Technically speaking, a pharmacy technician is a pharmacy employee who handles several pharmacy related operations and is a direct subordinate of a licensed pharmacist. The primary job of a pharmacy technician is to look after health care procedures of patients, administrating medication, and working with offices and insurance companies for adjudicating patients’ insurance. The duties depend on where the technician is employed and vary depending on the nature of the job.
A pharmacy technician might have to compound medicines, prepare prescriptions, and help in procurement and distribution of drugs. It is also equally likely that the job be finance related where the technician is responsible for handling the employer company’s returns and credits, expenditure on medicine orders, insurance policies, state grants and programs, and over-all management.
Although a variety of jobs for pharmacy technicians have been around for quite long, there are many new and exciting employment opportunities, such as in hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, retail medical stores, etc. Over two-thirds of all pharmacy technicians are employed in retail medical stores and a huge chuck from the rest work in hospitals. Related jobs are also available in online pharmacies, government agencies, wholesale pharmaceuticals, and independent clinics.
The work of a pharmacy technician may be limited by the state he or she is located in. For example, in the UK, trained and practicing pharmacy technicians are allowed to counsel patients and administrate medications. Whereas, in the US, only licensed pharmacists are allowed to do so, the work of the technician being limited to ensuring that the correct medication reaches the patient and overseeing other related medical procedures. However, despite the limited participation in counseling patients, pharmacy technicians are generally engaged in a lot of other job duties which include administration of the manufacturing unit, dispensary, and helping pharmacists in their other pharmacy roles.
The education and training required for pharmacy technician certification is provided by proprietary schools, some hospitals, and community and vocational colleges. Training is compulsory prior to employment and is sometimes offered by the employing company itself. However, in some states there is no rule requiring completion of the certification program and only the licensing board looks into the regulation of certificates. Different colleges and schools have different prerequisites and eligibility criteria and it is therefore important to consider these carefully before applying.
After completion of the training program, one can easily find employment in medical stores, clinics, hospitals and even the military due to the huge demand for trained specialists in this profession. This is also why a pharmacy technician can switch jobs easily and find employment almost anywhere in the country.