KAISER PERMANENTE MAS REGIONAL PHARMACY MISSION STATEMENT:
Through integrated services and collaborative efforts, we are committed to provide high-quality pharmaceutical care that ensures optimal therapeutic outcomes. We share the commitment to deliver health care in a professional, responsible and efficient manner that demonstrates value, achieves customer satisfaction, and improves the overall health of the community.
Clinical Pharmacy Anticoagulation Service
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Two centralized services currently located in Northern Virginia and Kensington, Maryland that monitors over 4500 patients requiring anticoagulation therapy.
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Support practitioners in the routine monitoring of patients and ensuring the optimal use of warfarin.
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Increase the knowledge base of patients regarding vitamin K intake, as well as potential drug, herbal, and alternative medication interactions with warfarin and other anticoagulants
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Educate patients on self-monitoring for signs and symptoms of bleeding and thrombosis.
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Reinforce and monitor medication adherence.
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Avoid medication related adverse events.
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Demonstrate the cost avoidance associated with urgent care, ER, and hospitalizations of patients followed by the warfarin service.
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Perform ongoing quality improvement assessments and activities.
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Manage interruptions of warfarin therapy for surgeries and medical procedures.
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Coordinate low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) management with Transitional Care Team.
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17 staff members.
Clinical Pharmacy Cardiovascular Services
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Cardiology/Heart Failure clinical pharmacy specialist works with a multidisciplinary team of nurses and doctors who assess patients and provide appropriate drug therapy recommendations.
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Provides regional heart failure education to providers, patients, and staff at medical centers throughout the region.
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Coordinates activities of the Primary Care Clinical Pharmacy Specialists and Clinical Pharmacists managing patients in the Cardiac Risk Reduction Service.
Regional Clinical Pharmacy Call Center
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The KPMAS Regional Clinical Pharmacy Call Center (CPCC) is currently located at the Burke
Medical Center in Northern Virginia.
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CPCC currently has 3 full-time clinical pharmacists —one coordinator, one clinical pharmacy specialist, and one clinical pharmacist with the potential to grow over the next several years.
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This regional service provides assistance to members enrolled in the KPMAS region which includes southern Maryland, the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia.
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The focus of CPCC is on maintaining the integrity of the drug formulary while fulfilling new and existin g members’ pharmacy needs. CPCC works closely with primary care providers, pharmacists (both clinical and operational) and other KPMAS services, including, but not limited to nursing case managers, the Elder Care group, membership services, medical advice call center.
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CPCC is moving toward its goal of providing assistance to all new members with their pharmacy needs and facilitating the transfer of pharmacy care into the KPMAS Health Plan.
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CPCC currently provides regional support for drug use initiatives through outbound calls to members and is working with Medicare Part D members affected by formulary changes.
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Future projects include establishing an inbound telephonic service to address memb ers’ drugrelated questions, identifying appropriate and cost-effective alternatives to current medication regimens, and providing medication reconciliation for members discharged from skilled nursing facilities back to primary care.
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CPCC works closely with the Regional Patient Safety and Quality Coordinator to maintain quality standards, including peer-review evaluations of provider notes and adverse event reporting.

Clinical Pharmacy Specialty Services
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Drug Information/Drug Education
The Drug Education Coordinator (DEC) works with plan pharmacists and physicians to facilitate wide distribution of educational programs and materials related to drug utilization initiatives, new drug updates and other requested educational needs. The DEC also works with local P&T committee co-chairs in development of drug monographs for presentation to the P&T committee.
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Nephrology
Clinical pharmacist manages chronic kidney disease patients in a hematopoietic growth factor service, and also works with pharmacists, physicians, nurses, and case managers to provide recommendations for appropriate drug therapy in patients with renal dysfunction.
Primary Care Clinical Pharmacy Services
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Clinical pharmacy staff collaborate with providers, nurses, clinical pharmacists in pharmacy operations, and other health care professionals to provide routine support for drug-related issues and education within the primary care clinics in all medical offices that provide primary care services to patients.
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Assist patients, providers, and medical office staff with drug therapy management, drug information requests, quality initiatives involving drug therapy, drug affordability issues, and identification and resolution of drug-related problems or concerns.
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Clinical pharmacy staff support disease-specific clinics within primary care, such as diabetes and cardiac risk reduction.
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Clinical pharmacy staff provide eligible Medicare members with Medication Therapy Management services as provisioned by the Medicare Modernization Medical Act of 2006.
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Serve as local contacts for centralized clinical services, such as anticoagulation and nephrology.
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22 staff members [includes 3 primary care supervisors].
Transitional Care Clinical Pharmacy Services
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Hospital and skilled nursing facility (SNF) based and trained clinical pharmacists round and collaborate with our multidisciplinary health care team located at our contracted core facilities to help optimize drug-related therapies for our plan members.
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Facilitating earlier discharges while maintaining patient safety and quality during the transitional care period where up to 80% of medication errors can occur.
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Clinical pharmacy services: nutrition consult, antimicrobial consult, pain management consult, geriatric consult, anticoagulation consult, drug information, pharmacokinetics, formulary conversion, patient education, and management of critical care patients.
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Provide educational in-services and updates for our multidisciplinary health care team.
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Management of enoxaparin bridging of acute care and ambulatory patients.
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Area of coverage: 4 core hospitals (300+ patients), 14 SNFs (200+ patients), 33 centers (200+ patients for enoxaparin bridging).
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10 staff members.
PGY1 ASHP Accredited Managed Care Residency Program
2 Residents
For more information about Clinical Pharmacy Services at Kaiser Permanente and employment opportunities please contact:
Patty A. Greene, PharmD, via email at patty.a.greene@kp.org
or at 301-618-5691
Sheireen Huang, PharmD, via email at sheireen.k.huang@kp.org
or at 703-249-7856
Rose Valino-Castro, PharmD, BCPS, via email at rose.valino-castro@kp.org
or at 443-663-6280
Neal Huang, PharmD, via email at neal.s.huang@kp.org
or at 703-531-2426
Donald K. Yee, PharmD, via email at donald.k.yee@kp.org
or at 301-754-7126