Epic Pharmacy Informatics Consultant

[@TheIronKurtin]

Great video, thanks for the all the info. About compensation, Brian mentioned he's experienced salaries that range from $40-100/hr, which is great. My question is, what do these salaries translate into Annually. Its great if you make $60/hr but if you're only working 1000 hours a year as a consultant (full time = 2080 hrs/year), then its not as attractive. Thanks in advance

[@briankfung]

Hey Kurt! That’s a very excellent question. Let me first start by saying I’ve never been a consultant, but have worked with hundreds of them in this industry thus far. One of the things that bother me about consultant work is that it’s typically contract based for X amount of duration. These range from as short as a few weeks/months (usually to support a golive/training/short build session) to 1-3 years (project implementations). The amount translates to the contract you receive, but obviously differs depending on duration you sign for. One key thing to note, consultants typically get paid a lot higher than your full time employees because consultant pay typically covers your “benefits” as well - including health insurance, retirement plans, and PTO. Thus, a benefits package, which is typically worth 20% of your compensation, should be evaluated when looking at pay. From having hired a few consultants now, I find that their contracts are all over the place, so not a great answer here. Credibility and word of mouth go a long way to securing good contracts and good work keeps you extended or potentially hired full time. I hope that kind of helps!

[@RozuHime]

Great interview. It’s interesting that he’s not a pharmacist. Also interesting is that my mom just had surgery in a hospital that uses Epic, and now you uploaded an interview with a consultant for Epic. 👍🏼

[@briankfung]

Oh man, I hope your mom is okay and that her surgery went well! I don't have a good grasp on actual stats or numbers, but anecdotally speaking, I feel as though there are way more non-pharmacists than pharmacists in pharmacy informatics consulting roles. Again, very anecdotally speaking, I think the trend is shifting in the opposite direction. I take it you guys don't use Epic where you work?

[@RozuHime]

I work in retail. My knowledge on Pharmacy Informatics is very limited. 😅 My mom is recovering slowly but surely. Thank you!

[@briankfung]

surgery is always a scary thing, glad to hear she's recovering though. Also, you should consider joining the dark side (i.e. informatics) :). I told Kevin this before, but I tend to find that the skills you gain in retail translate nicely into informatics.

[@RozuHime]

Yes I’m considering it. I want to learn Epic! Some people here seem to be having trouble with it, even doctors. We’re still in the hospital. My mom’s night nurse last night is an Epic trainer. That’s her full time job, and nurse is her part time.

[@briankfung]

I'm sure she's glad to have you by her side. Let me know if you ever want to chat about it - the beauty of informatics is that we wield the opportunity to make these electronic health records easier and more intuitive to use for all clinicians allowing them to spend more time with patients and less on the CPU. Also, it's becoming more common nowadays for those in informatics to also practice. Though, it sounds like that nurse has dual jobs..?

[@yangwekesa3818]

Currently pursuing a mater's in Health informatics with an undergraduate in HIM....is this a good combination to move into healthcare IT? All cristism is welcome

[@Yetus]

Yes, this is a great a field with what you've studied and a field that is extremely lucrative -- if done correctly. However, it will be difficult at this time (year 2020) for you to get an Epic Analyst/Consultant/Informaticist position without any experience. No one hires entry level onto these positions, and if they do, they require an Epic certification in 1 (but probably 2 or 3) Epic Modules. Entry level would've been possible in the early days when Epic was first launching around the world, but now with so many locations using Epic and so many analysts with experience its very unlikely unless you have some sort of connection (take for example the white guy in video -- no Epic experience but his mother is a physician/he already lived in Wisconsin where Epic is headquartered). It is very possible for you to (eventually) get an Epic position with any of the organizations all around the globe, if you put in the work. However, to get one of these Epic positions you'll most likely have to get another position that would give you the opportunity to get Epic certified (these are usually Epic Help Desk positions or entry level HIM).Certification can only be obtained through healthcare organization sponsorship, *you cannot get the certification on your own.* Of course, you can always try and apply to Analyst positions, but your resume/application won't even make it past HR/screening to the manager without a certification and Epic building (text) experience (I say this because I used to hire analysts). Also, you can't just be a Consultant.. employers/contracts require 5+ years of building experience as an Analyst or Engineer, I am unsure of Informaticists.

[@briankfung]

Thanks for the question Yang. Henry has a fantastic response below and I would agree. Additionally, I answered your question in my livestream as well if you wanted to check it out: Weekly Livestream Q&A kzbin.info/www/bejne/moKogX2vp52KsKM

[@aclinicalpharmacistslife-m7525]

Hi I wish to know how can we make a drug master for combination product that would allow it to search both drug

[@briankfung]

Hi Muhammad! I’m not sure I understand your question. Could you rephrase?

[@aclinicalpharmacistslife-m7525]

Brian Fung Thank you for your inform. My question is relating combination products such as metformin + sitagliptin. I am not sure how drug profile or Drug Master is prepared in Epic.

[@briankfung]

Hi Muhammad! I'm unfortunately not allowed to share information pertaining to Epic build publicly as it's all proprietary information. If you have access to Epic, I would encourage you to post this question on the Epic userweb forums.

[@aclinicalpharmacistslife-m7525]

Brian Fung Unfortunately we dont have epic. We have an in built system. In this system we are having issues regarding combination products . We cannot develop master data of. combination as online one generic is allowed. Irrespective of Epic if you can guide us how we can solve this issue

[@briankfung]

I probably can’t assist without a more intimate knowledge of your system. I also can’t really share how Epic handles this as it’s proprietary information. I’d suggest looking at some online forums potentially for a solution? Sorry not more help here