More and more states are licensing pharmacy technicians because they realize how important their positions actually are. The pharmacy technician is the first person that a customer sees when they go to drop off their prescriptions. The pharmacy technician is the eyes and ears of the pharmacist. They are the ones who are able to verify a fraudulent prescription from a authentic prescription. The pharmacy technician must have the education to know how to mix medications, fill prescriptions and process payments from customers. They must know their medications by the brand name and also by the medications generic name. There is a very long list of medications. One only needs to check out the latest PDR (Physicians Desk Reference). While no one knows every single medication in the encyclopedia of drugs, the pharmacy technician must have a thorough knowledge of the most commonly used medications. Such medications include those for the cardiovascular system, diabetes, hypertension, thyroid, narcotics, seizure medications, cholesterol lowering medications and much more. The pharmacy technician must know how to watch for customers who are using multi-pharmacies to fill narcotics and know when to flag such customers. They are also in charge of rotating medications, checking in orders, verifying insurance for the customer and storing medications in their proper fashion. Some medications must be refrigerated, while others have to be kept out of the sunlight.
The day in a pharmacy technicians life on the job at a local pharmacy can be very hectic and it is easy to make mistakes if one becomes too overwhelmed or flustered.
It is the job of the pharmacy technician to remain composed and at the same time congenial to their customers. One may also include psychology as one of the pharmacy technicians specialties due to the many personalities that interact with on a daily basis. Such as the stressed mother getting medication for their sick child or the sons and daughters of the elderly who need their medication to survive the day. Everyone has a story and each and every customers story and concern should be important as the next to the pharmacy technician.
Based upon all that a pharmacy technician does in a days work, it is not surprising that state authorities have begun to require a license for this profession. The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board works directly with the board of pharmacists. Each newly licensed pharmacy technician must have a number in the national database of licensed pharmacy technicians. The board of pharmacy regulates the profession.
Most pharmacy technicians also have good math skills. They need to have this skill to be able to calculate percentages of compounds, mix suspensions and dispense medications prescribed over a period of days.
Though the pharmacy technician does a lot of work with medications, their work still has to be checked and double checked by the pharmacist to be sure that there are no mistakes.
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