Pharmacy Technician - A Closer Look
In the not so distant past when you walked into a pharmacy
needing to get a prescription filled you would have, in most
instances, found that your prescription was actually filled by
the on duty pharmacists. However, over the past few years a
change has occurred in the pharmacist arena and that change is,
"a pharmacist probably no longer filling your prescriptions".
Although pharmacists are on duty wherever medications are
dispensed; today in most instances, a pharmacy technician or
pharmacy assistant are the ones filling prescriptions.
Pharmacy Technicians and assistants have existed for some time
but their roles have evolved for a variety of reasons.
A big reason is that they help to reduce health care costs
because they get paid much less than a certified pharmacist.
Another important reason is that it simply makes sense. Pharmacy
technicians and assistants are trained to handle routine work
(fill prescriptions and customer service), which frees up the
pharmacists to focus more of their time on supervisory duties,
as well as patient care.
Melissa Murer, Executive Director of the Pharmacy Technician
Certification Board, put it this way, "Pharmacists are becoming
more focused on patient care, so pharmacy technicians are needed
to perform more of the distributive functions."
In this brief (but hopefully informative article) I attempt to
demonstrate what pharmacy technician and assistants do and where
they do it.
In general, they assist licensed pharmacists in providing
medication and health care to patients by preparing and filling
prescriptions and performing clerical tasks. Duties are similar
but pharmacy technicians generally have more responsibilities.
In addition, technicians and assistants are required to be
closely supervised by a licensened pharmacist, although the laws
defining what "being supervised" entails, varies by state.
In addition to having all of their prescriptions checked by a
pharmacist, technicians and assistants must also direct all
patient questions regarding drug information, health matters or
prescriptions to the pharmacist.
Pharmacy Technicians
Technicians follow specific procedures when filling
prescriptions. After receiving an initial prescription or refill
request, they must verify that the prescription information is
accurate and then count, pour, retrieve, weigh, measure and if
necessary, mix the required medication for the prescription. The
next step is to prepare and affix the labels to the proper
container. After filling the prescription the technician will
then price and file it. Another important aspect of a
technician's job is to prepare patient insurance forms and
establish and maintain patient profiles.
In retail pharmacies, technicians will also stock and take
inventory of medications (both prescription and
over-the-counter) maintain equipment and help manage the till.
In many hospitals, technicians have the responsibility to read
the doctors orders from a patients' chart, prepare and then
deliver the medication after it's been checked by a pharmacist.
They may also enter information about patients' medical records
(regarding their medications) or put together a supply (normally
24 hours) of medicine for patients, including the labeling and
packaging of each dose. But just like technicians working in a
retail pharmacy, each package is checked by the supervising
pharmacist before being given to a patient and they also
maintain inventories of medicine and other supplies.
Pharmacy Assistants
Duties are similar to pharmacy technicians and while hospitals
and pharmacies employ pharmacy assistants, the number of
available positions is generally less than technicians. In
retail pharmacies they work as clerks or cashiers, answer
phones, handle money and perform clerical duties. In hospitals
they also deliver medications and assist in stocking shelves.
Pharmacy technicians and assistants work in clean well-organized
areas but are required to spend most of their workday on their
feet. And because more and more pharmacies are open 24-hours a
day work hours can vary with technicians and assistants are
often required to work odds hours (nights, evenings and
weekends). Therefore, there are many opportunities to work
part-time in 24-hour pharmacies. In addition, a percentage of
both technicians and assistants work part time because they are
studying to become pharmacists.
States have traditionally required a one-to-one ratio of
pharmacist to technician but that is also expected to change.
Mark Boesen, Director of Government and Student Affairs for the
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, has stated that:
"Many of the major employers of technicians are expanding the
number of their facilities and boards of pharmacy in some States
are allowing the legal ratio of technicians to pharmacists to
expand. This is a very promising field to work in."
An increasing demand for technicians with greater responsibility
has prompted some States to revise their one-to-one ratio of
pharmacist to technician to two or three technicians per
pharmacist.
As pharmacy technicians take on more and more tasks previously
performed by pharmacists, they must also learn and master new
technology. A good example is the increased use (by many
pharmacies) of robotic machines to dispense medicines.
Technicians will be required to oversee the machine, stock bins
and label containers.
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