Never too late to become a Pharmacy Technician
Saturday, November 5th, 2011A 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.
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. 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.
Further Reading:
Pharmacy Technician: Info, History, Employment
How Long Does it Take To Become a Pharmacy Technician?
