Assisting pharmacists in their operation, in the background, away from all the limelight, are pharmacy technicians.
They are the driving force behind thousands of pharmacies operating in different states and counties of the US. Without their expertise, most pharmacies would experience a sharp fall in operational efficiency.
But what do pharmacy technicians actually do?
Pharmacy technicians have many on-job responsibilities.
At the start of each day, they will ready up the pharmacy for business. They’ll turn on the systems, sterilize the equipment and work surfaces and make sure all devices are calibrated. They’ll also check the inventory to ensure that stock is in order.
A pharmacy technician’s real work starts when patients roll into the pharmacy to purchase medicines. Pharmacy technicians will process and fill every prescription.
They will greet the patient, accept the prescription and review it to ensure that it’s valid. To make sure a prescription is valid, they will check every information carefully on the prescription. If there is something wrong with the prescription, they will refer the case to the supervising pharmacist who would then suggest the next course of action.
Once the prescription is verified and validated, the pharmacy technician will then submit it to the insurance company to process an insurance claim. The technician will search the information database and file a claim with the respective insurance agency. If there are any issues with the claim, the technician will call the insurance company to solve the issue.
After successful claim processing, the pharmacy technician will then fill the prescription. They will assemble medicines for the prescription, measure their quantity (as mentioned on the prescription) and package them into appropriate containers. It’s vital that exact amount of medicine is dispensed and in the right packaging container.
The pharmacy technician will then present the filled prescription to the pharmacist, who will review it for accuracy. All medicines must be checked by the pharmacist before they can be dispensed to the patient.
Besides prepping the pharmacy for business, stocking inventory, processing prescriptions and submitting insurance claims, pharmacy technicians also have other job responsibilities. Some of these include:
- Bookkeeping
- Filing the essential paperwork to maintain operational compliance
- Safe disposal of expired medicines
All pharmacy technicians are supervised and assisted by pharmacists working at the pharmacy.
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