Iowa Scorecard

Grading Scale:
A – 85-100%, B – 70-84.9%, C – 55-69.9%, D – 40-54.9%, F – 0-39.9%

Grading Categories & Criteria

Iowa Law

I. Laws

Iowa Code subtitle 3 chapter 155A

https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/ico/chapter/155A.pdf

155A.6A Pharmacy technician registration. Repealed by 2024 Acts, ch 1056, §27

155A.7 Pharmacist-intern, pharmacy technician, and pharmacy support person registration.
1. Registration programs for pharmacist-interns, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy support persons are established for the purposes of identification, tracking, and disciplinary action for the violation of federal drug laws or regulations, state drug or pharmacy laws, or rules of the board.
2. A person who is or desires to be a pharmacist-intern, pharmacy technician, or pharmacy support person in this state shall apply to the board for registration on a form prescribed by the board.
a. A pharmacist-intern shall be registered during internship training and thereafter pursuant to rules adopted by the board.
b. An applicant for a new pharmacy technician registration or for a pharmacy technician renewal shall provide proof of current certification by a national technician certification authority approved by the board. A person who is in the process of acquiring national certification as a pharmacy technician and who is in training to become a pharmacy technician shall register with the board as a pharmacy technician.
3. The board shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A on matters pertaining to pharmacist-intern, pharmacy technician, and pharmacy support person registration, renewals, fees, training, national certification for pharmacy technicians, approval of
preceptors for pharmacist-interns, and other relevant matters.
a. The board shall establish standards for pharmacist-intern registration.
b. The board shall not adopt rules pertaining to pharmacy support person registration which include any determination of the competency of the registered person and, notwithstanding section 272C.2, subsection 1, shall not require continuing education for
renewal.
4. The board may deny, suspend, or revoke the registration of a pharmacist-intern, pharmacy technician, or pharmacy support person, or otherwise impose disciplinary penalties upon the registration of a pharmacy technician or pharmacy support person, for any violation of the laws of this state, another state, or the United States relating to prescription drugs, controlled substances, or nonprescription drugs, or for any violation
of this chapter or chapter 124, 124B, 126, 147, 205, or 272C, or any rule of the board. The board may deny, suspend, or revoke a pharmacist-intern registration for failure to meet the standards prescribed by the board pursuant to subsection 3.
5. Responsibility for the actions of a pharmacist-intern, pharmacy technician, or pharmacy support person working under a licensed pharmacist’s delegated functions and reasonable professional oversight shall remain with the licensed pharmacist.
2024 Acts, ch 1056, §4″

Iowa Administrative Code Chapter 3 appears to be in “”Reserved”” status now and rescinded effective July 16, 2025 per https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/09-17-2025.657.3.pdf

IAC 48a Chapter 551

https://www.legis.iowa.gov/law/administrativeRules/rules?agency=481&chapter=551&pubDate=09-17-2025

481—551.7(155A) Pharmacy technicians. Prior to engaging in technical functions in an Iowa pharmacy, an individual will register pursuant to this rule.
551.7(1) Technician trainee. An individual who does not hold current and active national pharmacy technician certification will register as a technician trainee. The registration fee is $20, and the registration will expire one year after initial registration. When necessary due to exceptional circumstances, a technician trainee will be limited to one renewal.
551.7(2) Certified pharmacy technician. An individual who holds current and active national pharmacy technician certification will register as a technician. The registration fee is $20 per annum, and
the registration will expire on the date that the technician’s national certification expires.
[ARC 9337C, IAB 6/11/25, effective 7/16/25; see Delay note at end of chapter]

References
Iowa Code subtitle 3 chapter 155A
http://search.legis.state.ia.us/NXT/gateway.dll/ic/1/13/4379/5489/5874?$q=[field%20%20155A]$x=Advanced#LPHit1
Iowa Administrative Code Chapter 3
https://www.legis.iowa.gov/DOCS/ACO/IAC/LINC/07-11-2012.Chapter.657.3.pdf

The data contained in this 2012 Annual Scorecard are accurate as of December 2012 . Because statutes and regulations are continually revised, the data are subject to change. These data have been verified with the state board of pharmacy. This scorecard is updated on an annual basis in order to incorporate statutory and regulatory changes. A new scorecard will be issued in July 2013.

Scoring rationale for Education and Training:
In order to protect the public and help ensure patient safety, it is important that pharmacy technicians are properly educated and trained. The most rigorous training is accredited training. The sole entity empowered to accredit pharmacy-technician training programs is the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). Please note that this is “programmatic accreditation” – not “institutional accreditation.” It is the content of the training program – as measured against established standards – that is being evaluated and accredited. Accredited training is vital to protecting patient safety because it means that a pharmacy-technician training program has met established quality standards to provide assurance and confidence to the public. For more information, please see http://www.ashp.org/menu/Accreditation/TechnicianAccreditation.aspx.

Scoring rationale for Certification:
Certification is the process by which a nongovernmental agency or association grants recognition to an individual who has met certain predetermined qualifications specified by that agency or association. This is often determined by an examination process. Numerous organizations have recommended that the certification exam conducted by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) should be recognized as the sole, nationally-accredited certification exam for pharmacy technician certification – including the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), the Texas State Board of Pharmacy (TSBP), and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In a recent report, NABP recommended that states be encouraged to “recognize certification by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB).” Moreover, NABP performed a psychometric audit of the PTCB’s pharmacy technician certification examination (PTCE) in 2001 and determined that the PTCE is psychometrically sound, defensible, and valid. In May 2010, the TSBP awarded the PTCB with the Pharmacy Technician Certification Provider contract in Texas. PTCB was selected for the contract after a rigorous bidding and evaluation process that included formal reviews and evaluations from three independent psychometricians. TSBP confidently recognizes PTCB as the single provider of certification examinations for pharmacy technicians. In addition, in June 2010, the VA began requiring PTCB certification for VA pharmacy technicians employed at grade GS-6 and above.

Scoring rationale for Registration/Licensure:
Registration/licensure is the process by which the state maintains a list of all pharmacy technicians in the state and grants permission for an individual to work as a pharmacy technician in the state based on the applicant’s completion of all pre-requisites to registration/licensure – such as required training and certification.

Scoring rationale for Continuing Education:
Continuing education enables pharmacy technicians to fulfill their professional responsibility to maintain competence and up-to-date knowledge and skills in an environment of technological advances and increasingly complex, new medications and therapies.