Society Advises Washington State On Requirements For Pharmacy Technician Training, Certification

Main Category: Pharmacy / Pharmacist
Article Date: 19 Jun 2008 - 8:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

ASHP has weighed in on the Washington State Board of Pharmacy's plans to create standards for the education, training and certification of pharmacy technicians with a recommendation that the state's pharmacy technicians be required to complete an ASHP-accredited pharmacy technician training program and pass the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) examination.

In a recent letter ASHP encouraged the board to specify that technicians be required to complete the PTCB examination, a test which is psychometrically-sound, legally defensible and applicable to all pharmacy practice settings.

The Society also stressed the importance of appropriate training programs and urged the Board to reconsider its requirement for technicians to complete board-approved, on-the-job training programs and instead mandate completion of the more formal, ASHP-accredited training programs.

The board recently approved standards requiring pharmacy technicians be certified after passing a board-approved pharmacy technician national standardized examination starting Jan. 1, 2009. Individuals that have obtained a pharmacy technician credential before that date will not be required to meet the new standards.

ASHP will work with its state affiliate, the Washington State Pharmacy Association, and the board in coming months to seek inclusion of the PTCB examination and ASHP-accredited training program in the standards.

ASHP recently launched the Pharmacy Technician Initiative, a partnership with state affiliates to push for state laws that require, as a prerequisite for registration with the state board of pharmacy, completion of an ASHP-accredited pharmacy technician training program and certification by the PTCB. State affiliates in Florida, Illinois and Michigan have joined the Initiative.

Click here to read ASHP's letter to the board.

American Society of Health-System Pharmacists

• Additional
• References
• Citations