ASHP Statement on the Roles of Pharmacy Technicians

Abstract

ASHP recognizes that well-educated and highly skilled pharmacy technicians have important roles and responsibilities in the pharmacy profession, and that a safe and effective medicationuse process depends significantly on the skills, knowledge, and competence of those pharmacy technicians. To properly fill these roles, pharmacy technicians require standardized education, training, and competence assessment. ASHP advocates that states encourage this education, training, and assessment through the development and adoption of uniform state laws and regulations requiring licensure of pharmacy technicians.

The impact of a pharmacist-extender training program to improve pneumococcal vaccination rates within a community chain pharmacy

“…These barriers were found to be consistent with other studies related to community pharmacy immunization services. 12,18 These barriers relate to the themes identified because of time constraints within community pharmacy practice settings. Furthermore, it could be reasoned that there is a direct link between barrier time and survey results (P > 0.05), because adequate time is needed to provide accurate survey responses.…”

“…11 Pharmacy technicians can better assist pharmacists through advanced clinical roles in "tech-check-tech," medication reconciliation, medication therapy management, quality improvement, community outreach, and immunizations. 12 At present, pharmacist-extenders, pharmacy staff who assist pharmacists, such as pharmacy technicians and interns, are underused in the provision of many community-based direct patient care services. 13 Yet, there is a growing consensus that their role in the provision of such services is vital to successful service implementation.…”

A review of American pharmacy: education, training, technology, and practice

“…Technicians perform most non-judgmental tasks under the direction of a pharmacist, such as preparing, compounding, and delivering medication; and managing pharmacy automation. Advanced pharmacy technicians perform additional tasks such as obtaining patients’ medication histories, inventory management, quality improvement initiatives, and working in advanced medication systems including tech-check-tech models [17]. …”

The Value and Potential Integration of Pharmacy Technician National Certification into Processes That Help Assure a Competent Workforce

“…Pharmacy technicians and other workforce support personnel are recognized as essential in the evolution of pharmacy practice to a more patient-centric focus and public health orientation [1]. The previous few years are witness to considerable research into pharmacy technician roles, moving beyond descriptions of technician practice in one particular facility into broader examinations of roles that can be consistently delegated across organizations and even practice settings [2][3][4][5].…”

“…To that end, the overall aims of this study were to ascribe value to the certification process, and specifically: (1) to determine pharmacists' perceptions of the impact of certification on competence in specific job skills, its impact in combination with job experience, and its impact in combination with other types of vocational education/training; (2) to identify elements that could potentially enhance the value, or impact of national certification; and (3) to determine how pharmacists view certification in light of various personnel management and organizational behavior phenomena.…”