Do’s and Don’ts of a Pharmacy Technician
Even though the primary role of pharmacy technicians has been instructed to assist the pharmacist in almost all clerical and administrative work in the pharmacy or in hospitals, there are certain tasks that should not be handled by pharmacy technicians in normal circumstances by the offer of medical rules. These are some of the DOES and NO’S of a Pharmacy Technician.
The DOs:
1. They are responsible for obtaining and recording patient medication histories for pharmacy records.
2. They are allowed to prepackage the medication with the knowledge of the expiration date of the medication.
3. They can order, receive, unpack and store shipments of medicines
4. They need to collaborate with other regulatory bodies whose members prescribe (medicine, dentistry, midwives, nurses), to develop protocols around verbal prescriptions.
5. They must wear a badge with the words “Pharmacy Technician” to clearly specify their role to anyone they attended.
6. They can load automated drug dispensing equipment
7. Must maintain the confidentiality of all patient health information.
8. Must review all technician policies and procedures annually
9. They are responsible for reconciling the quarterly perpetual inventory count of all medications in the clinic, pharmacy, or hospital to see if any discrepancies are found and brainstorming among teams on how these discrepancies should be reduced. .
10. They are authorized to sell or deliver prescriptions to patients
The DON’Ts:
1. Pharmacy technicians cannot certify prepackages or certify dispensing
2. They are not allowed to withdraw the drugs/supplies involved until a pharmacist controls them.
3. They should not and cannot take prescriptions over the phone
4. They should not leave discrepancies unreported
5. They are not allowed to discuss the patient’s health information outside of the professional work environment, as all this information is private and confidential.
6. Pharmacy Technician cannot evaluate drug therapy or discuss therapy with patients
7. They can’t take a modified prescription
8. They should not advise any of the patients based on their knowledge and experience as they do not possess the skills and knowledge of a pharmacist to gain clearance to ensure that the advice they have is correct.
9. They cannot dispense the medicines to the patients until the pharmacists verify the identity and volume of the diluents accordingly.
10. A Pharmacy Technician cannot interpret data or advise/answer questions related to health and medications.