|
Pharmacy technicians with previous work
experience or certification have excellent job
opportunities - both full-time and part-time.
Many pharmacy technicians work evenings,
weekends, and holidays.
7 out of 10 of pharmacy technician jobs are in
retail pharmacies, grocery stores, department
stores, or mass retailers.
Pharmacy technicians help licensed pharmacists
provide medication and other health care products to
patients. Technicians usually perform routine tasks
to help prepare prescribed medication for patients,
such as counting tablets and labeling bottles.
Technicians refer any questions regarding
prescriptions, drug information, or health matters
to a pharmacist.
Pharmacy aides work closely with pharmacy
technicians. They often are clerks or cashiers who
primarily answer telephones, handle money, stock
shelves, and perform other clerical duties.
Pharmacy technicians usually perform more complex
tasks than do pharmacy aides, although in some
States their duties and job titles may overlap.
Pharmacy technicians who work in retail or
mail-order pharmacies have varying responsibilities,
depending on State rules and regulations.
Technicians receive written prescriptions or
requests for prescription refills from patients.
They also may receive prescriptions sent
electronically from the doctor’s office. They must
verify that the information on the prescription is
complete and accurate. To prepare the prescription,
technicians must retrieve, count, pour, weigh,
measure, and sometimes mix the medication. Then,
they prepare the prescription labels, select the
type of prescription container, and affix the
prescription and auxiliary labels to the container.
Once the prescription is filled, technicians price
and file the prescription, which must be checked by
a pharmacist before it is given to the patient.
Technicians may establish and maintain patient
profiles, prepare insurance claim forms, and stock
and take inventory of prescription and
over-the-counter medications.
In hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted-living
facilities, technicians have added responsibilities,
including reading patients’ charts and preparing and
delivering the medicine to patients. Still, the
pharmacist must check the order before it is
delivered to the patient. The technician then copies
the information about the prescribed medication onto
the patient’s profile. Technicians also may assemble
a 24-hour supply of medicine for every patient. They
package and label each dose separately. The packages
are then placed in the medicine cabinets of patients
until the supervising pharmacist checks them for
accuracy. The packages are then given to the
patients.
|
