The Job of Certified Pharmacy Technicians

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

By Michelle Johnson

Published: December 15, 2009

The job of certified pharmacy technicians are to help a pharmacist to provide medication to the patients. A technician usually performs simple tasks to get the prescription ready. This means that a technician will label medication bottles and count tablets. There are administrative duties that have to be done too. These duties can usually include answering the phones, operating cash registers, and stocking shelves.

If there are any questions about a prescription, health concerns, or drug information the pharmacy technician will refer them to the pharmacists. A technician is not supposed to answer any questions regarding these issues without a pharmacist approval. The responsibilities for technicians that work in retail pharmacies can vary depending on regulations and State laws.

Technicians are allowed to receive written prescriptions and refill request for patients. The pharmacy technician can also receive prescriptions sent electronically or called in by a doctor. The technician has to verify the information and make sure it is all correct. A technician is allowed to retrieve, count, pour, weigh, measure, and mix medications.

Preparing and placing labels on prescription bottles, along with finding the right bottle for the prescription is another job technicians do. The pharmacist will check the medication and labels after the technician has filed and priced the medication. Prescriptions can not be handed to a patient without the approval of the pharmacist.

Technicians are usually asked to prepare and maintain a patients profile, prepare insurance claims, and take stock of the prescription inventory. The inventory will usually include the over the counter medications as well. If a technician works in a hospital or nursing home they have a few more added responsibilities.

These extra responsibilities can include checking a patients chart for medication orders then filling the medication. The pharmacist has to check these medications before the patient gets it. The prescription information has to be added to the profile of the patient and it is usually the technician that does this as well.

The hours that a technician works will depend on the hours of the pharmacist they work with. A technician has to work the hours that the pharmacist works because they can not prepare medication by themselves. Depending on the institution the technician works in they could be asked to work nights, weekends, and holidays. Most pharmacies have regular hours but a hospital or nursing home can have various working hours.

Want to become a certified pharmacy technician then check out my blog with tons of useful information about certified pharmacy technicians and even information on how to get ready for the pharmacy technician certification.

Tagged with: Education, Health Carreers, Pharmacy jobs, pharmacy technician, pharmacy technician training

 Email This Post