(5) APhA-ASP supports the creation of a pharmacy technician registry database before being permitted to work in a pharmacy setting (whether hospital or retail) having direct contact with medications.

R2 PRT: Requirement of registration for pharmacy technicians before being authorized to work behind pharmacy counters. Wording/action:
(5) APhA-ASP supports the creation of a pharmacy technician registry database before being permitted to work in a pharmacy setting (whether hospital or retail) having direct contact with medications.

Reasons for the Action(s) / Pros and Cons:

Currently no such registry exists for all of the states in the country. States such as South Carolina already have such a registry in place. Other states such as Pennsylvania do not.
Only about half of the states require pharmacy technicians to be licensed or registered, while others accept on-the-job training as sufficient. Just as pharmacists AND pharmacy technicians need to be registered with the state before being able to practice, pharmacy technicians should be no exception, as they have contact with medications as well.

Even though pharmacy technician certification is supported by APhA for pharmacy technicians, it is not a law and basically anyone can obtain a job as a pharmacy technician. This might be an avenue to eventually require technician certification, thus establishing a general knowledge base before being able to work in a pharmacy setting.

It is important for all employees working behind the counter of a pharmacy to be registered, at a minimum, due to the serious nature of the drug distribution process and how flaws in this system could negatively impact the well being of our patients. It should be noted that this registration is NOT a certification process or effort to increase the educational or work experience by pharmacy technicians, but rather to allow each state board of pharmacy to have a comprehensive list of all those who work behind the counters in pharmacies, as is required for all pharmacy personnel with direct medication contact except pharmacy technicians- they are the only ones missing.

This would serve as a resource to potential employers, offering them information on pharmacy technician candidates, as a job applicant might not offer all necessary information, especially negative prior work-related information- i.e. if they were fired from a previous pharmacy for stealing drugs. Working behind the pharmacy counters should not be the same as working behind a fast food counter and some regulation needs to happen to stop this from happening- as minor mistakes or oversights could turn into lethal endpoints for patients.

Additionally, the general public will benefit by gaining more confidence knowing that all of the pharmacy staff working behind the counter are registered.

Jennifer Caggiano ; 570-470-0820 ; jmc74@temple.edu ; Temple University School of Pharmacy