| rmacy technician is a pharmacy staff member who | | | | were employed in hospitals, while a small portion |
| works under the direct supervision of a licensed | | | | worked in mail-order or Internet pharmacies, clinics, |
| pharmacist and performs many pharmacy-related | | | | pharmaceutical wholesalers, or for the Federal |
| functions. Some of the job duties include providing | | | | Government. The balance in the UK is of a similar. |
| medication and other health care products to | | | | Responsibilities of a pharmacy technician differ |
| patients, performing routine tasks associated with | | | | depending on location. Although virtually all report |
| preparing prescribed medication and many do the | | | | directly the supervising pharmacist, in some |
| manual labor component of providing drugs to | | | | operations, they may also have some supervisory |
| patients. | | | | responsibilities themselves by managing assistants and |
| In the past, most pharmacy technicians had only | | | | / or pharmacy aides. Other responsibilities include |
| on-the-job training but today, many employers favor | | | | answering telephone calls, handling money, stocking |
| those who have completed a formal training and | | | | shelves and computer data entry. |
| certification process. The Pharmacy Technician | | | | Pharmacy technicians who work in hospitals, nursing |
| Certification Board oversees the certification process | | | | homes or assisted-living-type facilities may have |
| and those pharmacy technician wannabes that earn | | | | additional responsibilities like reading patient charts in |
| certification receive the professional title Certified | | | | conjunction with prescriptions. After approval from |
| Pharmacy Technician or CPHT follow their name. This | | | | the attending physician or pharmacist they would |
| type of training program is usually offered by the | | | | then deliver the medicine to a nurse, who in turn, |
| military, some hospitals, proprietary schools, | | | | administers it to the patient. |
| vocational or technical colleges, and community | | | | Pharmacy technicians may also be responsible for |
| colleges. Even as little as 4 or 5 years ago there | | | | managing robotic organizational systems that stock |
| were no US federal (and few state) laws making it | | | | and organize 24-hour supplies of medicine for every |
| mandatory for pharmacy technicians to meet this | | | | patient in a health care facility. They may also |
| qualifying standard. However, some non-federal | | | | package and label each dose of medication |
| jurisdictions do require licensing such as the state of | | | | separately, either by hand or with packaging |
| Virginia. | | | | machines. These packages are then coordinated with |
| In the United Kingdom and many other countries, | | | | a computer using bar codes and make it possible to |
| there are accredited programs which pharmacy | | | | automate pharmacy-side drug delivery: a package |
| technicians must complete. In the UK this is | | | | labeled by name, dose and expiration is cataloged in a |
| composed of an on the job qualification, known as an | | | | computer, before being placed on a shelf controlled |
| NVQ level 3 and a theory based qualification (BTEC) | | | | by a robotic arm until it's needed by a patient. Some |
| usually completed on day-release at college or by | | | | robotic systems can even dispense medications for |
| correspondence course. Within the next few years | | | | individual patients. These individual containers are then |
| (probably around 2008) "pharmacy technician" will | | | | organized and delivered by a pharmacy technician. |
| become a protected job title in the UK and only | | | | The role of the technician is likely to increase in the |
| those with both qualifications will be allowed to use | | | | next few years, due to aging population and as more |
| this title by law. | | | | pressures is put on pharmacists to spend more time |
| According to a United States Department of Labor | | | | consulting and advising patients, rather than to simply |
| report a few years ago, about two-thirds of | | | | dispense prescriptions. |
| pharmacy technicians worked in retail pharmacies, | | | | If the allure of a pharmacy technician career appeals |
| both independently owned or part of a drugstore, | | | | to you, check out the links below. |
| grocery store or mass retailer chain. Another 22% | | | | |