More accreditation activity sounds good to Barbara Lacher, BS, R.Ph.Tech, associate professor and assistant director for the North Dakota State College of Science Pharmacy Technician Program. NDSC modeled its technician program based on pharmacy programs focused on professional education. "We don't train somebody to work 'just retail' or 'just hospital,' " Lacher said. "We educate techs to work in all settings, just as we educate pharmacists to work in all settings. That's why we are comfortable with technicians running telepharmacy operations where there is no pharmacist. We know that our techs aren't just trained to perform specific job functions; they're educated professionals."The underlying cause (a major shortages of pharmacists) isn't mentioned, however, leaving technicians as the only option to run the pharmacy for many health systems, especially in rural areas. While they are increasingly well-trained and educated, patients still need the better-yet educated eye of a pharmacist making the final call on what medications are delivered, making telepharmacy a great option for communities lacking on-site pharmacists.
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Pharmacy Techs' education, roles increasingly expanded, now includes telepharmacy
Modern Medicine's Fred Gebhart published an article today about pharmacy technicians increasing role in running pharmacies and the expanded training and CE that is being required of them in today's (especially in health-systems) pharmacy environment:
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Am I the only one that sees conflicting goals here? How can we expect technicians to go broad ("We educate techs to work in all settings, just as we educate pharmacists to work in all settings") and in the same breath expect them to go deep, which is a requirement if they are to *run* a telepharmacy operation in the absence of a [staff] pharmacist? This kind of fuzzy thinking endangers both professions - the technician as well as the pharmacist.
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