A Day in the Life of an Informatics Pharmacist

Summary

In this video, Brian, an informatics pharmacist, offers an insightful look into his typical day, highlighting the dynamic nature of his role. From reviewing urgent issues over morning coffee to juggling multiple tasks involving builds, testing, and documentation, his day is a balance of technical work and collaboration with teams and vendors. Meetings are frequent, often revolving around project scoping, system troubleshooting, and strategy discussions. While each informatics pharmacist's day varies, Brian's experience shows the complexity and versatility of working in this field, often requiring quick decision-making and multitasking.

Takeaways

• ☕️ A typical day starts with a cup of coffee and reviewing urgent issues, such as incident tickets or urgent emails.
• 💼 The role of an informatics pharmacist can vary depending on factors like the organization size, where you work, and whether you report to pharmacy or IT.
• 📅 The day is filled with managing tasks that may involve multiple dependencies, often requiring juggling 15 to 25 tasks simultaneously.
• 🔄 Tasks usually involve building, testing, analyzing, or documenting systems related to the medication use process.
• 💻 A common task could include building value sets, analyzing requirements for reports, and testing to ensure functionality.
• 📝 Documentation is an essential part of the job, including knowledge management and migration purposes.
• ⏰ A daily routine involves prioritizing work items and scheduling them in available time slots to help manage the workload efficiently.
• 📞 A significant portion of the day is spent in meetings, both scheduled and unscheduled, with stakeholders and vendors.
• 💬 Meetings may focus on scoping out new projects, assessing feasibility, answering questions, and addressing technical roadblocks.
• 🔄 The informatics pharmacist frequently re-prioritizes tasks as new issues arise throughout the day, such as urgent incident tickets or emails.
• 👨‍💻 A major part of the job is collaborating with the informatics team, other departments, and vendors to discuss progress, strategy, and troubleshooting.

Q & A

What is an informatics pharmacist?

An informatics pharmacist is a professional who works at the intersection of pharmacy and information technology, helping to connect healthcare data systems and ensuring the efficient use of medications through the application of IT solutions.

What factors can influence the day-to-day tasks of an informatics pharmacist?

The day-to-day tasks of an informatics pharmacist can vary based on factors such as the size and nature of the organization they work for, whether they report to the pharmacy department or the IT department, and how their specific role is defined.

How does an informatics pharmacist start their day?

An informatics pharmacist typically starts their day by having a cup of coffee and reviewing any urgent issues that may require immediate attention, such as incident tickets or emails that need quick responses.

What kinds of tasks does an informatics pharmacist work on during the day?

The tasks an informatics pharmacist works on typically include building, testing, analyzing, and documenting various aspects of healthcare data systems, such as creating new value sets or analyzing requirements for medication therapy management reports.

How does an informatics pharmacist prioritize their tasks?

An informatics pharmacist prioritizes their tasks by reviewing their current assignments, determining which ones are dependent on other teams' work, and scheduling them into free time slots on their calendar. This helps in visualizing the day and managing feature trade-offs or team updates.

What role do meetings play in an informatics pharmacist's day?

Meetings are an important part of an informatics pharmacist's day. These can include scheduled or unscheduled meetings with stakeholders to scope new projects, assess build feasibility, or answer questions related to informatics. There are also regular meetings with the informatics team and other departments to discuss project progress and strategy.

How do meetings with vendors, particularly EHR vendors, factor into an informatics pharmacist's day?

Meetings with vendors, especially EHR vendors, are common in an informatics pharmacist's day. These meetings often address technical issues, troubleshoot system behavior, or assist with resolving roadblocks related to healthcare data systems.

How does an informatics pharmacist handle shifting priorities throughout the day?

An informatics pharmacist handles shifting priorities by constantly reassessing tasks as new incident tickets, emails, or chat messages arrive. This requires frequent re-prioritization of tasks to ensure urgent issues are addressed while keeping ongoing work on track.

What is the typical balance of tasks for an informatics pharmacist?

The balance of tasks for an informatics pharmacist typically involves a combination of building, testing, analyzing, and documenting healthcare data systems, often with several tasks running concurrently due to dependencies on other teams' work.

Why is documentation important in the work of an informatics pharmacist?

Documentation is crucial for an informatics pharmacist as it helps with knowledge management, ensures continuity in workflows, and aids in migration processes. Proper documentation also allows others to understand the work that has been done and ensures consistency across projects.