Pharmacy technicians help licensed Pharmacists provide medication and other health care products to patients. Technicians usually perform routine tasks to help prepare prescribed medication, such as counting tablets and labeling bottles. They also perform administrative duties, such as answering phones, stocking shelves, and operating cash registers. Technicians refer any questions regarding prescriptions, drug information, or health matters to a pharmacist.
Pharmacy technicians who work in retail or mail-order pharmacies have varying responsibilities, depending on State rules and regulations. Technicians receive written prescriptions or requests for prescription refills from patients. They also may receive prescriptions sent electronically from the doctor's office. They must verify that information on the prescription is complete and accurate. To prepare the prescription, technicians must retrieve, count, pour, weigh, measure, and sometimes mix the medication. Then, they prepare the prescription labels, select the type of prescription container, and affix the prescription and auxiliary labels to the container. Once the prescription is filled, technicians price and file the prescription, which must be checked by a pharmacist before it is given to the patient. Technicians may establish and maintain patient profiles, prepare insurance claim forms, and stock and take inventory of prescription and over-the-counter medications.
In hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted-living facilities, technicians have added responsibilities, including reading patients' charts and preparing the appropriate medication. After the pharmacist checks the prescription for accuracy, the pharmacy technician may deliver it to the patient. The technician then copies the information about the prescribed medication onto the patient's profile. Technicians also may assemble a 24-hour supply of medicine for every patient. They package and label each dose separately. The packages are then placed in the medicine cabinets of patients until the supervising pharmacist checks them for accuracy, and only then is the medication given to the patients.
Pharmacy aides work closely with pharmacy technicians. They often are clerks or cashiers who primarily answer telephones, handle money, stock shelves, and perform other clerical duties. Pharmacy technicians usually perform more complex tasks than pharmacy aides, although in some States their duties and job titles may overlap.
Work environment. Pharmacy technicians work in clean, organized, well-lighted, and well-ventilated areas. Most of their workday is spent on their feet. They may be required to lift heavy boxes or to use stepladders to retrieve supplies from high shelves.
Technicians work the same hours that Pharmacists work. These may include evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays, particularly in facilities that are open 24 hours a day such as hospitals and some retail pharmacies. As their seniority increases, technicians often acquire increased control over the hours they work. There are many opportunities for part-time work in both retail and hospital settings.
| 1. | Receive written prescription or refill requests and verify that information is complete and accurate. |
| 2. | Maintain proper storage and security conditions for drugs. |
| 3. | Answer telephones, responding to questions or requests. |
| 4. | Fill bottles with prescribed medications and type and affix labels. |
| 5. | Assist customers by answering simple questions, locating items or referring them to the pharmacist for medication information. |
| 6. | Price and file prescriptions that have been filled. |
| 7. | Clean, and help maintain, equipment and work areas, and sterilize glassware according to prescribed methods. |
| 8. | Establish and maintain patient profiles, including lists of medications taken by individual patients. |
| 9. | Order, label, and count stock of medications, chemicals, and supplies, and enter inventory data into computer. |
| 10. | Receive and store incoming supplies, verify quantities against invoices, and inform supervisors of stock needs and shortages. |
| 11. | Transfer medication from vials to the appropriate number of sterile, disposable syringes, using aseptic techniques. |
| 12. | Add measured drugs or nutrients to intravenous solutions under sterile conditions to prepare intravenous (IV) packs under pharmacist supervision. |
| 13. | Supply and monitor robotic machines that dispense medicine into containers, and label the containers. |
| 14. | Prepare and process medical insurance claim forms and records. |
| 15. | Mix pharmaceutical preparations according to written prescriptions. |
| 16. | Operate cash registers to accept payment from customers. |
| 17. | Compute charges for medication and equipment dispensed to hospital patients, and enter data in computer. |
| 18. | Deliver medications and pharmaceutical supplies to patients, nursing stations or surgery. |
| 19. | Price stock and mark items for sale. |
| 20. | Maintain and merchandise home health-care products and services. |
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