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UnitedHealth Group
Colorado Springs, Colorado

Staff Pharmacist (Per Diem)

PharmacistNo weekendsPer Diem

Compensation

Pay not listed

The week · per this posting · Monday – Friday

Ask the employer about the pay range, the work setting, call expectations and time off.

Posted 1h ago · Verified live

Job Description

Explore opportunities with CPS, part of the Optum family of businesses. We’re dedicated to crafting and delivering innovative hospital and pharmacy solutions for better patient outcomes across the entire continuum of care.

With CPS, you’ll work alongside our team of more than 2,500 pharmacy professionals, technology experts, and industry leaders to drive superior financial, clinical, and operational performance for health systems nationwide. Ready to help shape the future of pharmacy and hospital solutions? Join us and discover the meaning behind Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

The per diem Staff Pharmacist will play a vital role in delivering safe, accurate, and efficient pharmacy services. This is a hands-on opportunity to make a direct impact by ensuring the accuracy of medication orders, verifying technician-prepared products, and safeguarding controlled substances. You’ll contribute to a high-performing team by mentoring new staff, maintaining seamless daily operations, and supporting the Director in optimizing pharmacy performance.

Pharmacy Location: Alpine Vista Behavioral Health in Colorado Springs

Hours of Operation: Monday through Friday 8:00am to 4:00pm

Responsibilities

  • Evaluates physician drug orders for appropriateness with regard to patient condition, organ function, disease state, and concomitant therapies to promote optimal patient outcomes. Includes, collection and interpretation of information regarding patients’ allergies, organ function, drug history, and other information pertinent to drug therapy
  • Processes physician drug orders including, but not limited to, order entry into dispensing computer system, appropriate product selection, labeling and repackaging with completion of appropriate records; delegating product preparation activities to pharmacy technicians when appropriate, within legal limits and hospital policies and procedures
  • Consults with various health care professionals and provides information and guidance concerning drugs and their appropriate use
  • Ensures drugs are reasonably available to patients when needed to avoid delays in therapy and promote positive patient outcomes
  • Comply with departmental and hospital policies and procedures
  • Assist in ensuring drug storage locations are maintained appropriately (e. g., floor stock, automated dispensing systems, surgery carts, emergency carts, 'crash' carts, etc.).
  • Assist in ensuring that pharmacy inventory is maintained at appropriate levels
  • Procures formulary and non-formulary items to provide optimal drug therapy

Required Qualifications

  • ACPE-accredited pharmacy degree (PharmD preferred)
  • Active Indiana state pharmacist license in good standing
  • 1+ years of recent pharmacist experience, (hospital setting preferred)
  • Proven skilled with pharmacy systems and Microsoft Office

Demonstrated ability to review, verify, and dispense medication orders to ensure appropriateness, safety, and accuracy

Demonstrated ability to provide clinical pharmacy services, including medication therapy management and pharmacokinetic dosing and monitoring

Demonstrated ability to collaborate with physicians, nurses, and care teams to optimize medication regimens for hospitalized patients

Demonstrated ability to monitor patient outcomes and medication safety, identifying and preventing adverse drug events

Demonstrated ability to supervise and support pharmacy technicians and interns, ensuring efficient and compliant workflow

Demonstrated ability to ensure regulatory and accreditation compliance, including Joint Commission, state, and federal requirements

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with automated dispensing cabinets

Requirements

Candidates must hold an ACPE-accredited pharmacy degree and an active Indiana state pharmacist license. At least one year of recent hospital pharmacy experience and proficiency with pharmacy systems are required.

Qualifications

Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

Inventory managementRegulatory compliancePatient counselingDrug order verificationTechnician supervision

Pharmacist Career Context

Of the 50 active Pharmacy listings this role was benchmarked against, 54% are remote, 42% have no call, 68% require no weekends.

The cost-of-living index for Colorado is 103.1 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)). 60.9% of Colorado clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

UnitedHealth Group ranks #12 of 13 employers hiring contract/1099 Pharmacist on WeekdayDoc by average advertised pay, and holds silver-tier status on the Top Employers work-life index, composite score 75/100, 1,418 active listings.

Work-Life Balance Analysis

WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Staff Pharmacist (Per Diem) at UnitedHealth Group a 6.4 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as good. This places the position in the top 25% in Pharmacy — ranked against 10,137 active Pharmacy listings on WeekdayDoc. Contributing factors include no weekend requirements.

Top contract/1099 Pharmacist Jobs

38 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution35 jobs · 32 employers

10
<$145k
7
$145k-165k
10
$165k-185k
5
$185k-205k
3
$205k+

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks34 jobs · 32 employers

401k / retirement match
91%
Sign-on bonus
26%
PSLF eligible
6%
Loan repayment
3%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Pharmacist (Full-Time, Day Shift)

Adventist Health · Hanford, California

$75.03-$102.91/hr
#2

Clinical Pharmacist

Option Care Health · Englewood, Colorado

$127k-$211k
#3

Clinical Pharmacist

$60.24-$99.39/hr
#4

Clinical Pharmacist (Formulary & Quality)

$108k-$199k
+ 36 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 2.8this job 6.4
Better work-life than 90% of Pharmacy listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 10,137 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • No weekends

Living in Colorado Springs

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$402k
Typical market rent
$1,740/mo
Residents’ average commute
23 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
100.7
State income tax
Up to 4.4%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Aug 2026), Zillow market rents (Aug 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · Colorado Springs, CO metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

City-level figures. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.