I’ve written articles about the benefits and methods to become a pharmacy technician but recent feedback led me to figure out something obvious. What do pharmacists perform in pharmacies?
Nearest Walmart The majority of people assume that they help pharmacists enter prescriptions and take inventory of pills. This is also true for outpatient pharmacies, sometimes referred to as retail pharmacies, however there are numerous roles for pharmacists in the healthcare industry. The remainder of this article will outline different kinds of pharmacy environments and the role that pharmacists play in these settings.
Community/Retail Pharmacy:
I’ve worked in retail and I like other types of work, but this is where the largest proportion of jobs in pharmacy are located. The kind of work a pharmacy technician is able to perform is determined by the state in which they work under the laws and regulations of their state. In general, pharmacists cannot give patients clinical information or act as the final point of reference for prescriptions. In certain states, technicians can give information about over-the-counter (OTC) medications (ie those that don’t need a prescription for, like, acetaminophen or ibuprofen) Nearest Walmart Technicians in the field of pharmacy includebut aren’t only limited to:
* Collecting patient data (insurance and personal details when required)* Inputting and processing prescriptions into the computer system
* Selling and filling prescriptions.
* Refills are required at doctor’s offices for patients
* Compounding medicines that are not sold commercially
* Ordering prescriptions
* Stocking shelves
” Answering phone
In collaboration with insurers in the approval of certain medication payments
* Keeping the cash register in order and completing accounting tasks
Hospital Pharmacy:
There are many tasks for pharmacists in the hospital pharmacy. I am familiar with this kind of pharmacy best as that is where the majority of my work has taken place. Most commonly, technicians working at the pharmacy’s central Additionally, we have decentralized technicians as well as sterile compounding technicians, bill techs OR Techs, Narcotics techs automation techs and team lead techs and buyers techs. The technicians in the group carry out the following roles however they are not restricted to:
* Filling orders for new customers which includes a wide range of medicines from oral medication as well as specially prepared, sterile compound medication (including chemotherapy drugs)
- Answering your phone
* Tubing medicines (if the pharmacy is equipped with an automated tube station)
* Preparing medications for delivery
* Delivery of medication
* Assisting pharmacists on the floor with medical histories
* Assisting pharmacists on the floor with IV drip checks
* Handling missing dose calls
* Billing for medications when nursing charting is not used to charge
* Keeping the pharmacy database up to date.
* Stocking operating rooms with anesthesia trays with the appropriate medications
* Tracking and dispensing all controlled substances in the hospital
Maintenance of automation equipment (automated dispensing cabinets, which store medications in nursing units, automated filling systems (typically known as Robot-Rx)• Maintaining automated equipment (typically fill systems)
* Purchase of all medication and other supplies required in the pharmacy
* Management and leadership of technicians, which includes maintaining schedules
Long-Term Care Pharmacy:
I’ve worked at some long-term-care pharmacies and think it’s a fantastic job for an technician. They generally employ a lot of techs due to the fact that the demands can be many technician-related tasks. The pharmacies supply the medications required by nursing homes as well as assisted living facilities and psychiatric hospitals. A typical drugstore is in an industrial warehouse. There is no open-air pharmacy that people can visit; they take orders via fax and then deliver all medicines through couriers or drivers to locations. The medication for oral use is delivered with blister packs (cards comprising 30 tabs that can be used to supply an entire month’s supply of medicine) or some other method that supplies the facility with a large dosage of medications that are safe and securely stored until the dosages are due. The tasks of pharmacy technicians can include, but not be restricted to:
* Filling in new and refill prescriptions (different from hospital due to the quantity of doses offered)
* Processing orders for new orders and refills that are coming via fax
* Entry of prescriptions into order as well as printing labels to techs to fill
- Sterile compounding medicines (although there aren’t as many sterile compounded drugs in hospitals however, there is sufficient that many long-term care pharmacies carry some techs who are experts in sterile compounding.
* Billing of medications to home addresses
* Documentation and dispensing of controlled substances
* Ordering medication and items
* Restocking medicines that have been returned and are appropriate to be reused.
Home Infusion Pharmacy:
These pharmacies are primarily geared towards patients who require a certain type of IV therapy or another non-oral medications, and who wish to receive treatment in their homes (hence the term “home-infusion”). I also worked at the home-infusion pharmacy. As a technician, I gained many years of experience in compounding sterile, and was able to find myself in any job where I needed an IV room technician. Technicians in the field of pharmacy can include but are not only limited to:
* Making sterile preparations in the clean area
* Preparing supplies related to the administration of sterile medications to be delivered
* Billing medicines delivered to the patients’ homes
* Coordinating delivery of medications with patients
* Entering orders into the system for pharmacy order entry
Nuclear Pharmacy:
There is no way I’ve been employed in a nuclear pharmacy. (I believe you were thinking I moved around in a lot and I’ve been in the pharmacy industry for around seventeen years). I have friends who work at the nuclear pharmacy. It is interesting to watch the hours; they typically arrive around 3 am and are there until around noon. These pharmacies produce radioactive substances and they have to be produced in a manner that, when they reach the clinic or hospital administering them, the dose has been reduced to a certain quantity. Without going into any specifics, these medicines have a short half-life. Therefore, they must make sure that they are able to time the compounding of the drug according to the time required to administer the medication and the amount of time needed for the patient receiving the dosage. The job is well-paying however, as you could imagine, there isn’t many of these jobs open. Pharmacist tasks can include, but aren’t only:
* Preparing radioactive materials
* Cleaning and making sterile compounding areas
* Inputting prescriptions in the system for pharmacy
* Coordinating due dates for doses with delivery times and preparation
* Billing of products to the hospital or clinic
Health Plans/HMO Pharmacy Group:
I have saved this one for last since it’s very different. The majority of healthcare plans have pharmacies. They are responsible for the pharmacy benefits offered by healthcare plans. I have been a part of my health plan at work and also spent some time working with the department of pharmacy. The duties of a pharmacy technician include, but aren’t restricted to:
* Answering calls and providing assistance to patients who are on the benefit plan for pharmacies.
* Examining prior authorization requests
* Supporting physicians and drug companies with information requests
* Assisting pharmacists in the department by providing database information and other projects as required.
As you will see, the roles of a pharmacy technician can vary widely. The best advice I can offer you is to determine the type of setting you’d want to work in and to complete some work experience within that particular environment. I’ve observed that the type of pharmacy that you are trained in is generally the type of pharmacy that you will eventually work in.