Perceived Benefit of Immunization-Trained Technicians in the Pharmacy Workflow

Abstract

Clinical community pharmacists have continually restructured their workflow to serve the community by optimizing patient care outcomes. Defining the perceived benefits of having an immunizing pharmacy technician in the workflow can help to redefine the way community pharmacists operate during patient immunization. The purpose of this study is to share the opinions of supervising pharmacists that have an immunizing technician within their workflow model and highlight their contributions. Pharmacists involved in this novel workflow model were interviewed two times, once in 2017 and then in 2020, to gauge opinions over time. Findings in the results of this study included such themes as: (1) Pharmacists’ perceived improvement in workflow flexibility; (2) The choice of the correct technician to immunize within the pharmacy; (3) Pharmacists’ perceived improved workflow time prioritization; (4) Limited available training as a barrier to implementation; and (5) The initial apprehension and later acceptance of pharmacists with respect to the innovation. As technician immunization administration spreads beyond early adopter states, further research into the impact on pharmacy workflow is needed.

Pharmacy technician-administered immunizations: A five-year review

“…In a survey by Gavaza et al, 51 both pharmacists and pharmacy technicians reported their belief that technician-administered immunizations may improve workflow. Bertsch et al 52 reported that supervising pharmacists felt that technician immunizers would increase vaccination rates. In addition, pharmacists who worked with trained technician immunizers in a federal facility reported it improved workflow greatly, allowing pharmacists to provide more clinical services.…”

The role of pharmacy technicians in vaccination services: a scoping review

“…All but one study was published within the last 5 years. [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34] The majority of included studies were conducted in community pharmacies (85.7 %, n ¼ 12) [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]33,34 with one inpatient hospital study 21 and one outpatient hospital study that included vaccination clinics. 32 With the exception of one Canadian paper, 29 all of the included studies took place in the United States (92.8%, n ¼ 13) spanning 8 states.…”

“…32 With the exception of one Canadian paper, 29 all of the included studies took place in the United States (92.8%, n ¼ 13) spanning 8 states. [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][30][31][32][33][34] Eleven studies (78.6%) included quantitative data (including 2 that were mixed methods) [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][30][31][32] whereas the remaining 3 studies collected qualitative data exclusively. 29,33,34 Study duration and data collection periods ranged from 1 day to 3 years.…”

“…[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][30][31][32][33][34] Eleven studies (78.6%) included quantitative data (including 2 that were mixed methods) [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][30][31][32] whereas the remaining 3 studies collected qualitative data exclusively. 29,33,34 Study duration and data collection periods ranged from 1 day to 3 years. The most common vaccine targeted was pneumococcal (42.9 %, n ¼ 6) [21][22][23]25,26,32 followed by influenza (35.7%, n ¼ 5).…”

Pharmacy Technicians Help to Push Boundaries in Delivering Quality Care

“…It will be especially important that improvements be made in earning potential and career mobility, as we have likely seen only the beginning in a wave of changes for pharmacy technician practice. Technicians have been involved in coordinating immunization activities, but now are gaining approval as immunizers and are thus side-by-side with pharmacists in helping them to take center stage in public health initiatives [25]. Properly trained technicians can help prevent pharmacists from being overwhelmed during certain seasonal events such as influenza upticks and inspire confidence among patients that pharmacies are an appropriate place to seek health solutions.…”