Christina McCormick
West Monroe,LA
Summary
Dynamic clinical pharmacist with a broad background in managed care, medication management, regulatory writing and compliance, health informatics, project and workflow management, and cannabis care. Experienced with healthcare technology and clinical data integration.
Demonstrated proficiency in regulatory writing, showcasing analytical thinking and attention to detail. Spearheaded innovative workflows, significantly enhancing pharmacy efficiency, improving quality ratings, and optimizing health outcomes. Adaptable to evolving project requirements, consistently meeting deadlines and delivering impactful results.
Reliable team player with results-driven approach and engaging interpersonal communication skills. Known for collaborating effectively within interdisciplinary teams to ensure accuracy and coherence in medical documentation.
Overview
27
27
years of professional experience
Work History
Clinical Cannabis Pharmacist
Delta MedMar
1707 McKeen Pl, Monroe, LA 71201
03.2021 - Current
- Reviewing cannabis recommendations for accuracy.
- Evaluating cannabis experience and creating cost-effective care plans at the lowest effective dose.
- Monitoring for cannabis-disease and drug interactions, cannabis-related adverse effects such as cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, and psychoactive effects.
- Educating the public, patients, health providers and pharmacy students regarding the appropriate use of cannabis including special administration, dosing and storage instructions.
- Maintaining inventory control, diversion prevention and harm reduction strategy protocols.
- Performing face-to-face and telephonic consults with patients and caregivers.
- Assessing patient's health literacy and understanding of all current health conditions and medications before introducing medical cannabis.
- Creating personalized care plans for patients with special needs and preferences including aphasia, anacusis, anopsia, gastrointestinal issues, children with autism, low health literacy, PTSD and arthritis.
- Collaborating with other health professionals when starting, stopping and adjusting cannabis regimens.
- Monitoring for adherence to cannabis regimens.
- Enhancing pharmacy efficiency by implementing new workflow and inventory management processes.
- Maintaining compliance with state cannabis laws and Metrc's cannabis tracking system.
- Participating in community outreach events.
- Hiring and training staff.
- Monitoring workflow efficiency.
- Maximizing order entry and filling accuracy to reduce errors and patient wait times.
- Managing new projects to ensure a seamless transition and reduce workflow disruption while maintaining compliance.
- Opening and closing procedures.
- Developing policies and procedures related to operations, compliance and best practices.
- Precepting pharmacy students and interns, contributing to development of future health professionals and their knowledge of cannabis.
- Speaking at local events and national conferences.
- Helping patients manage their chronic conditions while reducing their exposure to opioids and frequently abused drug (FAD)s.
- Assessing patient's overdose risk score and knowledge of naloxone and how to safely incorporate medical cannabis into their medication regimen at the lowest effective dose when treating pain or addiction.
- Collecting and analyzing data to evaluate dosing, side effects and safe tapering when transitioning from opioids to medical cannabis.
- Attending weekly compliance and regulatory meetings with Louisiana's Association for Therapeutic Alternatives and cannabis pharmacy software vendor.
- Received University of Louisiana at Monroe's School of Pharmacy Preceptor of the Year Award
Managed Care Pharmacist
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana
130 Desiard St, Monroe, LA 71201
01.2023 - 01.2024
- Assisted with the pharmacy department transition after Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana (BCBSLA) purchased Vantage Health Plan.
- Assisted with rebranding materials, updating website information, updating policies and procedures to meet BCBSLA's requirements.
- Advised BCBSLA Quality Improvement team on how to obtain NCQA accreditation.
- Wrote all pharmacy-related policies to meet NCQA standards for BCBSLA's first NCQA audit.
- Served on the Fraud Waste and Abuse (FWA), Medicare Advantage Regulatory Communications, Quality Management STARs, First Tier, Downstream, Related Entities (FDR) Oversight Group, Medical Rebate, Financial Investigation Department (FID), Rebranding, PBM Transitions, and Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) Committees.
- Collaborated with IT to build daily pharmacy claim reject reports to analyze appropriateness of rejects and build daily transition fill reports to ensure compliance with member transition fills.
- Reviewed Medicare Part D and Prescription Drug Event (PDE) claims data for accuracy.
- Assisted with multiple vendor transitions.
- Continued to oversee workflow efficiency for all programs created under Vantage Health Plan's brand from discovery through rebranding to BCBSLA and Primewell (AR,MS).
Managed Care Pharmacist
Vantage Health Plan, Inc.
130 Desiard St, Monroe LA 71201
02.2012 - 01.2023
- Recruited by Vantage Health Plan's pharmacy director to assist with the development of Medicare Part D programs and National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) accreditation.
- Developed Disease Management Programs (Diabetes, Heart Failure and COPD) to meet NCQA standards and member needs.
- Promoted from Disease Management Department to Pharmacy Project Manager.
- Developed the Medication Therapy Management (MTM) Program to meet member needs, Medicare STAR Measure, and NCQA goals achieving a 5 STAR rating.
- Drafted, updated, edited and maintained all pharmacy department policies, procedures, website content, outreach material including those for VantageCare programs (MTM, Medication Adherence, Disease Management, Opioid Management and Overutilization), mail-order and retail pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Management Procedures, OTC Program, $0 Mail-Order Benefit, NCQA accreditation, prior authorization criteria and CMS regulatory submissions.
- Initiated collaboration between Vantage Health Plan (VHP) and University of Louisiana at Monroe's School of Pharmacy to develop the first managed care rotation site at VHP and introduced first pharmacy students to the MTM Program.
- Wrote the managed care pharmacy rotation syllabus
- Implemented data-driven strategies to enhance quality performance measures.
- Ensured compliance with state and federal regulations.
- Assisted in the development of the Over-The-Counter (OTC) and $0 Medication Program.
- Developed the Vantage Medication Adherence Program (VMAP) achieving a 4 - 5 STAR rating in triple weighted Medicare Part D measures.
- Worked closely with MTM platform provider to meet multiple member, provider, and quality STAR measure goals efficiently.
- Assisted with the creation, editing, and approval of member, provider, IVR, electronic and website materials.
- Developed the Opioid Drug Management and Opioid Overutilization Monitoring (OOM) Programs.
- Assisted with the development of Vantage Health Plan's mail-order pharmacy including writing all policies and procedures, completing all Louisiana Board of Pharmacy applications, completing insurance contracting requirements, consulting with legal, and coordinating efforts with the Medication Adherence Program. Continuously monitored workflow and made adjustments as needed to maintain efficiency.
- Participated in NCQA desktop audits and onsite reviews.
- Reviewed and updated all meeting minutes to ensure compliance with NCQA pharmacy standards.
- Assisted with the development of Prior Authorization (PA) criteria, and website publishing.
- Collected and analyzed data for NCQA and CMS submissions.
- Collaborated with PBMs to develop meaningful, accurate, predictive and proactive STAR measure, medication adherence and safety reports.
- Served on multiple committees and teams including FWA, FDR, NCQA, PBM Transition, P&T, Prior Authorization, PBM Quarterly Data Review, Pharmaceutical Management Procedures, OOM, STAR Improvement, and other administrative meetings as needed.
- Facilitated the communication between IT and vendors when transferring provider, member and claims data ensuring accuracy and compliance with HIPAA and other regulatory standards.
- Explored root cause of project delays and provided potential solutions.
- Supported pharmacy director and CEO with their projects as requested.
- Reported program performance data to Quality Improvement and NCQA coordinators.
- Facilitated communication between IT and pharmacy team to improve data collection, workflow efficiency, quality improvement, and compliance.
- Collaborated with IT to develop meaningful workflow reports for other departments including the ADHD measure report for the Behavioral Health team.
- Drafted and updated annual QIP (Quality Improvement Plan), SNP-QIP (Special Needs Plan), CCIP (Chronic Care Improvement Program), Safety Evaluation, Disease Management Program Evaluation for regulatory submission after analyzing program data.
- Drafted corrective action responses related to CMS Safety Outliers, Part D STAR Measure and HEDIS improvement for regulatory submission.
- Drafted and reviewed MTM annual submission after collecting and reviewing target population data.
- Selected annual MTM criteria to collectively meet multiple measure and member goals before CMS submission.
- Worked with IT and the Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA) to develop and audit the accuracy of an internal predictive PDC adherence calculator using current pharmacy claims data (instead of delayed PDE data) to address adherence issues before member's PDC became unrecoverable in the measurement year.
- Created a predictive, proactive, reactive, rescue and prevention workflow strategy for improving medication adherence and Part D STAR improvement.
- Collaborated with IT to develop multiple pharmacy-related modules used for MTM, Disease Management, Case Management, Medication Adherence improvement outreach, and proactive Opioid targeting using member, provider, STAR measure, pharmacy, lab, medical, and J Code data.
- Worked with Health IT (HIT) team to update EMR STAR Adherence medication custom list to correct prescription “instruction” errors and matched quantities to days supply. Added a unique message for every PQA STAR Adherence Medication in the custom list.
- Initiated a PDE review project with IT to match pharmacy claims with specific PDE data to ensure all claims were accounted for during ACUMEN STAR Measure calculations which resulted in a CMS bonus payment to Vantage Health Plan's Medicare Advantage plan.
- Initiated the addition of “Indicators” to Medication Adherence STAR Measure Spreadsheets and restructured clinical pharmacy programs to work collectively to meet multiple Part D STAR measure and safety goals collectively in one outreach.
- Reviewed formularies for tier changes and prior authorization requirements to ensure generic medications on Pharmacy Quality Alliances (PQA) NDC list for Medication Adherence Measures remain tier 1 and accessible to members improving health equity.
- Participated in formulary management, assisting in the selection of preferred medications based on efficacy, safety, and cost considerations.
- Coordinated with payment solution's implementation team to roll-out a new payment processing system in mail-order and retail pharmacies.
- Built strong relationships with external vendors such as PBMs, MTM platform providers, drug compendia publishers, pharmacy software systems, PBM consultants, Pharmacy Quality Alliance, EMR, and payment solutions providers.
- Organized and supervised immunization outreach campaigns.
- Immunized members at their place of employment improving health equity and access to care.
- Initiated the development of an adverse event protocol when administering immunizations.
- Collaborated with other project managers, supervisors and inter-departmental staff and supervisors to ensure smooth transitions to new processes.
- Cross-trained in all pharmacy departments and performed traditional pharmacist duties as needed and requested by staff, pharmacy director or CEO.
- Reviewed prior authorization requests for medications, ensuring appropriate criteria were met before approval or denial decisions were made.
- Worked with interdepartmental supervisors and staff to facilitate and promote improved interdepartmental communication when working to reach measure goals.
- Participated in departmental and interdepartmental educational meetings.
- Educated seniors on improving their cardiovascular health at Vantage Health Plan's Senior Series lectures.
- Assisted with internal compliance reviews as needed, including pharmacy rejection reports, Drug Utilization Review and Prior Authorizations.
- Coordinated with IT to build daily claim reject reports to analyze appropriateness of rejects and transition fill reports to ensure compliance with member transition fills.
- Continuously analyzed workflow efficiency for all pharmacy programs.
- Received Outstanding/Above Expectations and Exceeds Expectations marks every year during job performance evaluations.
Certified Laser Technician
Haik Humble Eye Center
1804 N 7th St, West Monroe, LA 71291
02.2016 - 03.2020
- Performed advanced laser procedures.
- Troubleshot technical issues with laser equipment.
- Assessed individual patient needs and treatments goals.
- Performed thorough skin type evaluations before selecting laser settings.
- Ensured safety equipment and eye shields were worn at all times.
- Provided pharmaceutical and aesthetic laser consulting to on-call ophthalmologists and nurse practitioner including reconstitution and safe use of medications.
- Assisted providers with cosmetic laser procedures within the scope of laser training.
- Aesthetic service ended due to COVID 19.
Project Manager and Nutrition Consultant
Medi-Weightloss
1900 N 7th St, West Monroe, LA 71291
11.2013 - 12.2014
- Hired temporarily to assist with the Medi-Weightloss practice start-up at West Monroe Family Clinic.
- Monitored workflow, advertising, and inventory management processes from implementation throughout the first year of operation providing support and interventions.
- Trained staff.
- Monitored lab values.
- Administered shots.
- Performed patient nutrition consults.
- Medi-Weightloss in West Monroe continues to be a thriving practice.
Clinical Staff Pharmacist
Ochsner LSU Health
4864 Jackson St, Monroe, LA 71202
05.2005 - 03.2012
- Analyzed medical histories, medications, and lab data when adjusting regimens based on approved protocols and consultation with the interdisciplinary team.
- Entered and managed medication, fluid and electrolyte, and parenteral nutrition orders.
- Calculated individualized parenteral nutrition, fluid, and electrolyte formulas for patients incorporating age, disease, and unique nutrition requirements.
- Collaborated with attending physician to obtain artesunate from the CDC under an IND for a patient with severe malaria.
- Reduced medication errors by proactively identifying potential drug interactions, contraindications, and dose adjustments.
- Applied disease state guidelines when consulting with physicians and residents making clinical decisions and therapeutic dose adjustments.
- Maintained compliance with regulatory standards through regular audits of sterile compounding practices and rigorous staff training programs.
- Delivered presentations focused on complex topics, such as drug interactions, pharmacokinetics, parenteral nutrition, fluid and electrolyte management, micronutrients, and high-risk medications, to increase staff knowledge and competence.
- Collaborated closely with attending physicians, medical and surgical residents, anesthesia care team, and clinical dietician to establish a nutrition support team.
- Reviewed patient charts to ensure best practices and protocols are followed for anticoagulants, antibiotics, renal adjustments, interactions, and identifying duplicate therapy.
- Reviewed IV medications, schedules, and Y-site junctions to identify potential incompatibility and chemical instability such as precipitation, separation, gas formation, and turbidity.
- Inspected injectable products for particulates.
- Advised on the correct administration of medications during clinical rounds and collaborated with other health professionals to ensure optimal patient care.
- Recommend IV to PO medication conversions.
- Monitored appropriate use and timing of vaccinations.
- Recommend antibiotic changes based on infection site, severity, age, health status, safety, culture results, and MIC.
- Safely handled hazardous and controlled substances.
- Participated in Joint Commission audits.
- Prepared and delivered stat medications to ICU, ER, prison ward, labor and delivery, family practice clinics, surgery, GI lab, and anesthesia.
- Actively participated in clinical rounds.
- Assisted with the training of pharmacy students in advance practice rotation and PGY1 residency.
- Presented monthly nutrition support, fluid, and electrolyte management lectures to medical and surgical residents as well as CRNA students during noon conference.
- Mentored rotating Area Health Education Center (AHEC) students deciding on their healthcare career path.
- Presented with the AHEC “favorite mentor” award
Laboratory Technician
Magnolia Regional Medical Center
101 Hospital Dr, Magnolia, AR 71753
03.1998 - 06.2001
- Maintained a high level of accuracy in test results by following strict quality control procedures.
- Performed venipunctures on all ages under high-stress conditions.
- Collected and processed blood culture specimens after assessing antibiotic history.
- Performed electrocardiograms (ECG).
- Accurately collected and handled samples in appropriate size and color tubes.
- Assisted with the collection of cerebral spinal fluid.
- Processed and inoculated agar Petri plates using precise technique for a variety of samples to determine source of infection.
- Performed prolonged clotting studies such as PT, aPTT, and manually by making small slits in the skin to evaluate time to clot formation.
- Performed disk diffusion tests to determine the susceptibility of bacteria to specific antibiotics.
- Cleaned and sterilized tools and equipment to maximize purity of specimens.
- Operated laboratory equipment such as balances, blood chemistry, hematology, urine, culture, and fecal analyzers, centrifuge, pH meter, colorimeter, pipettes, and autoclave.
- Performed manual CBD differentials, urinalysis, semen and other bodily fluid analysis under a microscope.
- Processed fecal samples for blood and O&P (ova and parasite)
- Performed testing and quality control using approved laboratory procedures and instrumentation.
- Kept laboratory supplies prepared by inventorying stock and documenting for the inventory manager.
- Conducted routine equipment maintenance, ensuring optimal performance and reducing downtime.
- Calibrated and maintained instruments to keep equipment fully operational.
- Prepared reagents and solutions following standard laboratory formulas and procedures.
- Assisted with the training of new laboratory employees.
Education
Pre-Pharmacy Curriculum
Southern Arkansas University
Magnolia, ARDoctor of Pharmacy (PharmD)
University of Louisiana At Monroe
Monroe, LA05-2005
High School Diploma -
Stamps High School
Stamps, AR05-1996
Skills
- Professional Mentorship and Precepting
- Technical and Creative Writing
- Proficient in Tailoring Cannabis Care Plans
- Evaluating and Interpreting Lab Results
- Expertise in Health Informatics
- Optimistic Mindset
- Data Collection and Analysis
- Workflow and Project Management
Timeline
Managed Care Pharmacist
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana
01.2023 - 01.2024
Clinical Cannabis Pharmacist
Delta MedMar
03.2021 - Current
Certified Laser Technician
Haik Humble Eye Center
02.2016 - 03.2020
Project Manager and Nutrition Consultant
Medi-Weightloss
11.2013 - 12.2014
Managed Care Pharmacist
Vantage Health Plan, Inc.
02.2012 - 01.2023
Clinical Staff Pharmacist
Ochsner LSU Health
05.2005 - 03.2012
Laboratory Technician
Magnolia Regional Medical Center
03.1998 - 06.2001
Pre-Pharmacy Curriculum
Southern Arkansas University
Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD)
University of Louisiana At Monroe
High School Diploma -
Stamps High School