Director Pharmacy Medication Safety Officer

Job Requirements

Provides leadership for the development and execution of medication safety strategy across the organization. Directs enterprise efforts to identify, mitigate, and prevent medication-related harm through proactive risk assessment, data-driven quality improvement, and advancement of safe medication-use systems. Partners with clinical, operational, informatics, and leaders to establish medication safety standards, drive regulatory compliance, strengthen a culture of safety, and support high-reliability practices. Leads the analysis of medication safety events and trends, oversees implementation of corrective and preventive actions, and champions the integration of technology and clinical decision support to improve patient outcomes across the health system.

Primary Responsibilities

The following statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all job responsibilities performed.

• Lead the development, implementation, and evaluation of system-wide medication safety strategies, goals, and initiatives to advance safe medication use and reduce patient harm across UMMS.
• Provide enterprise leadership for medication safety programs, including oversight of medication error reporting, adverse drug event (ADE) prevention, near-miss analysis, and risk-reduction activities.
• Analyze medication safety data, trends, and performance metrics to identify emerging risks, prioritize improvement opportunities, and drive evidence-based interventions.
• Collaborate with pharmacy, nursing, medical staff, quality, patient safety, informatics, and operational leaders to improve medication-use systems and promote optimal patient outcomes.
• Establish, standardize, and maintain system-wide medication safety policies, procedures, best practices, and governance processes.
• Ensure compliance with applicable regulatory, accreditation, and patient safety standards, including medication management requirements established by regulatory and accrediting agencies.
• Lead and facilitate root cause analyses (RCA), failure mode and effects analyses (FMEA), and other risk assessment activities to identify system vulnerabilities and implement sustainable corrective and preventive actions.
• Partner with clinical informatics and operational leaders to optimize medication-use technology, clinical decision support tools, automation, and electronic health record functionality to enhance patient safety.
• Promote a high-reliability culture by fostering transparent reporting, shared learning, accountability, and continuous improvement throughout the medication-use process.
• Provide expert consultation, education, and mentorship to pharmacists, providers, nurses, and other healthcare professionals on medication safety principles, practices, and emerging risks.
• Represent pharmacy medication safety on system committees, interdisciplinary workgroups, and external professional or regulatory forums as appropriate.
• Monitor, benchmark, and report medication safety performance outcomes and lead strategic quality improvement initiatives to achieve organizational goals.
• Perform all other duties as assigned.

Work Experience

Education & Experience - Required

• Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree required, or Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from an accredited school of pharmacy obtained prior to 2003, or foreign equivalent.
• Current pharmacist licensure in the State of Maryland, or eligibility to obtain Maryland pharmacist licensure within 1 year following hire.
• Completion of an ASHP-accredited PGY1 Pharmacy Residency.
• Minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible pharmacy leadership experience, including experience leading medication safety, quality, patient safety, regulatory, or clinical practice initiatives.
• Demonstrated expertise in medication safety, adverse drug event prevention, medication-use systems, and patient safety principles.

Education & Experience - Preferred

• PGY2 residency in Medication-Use Safety, Health-System Pharmacy Administration, or a related specialty.
• Board certification through the Board of Pharmacy Specialties (e.g., BCPS).
• Lean Six Sigma certification or demonstrated experience utilizing quality improvement methodologies.
• Experience leading medication safety, patient safety, or quality programs across multiple hospitals or healthcare entities.
• Demonstrated expertise in medication-use technology, clinical decision support, pharmacy informatics, and automation systems.
• Active participation in professional medication safety or pharmacy organizations and a record of scholarly or professional contributions.