists
- GI Surgeons
- Oncologists
- Intensivists
- Physicians
- Nurses
- Dietitians
- Microbiologists
- Laboratory staff
- Infection Control Team
- Other Clinical Pharmacists
- Pharmacy Operations Team
Actively participate in clinical meetings, case discussions, medication reviews and quality-improvement activities.
17. Training & Education
- Conduct medication-related educational sessions for nurses and other healthcare professionals.
- Provide drug-information support to clinicians.
- Participate in continuing professional development activities.
- Stay updated with current clinical guidelines and evidence-based treatment recommendations.
- Assist in training junior pharmacists and pharmacy interns.
- Develop educational materials on medication safety and rational drug use.
18. Quality Improvement & Audit
Participate in clinical pharmacy and hospital quality initiatives such as:
- Medication-use evaluations
- Antibiotic audits
- Medication-reconciliation audits
- Prescription audits
- ADR monitoring
- Drug-interaction audits
- High-alert medication audits
- Medication-error analysis
- Patient counselling audits
- Clinical pharmacy intervention tracking
19. Research & Evidence-Based Practice
- Participate in clinical pharmacy research and quality-improvement projects.
- Review current literature relevant to Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
- Support evidence-based medication decisions.
- Assist in preparation of clinical protocols, guidelines and drug-use policies.
- Present relevant clinical cases or research findings during departmental meetings.
20. Inventory & Formulary Support
Although primarily a clinical role, the Clinical Pharmacist should coordinate with the Pharmacy Department regarding:
- Availability of critical medicines
- Formulary compliance
- Medication shortages
- Alternative medication recommendations
- Expiry management
- Rational medicine utilisation
21. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Performance may be evaluated using:
- Number and quality of clinical pharmacy interventions.
- Medication reconciliation completion rate.
- Medication-related discrepancy identification and resolution.
- ADR reporting and follow-up.
- Antimicrobial stewardship interventions.
- Prescription review compliance.
- Patient counselling completion rate.
- Medication-error prevention initiatives.
- Participation in clinical rounds.
- Drug-information queries handled.
- Clinical audit and quality-improvement participation.
- Physician and nursing-team feedback.
- Patient education and satisfaction.
- Compliance with hospital policies and regulatory requirements.
22. Authority & Accountability
Authority
The Clinical Pharmacist is authorised, within hospital policy and defined professional scope, to:
- Review medication orders.
- Identify medication-related problems.
- Recommend medication optimisation.
- Recommend dose adjustments.
- Recommend alternative medicines when appropriate.
- Intervene in drug-interaction and medication-safety issues.
- Recommend antimicrobial optimisation.
- Hold or escalate a medication-related concern when significant patient-safety risk is identified, according to hospital policy.
Accountability
The Clinical Pharmacist is accountable for:
- Patient medication safety
- Accuracy of clinical pharmacy documentation
- Quality of medication-related recommendations
- Timely communication of significant medication concerns
- Confidentiality of patient information
- Compliance with hospital policies
- Professional and ethical conduct
23. Required Knowledge & Skills
Clinical Knowledge
Strong knowledge of:
- Pharmacotherapy
- Gastroenterology
- Hepatology
- GI surgery
- Critical care pharmacotherapy
- Antimicrobial therapy
- Renal and hepatic dose adjustment
- Drug interactions
- ADR management
- Medication safety
- Clinical nutrition
- Evidence-based medicine
Technical Skills
Proficiency in:
- Electronic medical records (EMR/HIS)
- Clinical pharmacy documentation
- Drug-information databases
- Medication-interaction checking
- Clinical literature search
- Excel and basic data analysis
- Pharmacy information systems
Soft Skills
- Strong clinical communication
- Patient counselling skills
- Teamwork
- Critical thinking
- Clinical decision-making
- Attention to detail
- Problem-solving
- Professionalism
- Empathy
- Ability to work under pressure
24. Preferred Experience
The ideal candidate should have approximately 4 years of clinical pharmacy experience, with substantial exposure to:
- Gastroenterology
- Hepatology
- GI Surgery
- Inpatient clinical pharmacy
- Medication reconciliation
- Clinical rounds
- Antimicrobial stewardship
- Drug-information services
- Patient counselling
- Medication safety
- ADR monitoring
Experience in a tertiary-care hospital or dedicated Gastroenterology hospital is preferred.
25. Educational Qualification
Essential:
- PharmD (Doctor of Pharmacy)
Preferred:
- Relevant clinical pharmacy certifications
- Training in antimicrobial stewardship
- Pharmacovigilance experience
- Medication safety training
- Research or publication experience
26. Professional Attributes
The Clinical Pharmacist should demonstrate:
- Patient-first approach
- High ethical standards
- Clinical competence
- Accuracy and attention to detail
- Accountability
- Respectful communication
- Confidentiality
- Continuous learning
- Commitment to medication safety
- Ability to work effectively within a multidisciplinary healthcare team
27. Job Summary – One-Line Version
To provide specialised, evidence-based clinical pharmacy services for Gastroenterology and Hepatology patients, ensuring safe, rational and effective medication therapy through prescription review, medication reconciliation, clinical interventions, patient counselling, medication-safety monitoring and multidisciplinary collaboration.
Pay: ₹35,000.00 - ₹50,000.00 per month
Benefits:
Work Location: In person
