A pharmacy technician, also sometimes known as a pharmaceutical technician, is a health care worker who performs pharmacy related functions, generally working under the direct supervision of a licensed pharmacist or other health professional. Pharmacy technicians work in a variety of locations, usually in community/retail and hospital pharmacies but also sometimes in long-term care facilities, pharmaceutical manufacturers, third-party insurance companies, computer software companies, or in government or teaching. Job duties include dispensing prescription drugs and other medical devices to patients and instructing on their use. They may also perform administrative duties in pharmaceutical practice, such as reviewing prescription requests with doctor's offices and insurance companies to ensure correct medications are provided and payment is received. In recent times, they also speak directly with the patients on the phone to aid in the awareness of taking medications on time.[1][2][3][4]
In many countries, both developed and developing, the relative importance of pharmacy technicians within the pharmacy workforce has been amplified in recent years, largely as a reaction to pharmacist shortages, resulting in an increase in their numbers and responsibilities.[5]
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Pharmacy Technicians do a variety of tasks associated with preparing and dispensing prescribed medications for patients, but may also perform compounding of medications, provide advice for non-prescription medications, inventory and track medication and supply orders, and follow up on payments and other administrative tasks. Depending on the nature and organization of the health care system, in particular the availability of licensed pharmacists and other support staff (such as general pharmacy aides), pharmacy technicians may counsel patients on the proper use of medications, oversee the operational management of the dispensary and/or perform routine clerical duties.
The professional requirements to become a Pharmacy Technician vary across jurisdictions, but generally entail knowledge and skills in pharmaceutical services as obtained through formal training.[2][3] Generally, completion of high school is needed to be eligible to become a pharmacy technician, but a university degree is not required. Pharmacy technician training programs are mostly offered by technical colleges and community colleges, and also sometimes by the military, some hospitals, proprietary schools, or through online or distant learning (correspondence schools). Areas of study may include relevant laws, pharmacy and healthcare ethics, retail and hospital pharmacy practice, medical terminology, human physiology and diseases, alternative medicine, pharmacotherapeutics, customer care, retail and hospital software systems, inventory management, and infection control.[4][6]
Practical training, such as completing an internship in a pharmacy, is also often required as part of training for employment as a pharmacy technician.[4][7]
Many employers favour pharmacy technicians to be certified with a national/local pharmacy board, such as by passing a standard exam and/or paying a fee. In the United States, voluntary certification is available through many private organizations.[2] Elsewhere, such as in Tanzania and the United Kingdom, pharmacy technicians are required to be registered with the national regulatory council.
In Canada, according to a 2007 profile of the pharmacy technician workforce, 43% of technicians work in hospitals and other related facilities, 37% in chain or franchise community pharmacies, and 16% in independent community pharmacies.[8] Most (62%) obtained pharmacy technician training from a career college or community college, some (16%) had only a high school education and no formal pharmacy training, while about 20% had some university education. A very small proportion (2%) had trained and worked abroad as either pharmacists or pharmacy technicians. The wide range of technical training and educational attainment likely reflects in part the variety of training programs for pharmacy technicians currently available in the different provinces and territories of the country.[8] Accredited Pharmacy Technician diploma, certificate and college programs are offered in the Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan.[9]
In provinces and jurisdictions where pharmacy technician is a regulated health profession, professional liability insurance is required in order to practice.[10]
In Ghana, a 2009 assessment of pharmaceutical human resources identified a total of 1,637 practicing pharmacists (1 per 14,400 population), 918 practising pharmacy Technicians/Technologists (1 per 25,600), and 1,642 medicine counter assistants (1 per 14,300). Nearly half (45%) of pharmacies and pharmaceutical manufacturers across the country reported having one or more vacancies for pharmaceutical personnel, including 82% of public sector facilities.[11]
In the area of training, the assessment identified only one pharmacy technologists training school in the country (enrolling 70 students in the Higher National Diploma program).[11]
Tanzania has two Pharmaceutical Technician schools: one is a public sector institution under the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and accredited by Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, and the other is affiliated with a faith based organization located in Kilimanjaro which offers diploma training. The practice of pharmaceutical technicians is regulated by Tanzania Pharmacy Council, which enrols and enlists them. The country has 0.11 registered pharmacy technicians per 10,000 population.[12]
The main job duties of pharmaceutical technicians include dispensing, stock management, compounding, quantification of pharmaceutical formulations, and laboratory work. In some areas of the country facing acute shortage of physicians and other clinicians, pharmacy technicians have also been found prescribing.[12]
In the United Kingdom, a Pharmacy Technician must complete a recognised accredited training program with vocational training to NVQ 3 level as well as an academic underpinning knowledge program such as BTEC. In addition a minimum period of time of working as a trainee Pharmacy Technician is needed before final qualification. Pharmacy Technicians are qualified to counsel patients on their medication as well as general dispensing of prescriptions. This is different to a Pharmacy Dispenser who is qualified to NVQ2 level and is unable to provide counselling. Additional training is available to qualified Pharmacy Technicians and can include accuracy checking of dispensed prescriptions, Medicines Management (Hospital or PCT), participation in the running of hospital clinics such as anticoagulant clinics, dosing Warfarin patients under dose banding guidance. or other higher duties traditionally done by Pharmacists.
In the National Health Service Pharmacy Technicians always work under the supervision of a qualified Pharmacist even if not in a dispensary and work mainly in one of two areas, hospital pharmacy and community pharmacy.[13] Some also work in Doctors' general practices and in primary care trusts.
In England, Scotland and Wales, since 1st July 2011, qualified Pharmacy Technicians have to be registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (formerly the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain) to practise and call themselves a Pharmacy Technician. The title 'Technician' such as Pharmacy Technician, Dispensing Technician and/or (Accredited) Checking Technician (ACT) is a protected title and requires the user to register with the General Pharmaceutical Council. A Pharmacy Dispenser cannot call themselves or work as a Technician or register with the General Pharmaceutical Council.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 75% of pharmacy technicians in the U.S. work in a retail setting[2], such as an independently owned drugstore, a mass retailer chain, or a mail-order or online pharmacy. An additional 16% of pharmacy technician jobs were in hospitals[2], while others worked for nursing homes, pharmaceutical wholesalers, or the Federal Government.
CPhT is the abbreviation for Certified Pharmacy Technician. The CPhT works directly under an R.Ph. (Registered Pharmacist, which currently requires a Pharm.D., or Doctor of Pharmacy). The profession has different educational and certification requirements in different locales, set by each state's Board of Pharmacy. For example, in order to remain licensed, all Illinois pharmacy technicians hired on Jan 1, 2008 (and after) will need to be certified within 2 years of registration with the Division of Professional Regulation.[14]
After obtaining technical school education, an associate degree, or work training, the technician may take a certification exam. Examinations are offered by two certifying bodies. The first is the Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam (PTCE), which is offered by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB). The second is the Exam for the Certification of Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT) offered by the Institute for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians (ICPT). Upon successful completion of the examination, the candidate is granted certification. The technician must then complete continuing education to maintain certification.
There are many scopes of the workplace for the Certified Pharmacy Technician. In a retail setting, a CPhT works under the direct supervision of a pharmacist who dispenses prescription medication (tablets, capsules, gels, ointment, creams, suspensions, injections, and inhalation medications), and must be familiar with over-the-counter areas as well as third party insurance billing processes. In an inpatient setting, the CPhT works throughout the hospital, packing and dispensing medications in satellite pharmacies and to the various nursing units; compounding intravenous medication while using aseptic technique; narcotic medication dispensing and inventorial procedures; as well as documenting patients' weight, height, drug allergies and other needed information in medication records.
Pharmacy Technicians are trained at Harare Polytechnic. Students graduate with a diploma after three years of training. The program is run by the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare of Zimbabwe. There is an intake of about 35 students each year.
A resource on Pharmacy Technician Career and Job Details. A Technician Schools Directory.