Learn more about the duties, practice settings, typical workdays, and educational opportunities, as well as personal advice from pharmacists in this practice area.
What is informatics pharmacy?
Pharmacy informatics is a science, art, and niche of pharmacy practice dedicated to improving health and ensuring the value of the medication use process through health information technology. This happens by the use, integration and dissemination of data, information, knowledge, technology, automation, and utilization of health information technology to ensure that medication use is optimal, safe, and effective for optimal patient care and health outcomes. The pharmacy informaticist serves as a liaison among all departments, areas of care, and stakeholders in care teams, and is an advocate for change.
Where does an informatics pharmacist work?
An informatics pharmacist can work in all areas of pharmacy practice, as pharmacy informatics permeates all areas of pharmacy practice and with the continued growth of technology will continue to become more prominent. ASHP has a number of resources that describe the opportunities in pharmacy informatics: ASHP’s PAI 2030 on the practices and future of informatics, Pharmacy Forecast Publications that discuss trends in pharmacy informatics, and ASHP Informatics Resources for Students. In these student resources, you can find videos and documents describing opportunities for pharmacy informaticists, some of which may not be expected (e.g. research and academia). Also of note is industry, but it is not considered PHARMA; software vendors and automation need pharmacy informaticists too.
What does a typical workday look like?
For an informatics pharmacist, a typical workday may vary depending on the area of practice and role in the setting. Depending on the size of the organization, available systems, and informatics staff, a hospital pharmacy informaticist may have varying roles. These may include but are not limited to the following: interprofessional meetings on unlimited issues, medication safety, clinical appropriateness, technology, automation issues, interoperability, etc.; clinical decision support design, including but not limited to order sets, order sentence builds and maintenance; robotics oversight; inpatient and outpatient technology issues; preparation, computer vision, and administration technology oversight; smart pump management; management of automated dispensing cabinets and other automation in the pharmacy and throughout the hospital; production and analysis of data; participation in medication safety to determine how technology and clinical decision support can improve workflow, patient care, outcomes, and transitions of care; analysis of interoperability between systems, internally and externally; operational issues regarding technology; vendor selection; upgrade or installation preparation, testing, and maintenance; and education of multidisciplinary staff regarding all of the above.
What education and training are needed to pursue an Informatics pharmacy career path?
- Take elective courses in this field offered at your school or college of pharmacy to become familiar with the practice.
- Seek APPE rotations in informatics during your final year of school. If an informatics rotation is not available, contact your school, SSHP, ASHP State Affiliate, or ASHP (students@ashp.org) to help get you connected with a local pharmacy informaticist and learn more.
- You can also obtain a Masters in Health Informatics, for which multitude of programs are available.
What educational opportunities are available for pharmacists in this area?
- ASHP has a Pharmacy Informatics Certificate Program available. Pharmacogenomics is another available program that has informatics components.
- Also available are Webinars on Informatics, free to ASHP members. Click the filter option for Informatics to find them all.
- Additionally, if you are applying for an ASHP-accredited PGY1 or PGY2 Informatics Residency Program, ASHP Informatics Resources for Students has a video on how to choose the right program.
How can I learn more about this career path?
- Join the Section of Pharmacy Informatics and Technology (SOPIT) Community on ASHP Connect. There you will find blog posts, a discussion list, and the ability to sign up to be a mentee.
- There are many pharmacists in this field who are featured in ASHP Member Spotlights.
- The Pharmacy Informatics Primer is a publication from ASHP that has basic fundamentals of informatics practice.
- Good points of contact are the SOPIT Executive Committee members. Any of these leaders can be e-mailed at sections@ashp.org.
- In the spring, consider signing up for a SOPIT Section Advisory Group, work groups that have various projects related to informatics. The site has more information on the career paths that are available.
Member Career Profiles
Anne Bobb
B.S.Pharm, R.Ph.
Clinical Informatics Pharmacist
Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Ron Schneider
B.S.Pharm, MHA
Pharmacist Consultant, Bar Code Resource Office
Department of Veterans Affairs
Dennis Tribble
Pharm.D., R.Ph., FASHP
Chief Pharmacy Officer
Baxa Corporation
