Pharmacy Technician Responsibilities and Certification
Professional Demeanor in Pharmacy
- Importance of maintaining a professional attitude while working in a pharmacy environment
- Avoid engaging in gossip or distractions (e.g., social media) during work hours.
Roles of Pharmacy Technicians
- Two main categories of duties:
- Operational Duties
- Assisting pharmacists in daily operations
- Creating and maintaining patient profiles
- Managing inventory (similar to an inventory specialist)
- Handling insurance and third-party billing
- Patient-Centered Duties
- Referring clinical questions to pharmacists
- Preparing and delivering medications for nursing stations
- Unique dosing (breaking down multi-dose packs into single doses)
- Compounding medications (if certified) for specific patient needs
- Two main categories of duties:
Pharmacy Contexts
- Ambulatory (Retail) Pharmacy:
- Involves community-based pharmacist support
- Health System (Institutional) Pharmacy:
- Involves hospital pharmacy responsibilities
- Longer patient stays, direct medication administration
- Ambulatory (Retail) Pharmacy:
Distinction Between Pharmacy Technicians and Pharmacists
- Pharmacists: Held to a higher legal and professional standard, engage in clinical care:
- Dispensing and managing medications
- Providing patient counseling (not a technician’s duty)
- Conducting drug utilization reviews (checking for interactions, allergies, etc.)
- Technicians: Primarily responsible for operational and administrative tasks:
- Preparing, labeling, and dispensing medications
- Answering basic customer inquiries
- Processing prescriptions, providing logistical support at the pharmacy
- Pharmacists: Held to a higher legal and professional standard, engage in clinical care:
Certification for Pharmacy Technicians
- A necessary step to ensure competency and up-to-date knowledge
- Two primary certifications:
- NHA (National Healthcareer Association)
- Recognized in 39 states; check state requirements
- PTCB (Pharmacy Technician Certification Board)
- Recognized in all 50 states
- NHA (National Healthcareer Association)
- Both certifications require recertification every two years through continuing education
- Continuing education options can be found through employers
Handling Specialty Drugs
- Additional certifications exist for specific areas such as sterile compounding
- Handling oncology drugs doesn't require a different license but may require additional certification
- Additional certifications exist for specific areas such as sterile compounding
Understanding Prescription Processing
- Clinical Responsibilities:
- Only pharmacists are allowed to provide clinical advice or counsel patients about medications
- Technicians may take refills but must understand their scope of practice
- Taking Telephone Prescriptions:
- Rules vary by state - technicians generally do not take new prescriptions over the phone, but some states allow it for refills without changes
- Clinical Responsibilities:
Pharmacological Terminology
- Familiarization with prefixes, roots, and suffixes of medical terms
- Example: Pathologic = patho (disease) + logy (study) = Study of Disease
- Understanding of this terminology aids in interpreting and addressing medication-related questions
- Familiarization with prefixes, roots, and suffixes of medical terms
Study Tips:
- Focus on memorizing abbreviations and specific terms related to pharmacology
- Understanding parts of medical terminology will assist in answering exam questions