The pharmacy technician plays a vital role in assisting the pharmacist with the daily operations in the delivery of pharmacy services. The role is mainly supportive and allows for the pharmacist to focus more on providing clinical oriented services, such as medication reviews and injections. The role of the pharmacy technician is increasing to meet the growing clinical demands without increasing the pharmacy staff. When you are working as a pharmacy technician in a community setting, it is expected that the environment will be busy and fast pace. Most pharmacy chains will only hire a pharmacy technician if the prescription count and work flow requires it, as they tend to save money by hiring the minimum amount of staffing needed. Hence, the presence of a pharmacy technician indicates that the workflow is too much for a single pharmacist to handle alone and therefore requires the support of a pharmacy technician.
The workflow itself is often unpredictable. The best way to describe it would be akin to the eye of a storm. It may be perfectly quiet in the moment, but in a given time many patients can show up at the same time. This frequently occurs after work around 3pm and just before closing.
The pharmacy technician performs a huge diverse array of roles. This is a list of the possible roles that the pharmacy technician may have, but that would ultimately depend on the location, environment, and store policies. This list is not exhaustive, but is meant to give a general idea of an insight into the daily tasks of a pharmacy technician. This is the most accurate pharmacy technician job description.
Pharmacy technicians are often required to create patient profiles using the pharmacy’s computer system for new patients. This includes verifying the patient identity using government issued photo id, the patient’s address and telephone number, allergy status, medication conditions, preference for easy open lids, and third party insurance plans. It is vital to input the information correctly to ensure accurate records for processing prescriptions.
Many pharmacies utilize the pharmacy technician to type up the prescriptions presented by the patients. This would involve interpreting the physician’s hand writing to determine the medication, quantity, and directions of use. Knowledge of the different medications and their generic and brand names are vital to deciphering the prescriptions. Prescriptions are often abbreviated with specific codes and such knowledge of these abbreviations is required as well. An example would be a prescription with the directions “prn”, which would mean as needed.
Often, many patients will call the pharmacy requesting for a refill of their prescription. You must be able to search up the patient in the pharmacy database and select the correct amount of medication to be refilled. Many times, patients do not know the name of the medication, and would speak in general terms. They may say that they want their hypertension medication filled. As a result, you must be familiar with the frequently dispensed medications and their general class. Many times, there would be no more refills remaining, and you must be adept at interpreting the computer system to be able to correctly relay that information to the patient.
Pharmacy technicians must accurately prepare the processed prescriptions. This is done by first selecting the correct medication by cross referencing the Drug Identification Number (DIN) with the typed prescription and then counting out the correct quantity. The medication is then labeled appropriately. Depending on the medication dispensed, there are is an art associated to labeling. With eye drops in particular, the label itself is often larger than the bottle itself, as such, there are specific ways to ensure that the final labeled product is pharmaceutically elegant. Other medications may require tape over the label to ensure some degree of water proof. Furthermore, the expiry dates must be checked at all times to ensure that no expired medication is being dispensed.
The busier pharmacies will have automated dispensing machines that will dispense the medications, as opposed to using a counting tray and counting by hand. These automated dispensing machines would require technical knowledge on how to troubleshoot in case of any glitches that may happen. These machines would also require frequent loading of the medications.
Often, there will be scripts that require compounding because there is no commercially available product. Instead, the physician prescribes a specific compound with particular ingredients that they want included. Usually, it is up to the pharmacy technician to make these compounds and there are specific techniques associated with this. This is a common role of many pharmacy technicians. Some compounds may be simple, such as scooping out some hydrocortisone into a small jar, or preparing an antibiotic suspension. Others may require more work such as adding 2% hydrocortisone powder in an anti fungal cream.
Pharmacies receive plenty of phone calls throughout the day. Often, when the pharmacy is busy, the pharmacy technician is required to answer the phone calls to field the customer inquiries. Now because of the retail nature of community pharmacy practice, you will get a diverse range of calls. Some common questions would be:
Can I get a refill for my prescription?What time do you open until?Do you have _______ in stock? (Often the products would not even be pharmacy related at all. Sometimes they ask for a particular shampoo, toilet seats, detergent, etc.)Can you order me some __________ (Often an over the counter product that they want custom ordered)How much is your dispensing fee?Any therapeutic questions (involving recommendations, side effects, or drug information questions must be directed to the pharmacist)Did the physician call in my prescription yet?Is my prescription ready for pick up?Can I get my medications blistered packed?Why did my insurance not pay for my medication?How come my delivery did not come yet (For Pharmacies that do home deliveries)Orders are done usually on a daily basis to replenish the stock that was used during the day to ensure that the pharmacy has an adequate supply of the commonly used medications to serve their patients. Some stores, the pharmacy technician is required to send the order. Usually there is a certain cut off time to ensure next day delivery and the pharmacy technician must be able to submit the order before then. During the next day, when the order comes, the pharmacy technician receives the order. This is the process of reconciling the products ordered with the order slip to ensure that no mistakes have been made by the shipper. The computer system also must be updated to ensure that the quantities listed are reflective of the actual stock on hand. If there was a mistake made, the pharmacy technician must notify the shipper within a specified period of time to ensure that the proper credit adjustment will be made. Many stores will require the pharmacy technician to place the stock in the correct location after receiving the order. This applies to over the counter orders as well. For these products, it is important to ensure proper product facing to increase sales.
Many patients have trouble remembering how to take their medications properly and because of this, many pharmacies will offer blister packaging, which helps improve patient compliance. This type of packing helps patients easily remember when to take their medications as each slot will be labeled with the time and specific day of the week. It is often the pharmacy technician’s role to prepare these blister packs for the pharmacist to check. This involves placing the correct medications in the correct slots by following the compliance label. The blister pack is then sealed for checking.
Many pharmacies have delivery services for their immobile patients. As such, it is up to the pharmacy technician to prepare and process the prescriptions for delivery. The patient’s would often have a file with their billing details and the pharmacy technician will bag up the order and assign the correct address for delivery.
Pharmacies have a cashier at the counter for payment of prescriptions and other over the counter products. The pharmacy technician will also have to perform cashier duties when the patient pays for their medications. Often, the patient shops around the store and will bring non prescription items to the counter for payment. The typical role of a cashier is included in the role of the pharmacy technician. As such, the expected duties are:
Dealing with gift cardsRefunds and exchangesStaff purchasesProcessing different credit cardsCashing out the till at the end of the dayCashing out to the bank; making cash deposits (May not be common in all pharmacies)Knowing the store layout is essential as many patients will come to the pharmacy asking for a particular product. Many times, these are not pharmacy related at all. You may get asked for a variety of products, such as shoes, candy, hair wash. Because of this, memorization of the store layout is vital to ensure that the patient is directed to the desired location. If the patient requires a recommendation, be sure to inform the pharmacist.
Pharmacy technicians are required to ensure the organization of the inventory and supplies. It is crucial to ensure that the inventory is up to date and because of this, the inventory is often reconciled with the computer systems to ensure that the records are accurate. Furthermore, the inventory is checked for expired medications that can be disposed off or returned.
Many times, the pharmacy does not have enough stock of a particular medication and will provide the patient with the quantity that is currently in stock. The patient will pay for the full amount upfront and the rest is owed to them once the stock is procured. The pharmacy technician must be able to fill these stock to come orders once the stock is arrived and prepare this for the pharmacist to check.
Other tasks that the pharmacy technician may need to perform include:
Printing off receipts and year expense totals for taxesCalling stores for a prescription transfer or transferring a prescription to a different pharmacyCleaning and vacuuming the pharmacy areaEnsuring that the lids, vitals, bottles are replenishedFiling and storing prescriptionsCalling insurance providers to find resolve any issuesCalling physician’s office to request a refill of prescriptionsThis list is being continually updated. If you see any duties that are not listed here, please leave a comment below. Furthermore, if you require more clarification on some of these tasks, please comment as well!
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