Varun Chakravarthy
Chicago,IL
Summary
Trustworthy and hardworking pharmacist focused on helping, educating, and coordinating care for patients dealing with complex disease states and complicated medication regimens, specializing in Oncology and Hematology. Exceptional relationship-building, communication, and team leadership skills gained during 4-year career in the field. Dedicated to identifying patient needs and delivering effective solutions while working towards the mission of a health system or company.
Overview
5
5
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Oncology/Hematology Pharmacist
Indiana University Health Simon Cancer Center
09.2021 - Current
- Manage over 500 oncology/hematology patients by communicating with KOLs, including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other members of the oncology team to ensure patients diagnosed with cancer are educated and properly administered their chemotherapy regimens while monitoring for side effects and therapy changes to produce positive patient outcomes
- Primarily focused on oral chemotherapy, specializing prior authorizations, patient assistance foundations, and counseling patient on their regimen and providing recommendations and monitoring parameters
- Assisted in the development of policies and procedures related to pharmacy operations, promoting compliance with legal regulations and best practices.
- Complete Proactive Risk Assessments (PRA) for new oncology/hematology medications and present to and educate members of the oncology/hematology P&T committee
- Mentored and trained new pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, fostering a supportive work environment focused on professional growth.
- Precept PGY1 community pharmacy resident as the main pharmacist during the oncology block and act as a special counsel for them to reach out and ask questions about how to make the most out of their residency
- Emerging Leaders Program – nominated by health-system leadership, completed a competitive six-month program designed to develop hard and soft leadership skills in team members who have demonstrated leadership across many planes.
Specialty Pharmacist
Walgreens Co.
07.2020 - Current
- Work between 5 different stores, 3 health system pharmacies (within Community Hospital System) and 2 community specialty pharmacies
- Coordinate care for patients with Oncology, Transplant, Hepatitis C, HIV, CID, and other various specialty disease state medications, including counseling on newly initiated regimens, reporting, and guiding side effect management, and facilitating in proper administration with medications and usage of medical devices
- Submit prior authorizations by evaluating chart notes, lab values, and previously tried/failed therapies and communicating with insurance companies directly to streamline the process
- Utilize patient assistance foundations to allow patients to continue taking lifesaving medications without having to worry about copays and other financial roadblocks
- Collaborated with healthcare providers to optimize drug therapy regimens, reducing the risk of adverse effects
- Complete patient management and compliance audits to stay up to standards necessary for accreditation by URAC (Utilization Review Accreditation Commission).
PGY-1 Community Pharmacy Resident
Walgreens Co. & Sullivan University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
06.2019 - 06.2020
- Worked between 3 different facilities: Walgreens Retail, Walgreens Specialty, Sullivan University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
- Managed staff in fulfilling tasks and completing more than 3,100 prescriptions weekly
- Organized over 20 flu clinics and health fairs and administered over 1000 flu vaccines
- Completed weekly audits to ensure management of patient profiles and regimen are proper and thorough
- Collaborated with physicians by visiting offices and discussed strategies to enhance patient care and utilize all the services we provide
- Assisted in transition of care for over 200 transplant patients from various specialty pharmacy closings
- Precepted students and coordinated with pharmacists at various pharmacies around Louisville to expose students to patient interactions and instill confidence upon graduation
- Year-long Quality Improvement Projects
- Increase patient adherence and safety by working with staff to improve return-to-stock (RTS) quality measure
- Incorporate medication therapy management (MTM) services into specialty pharmacy workflow.
Education
PGY-1 Community Pharmacy Residency -
Walgreens Co. & Sullivan University College of Pharmacy
Louisville, United States06.2020
Doctor of Pharmacy -
University of Health Sciences And Pharmacy in St. Louis
Saint Louis, United States05.2019
Skills
- Process Improvements
- Pharmacy operations management
- Patient Counseling
- Regulatory Compliance
- Documentation skills
- Medication Therapy Management
- Pharmacy Preceptor Mentoring
- Staff Training and Development
Certification
- Registered Pharmacist, Illinois Board of Pharmacy, 08/2023, Present
- Certified Celgene REMS Counselor, 07/2020, Present
- APhA Mental Health First Aid Certification, 02/2020, Present
- Registered Pharmacist, Indiana Board of Pharmacy, 08/2019, Present
- Registered Pharmacist, Kentucky Board of Pharmacy, 07/2019, Present
- APhA Pharmacist-Based Immunization Delivery, 08/2016, Present
- Basic Life Support for Healthcare Provider, American Heart Association, 04/2014, Present
Community Outreach Events
- Pro-Skills Basketball (PSB) Indianapolis, 03/2022, Present, Coach, Indianapolis, IN
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, 02/2022, Present, Committee Member
- Service-Learning Project, 08/2019, 11/2019, Coordinator
Research
Pharmacist Preparedness to Provide Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) for HIV, 06/2019, 06/2020, Walgreens Pharmacy and Sullivan University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Julie Burris, Pharm D; Faith Childress, Pharm D., Primary Researcher
Awards
- MTM Success Award, 12/2020, Walgreens Co.
- NAIA Division I Scholar Athlete, 2014, 2015, 2016, Basketball
- Eagle Scout, 04/2007, Boy Scouts of America
Work Availability
monday
tuesday
wednesday
thursday
friday
saturday
sunday
morning
afternoon
evening
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Timeline
Oncology/Hematology Pharmacist
Indiana University Health Simon Cancer Center
09.2021 - Current
Specialty Pharmacist
Walgreens Co.
07.2020 - Current
PGY-1 Community Pharmacy Resident
Walgreens Co. & Sullivan University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
06.2019 - 06.2020
PGY-1 Community Pharmacy Residency -
Walgreens Co. & Sullivan University College of Pharmacy
Doctor of Pharmacy -
University of Health Sciences And Pharmacy in St. Louis