Missouri 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

Missouri Law

I. Laws
Missouri Revised Statutes
Chapter 338: Pharmacists and Pharmacies http://www.moga.mo.gov/statutes/C338.HTM
338.013 Pharmacy technician to register with board of pharmacy, fees, application, renewal–refusal to issue, when–employee disqualification list maintained, use.
338.013. 1. Any person desiring to assist a pharmacist in the practice of pharmacy as defined in this chapter shall apply to the board of pharmacy for registration as a pharmacy technician. Such applicant shall be, at a minimum, legal working age and shall forward to the board the appropriate fee and written application on a form provided by the board. Such registration shall be the sole authorization permitted to allow persons to assist licensed pharmacists in the practice of pharmacy as defined in this chapter.
2. The board may refuse to issue a certificate of registration as a pharmacy technician to an applicant that has been adjudicated and found guilty, or has entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, of a violation of any state, territory or federal drug law, or to any felony or has violated any provision of subsection 2 of section 338.055. Alternately, the board may issue such person a registration, but may authorize the person to work as a pharmacy technician provided that person adheres to certain terms and conditions imposed by the board. The board shall place on the employment disqualification list the name of an applicant who the board has refused to issue a certificate of registration as a pharmacy technician, or the name of a person who the board has issued a certificate of registration as a pharmacy technician but has authorized to work under certain terms and conditions. The board shall notify the applicant of the applicant’s right to file a complaint with the administrative hearing commission as provided by chapter 621.
3. If an applicant has submitted the required fee and an application for registration to the board of pharmacy, the applicant for registration as a pharmacy technician may assist a licensed pharmacist in the practice of pharmacy as defined in this chapter. The applicant shall keep a copy of the submitted application on the premises where the applicant is employed. If the board refuses to issue a certificate of registration as a pharmacy technician to an applicant, the applicant shall immediately cease assisting a licensed pharmacist in the practice of pharmacy.
4. A certificate of registration issued by the board shall be conspicuously displayed in the pharmacy or place of business where the registrant is employed.
5. Every pharmacy technician who desires to continue to be registered as provided in this section shall, within thirty days before the registration expiration date, file an application for the renewal, accompanied by the fee prescribed by the board. The registration shall lapse and become null and void thirty days after the expiration date.
6. The board shall maintain an employment disqualification list. No person whose name appears on the employment disqualification list shall work as a pharmacy technician, except as otherwise authorized by the board. The board may authorize a person whose name appears on the employment disqualification list to work or continue to work as a pharmacy technician provided the person adheres to certain terms and conditions imposed by the board.
7. The board may place on the employment disqualification list the name of a pharmacy technician who has been adjudicated and found guilty, or has entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, of a violation of any state, territory or federal drug law, or to any felony or has violated any provision of subsection 2 of section 338.055.
8. After an investigation and a determination has been made to place a person’s name on the employment disqualification list, the board shall notify such person in writing mailed to the person’s last known address:
(1) That an allegation has been made against the person, the substance of the allegation and that an investigation has been conducted which tends to substantiate the allegation;
(2) That such person’s name has been added in the employment disqualification list of the board;
(3) The consequences to the person of being listed and the length of time the person’s name will be on the list; and
(4) The person’s right to file a complaint with the administrative hearing commission as provided in chapter 621.
9. The length of time a person’s name shall remain on the disqualification list shall be determined by the board.
10. No hospital or licensed pharmacy shall knowingly employ any person whose name appears on the employee disqualification list, except that a hospital or licensed pharmacy may employ a person whose name appears on the employment disqualification list but the board has authorized to work under certain terms and conditions. Any hospital or licensed pharmacy shall report to the board any final disciplinary action taken against a pharmacy technician or the voluntary resignation of a pharmacy technician against whom any complaints or reports have been made which might have led to final disciplinary action that can be a cause of action for discipline by the board as provided for in subsection 2 of section 338.055. Compliance with the foregoing sentence may be interposed as an affirmative defense by the employer. Any hospital or licensed pharmacy which reports to the board in good faith shall not be liable for civil damages.
(L. 1997 S.B. 141, A.L. 2004 S.B. 1122, A.L. 2009 S.B. 296)

Missouri Code of State Regulations
http://www.sos.mo.gov/adrules/csr/current/20csr/20c2220-2.pdf
Title 20 – Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration: Division 2220 – State Board of Pharmacy
20 CSR 2220-2.700 Pharmacy Technician Registration
20 CSR 2220-2.700 Pharmacy Technician Registration
PURPOSE: This rule defines the requirements for pharmacy technician registration.
(1) A pharmacy technician is defined as any person who assumes a supportive role under the direct supervision and responsibility of a pharmacist and who is utilized according to written standards of the employer or the pharmacist-in-charge to perform routine functions that do not require the use of professional judgement in connection with the receiving, preparing, compounding, distribution, or dispensing of medications.
(A) No person shall assume the role of a pharmacy technician without first registering with the board in accordance with the requirements in section 338.013, RSMo and this rule. Nothing in this rule shall preclude the use of persons as pharmacy technicians on a temporary basis as long as the individual(s) is registered as or has applied to the board for registration as a technician in accordance with 338.013.1 and .2, RSMo. (B) A person may be employed as a technician once a completed application and the required fee is received by the board. The board will provide either a registration certificate that shall be conspicuously displayed or a letter of disqualification preventing the applicant’s employment within a pharmacy.
(C) Information required on the application shall include, but is not limited to—
1. The name, phone number, and residential address of the applicant;
2. Full-time and part-time addresses where the applicant will be employed as a technician;
3. Information concerning the applicant’s compliance with state and federal laws, as well as any violations that could be considered grounds for discipline as outlined in section 338.013.5, RSMo;
4. One (1) two-inch by two-inch (2” × 2”) frontal view portrait photograph of applicant; and
5. Proof of fingerprinting as required by 20 CSR 2220-2.450.
(D) A copy of the application must be maintained by the applicant at the site(s) of employment during and until notice of registration or disqualification is received by the applicant and must be readily retrievable for review by the board of pharmacy or the board’s representatives.
(2) Registered technicians as well as applicants for registration as a technician are responsible for informing the board in the case of a changed residential address. Any mail or communications returned to the board office marked unknown, incorrect address, and the like will not be mailed a second time until the correct address is provided.
(3) Registered technicians as well as applicants for registration as a technician shall inform the executive director of the board of any change in their employment address. The notification of an employment change must be provided in writing to the board no later than fifteen (15) days following the effective date of the change.
(4) Any person whose name appears on the board of pharmacy employment disqualification list shall be barred from employment as a pharmacy technician except as provided in section (5) of this rule.
(A) Information on the disqualification list shall include, at a minimum, the name and last known residential address of the person disqualified, as well as any previous registration number, the date on which the person’s name was entered on the list and the date at which time the person will again become eligible for employment in a pharmacy. The board may place a person on the disqualification list for an indefinite period of time if the disqualified person fails to maintain a current mailing address with the board or fails to communicate with the board on a timely basis when contacted in writing by the board. (B) Once the board has made a determination to place a person’s name on the disqualification list, the board shall notify the person in writing by mailing the notification to the person’s last known address. The disqualification notice shall include:
1. The name, address of residence and, if already registered as a technician, the registration number;
2. The reasons for being placed on the disqualification list;
3. The consequences of the person’s name appearing on the list;
4. The time period of disqualification;
5. Any alternative restrictions or provisions for conditional employment, if provided by the board; and
6. The right to appeal the decision of the board as provided in Chapter 621, RSMo.
(5) Any person whose name appears on the disqualification list may be employed as a pharmacy technician subject to any restrictions or conditions ordered by the board. As an alternative to barring an individual from employment in a pharmacy, the board may consider restricted forms of employment or employment under special conditions for any person who has applied for or holds a registration as a pharmacy technician. Special conditions may include participation in the board’s Well- Being Program, as provided in 20 CSR 2220-2.175. Any registered technician subject to restrictions or conditions who violates any portion of the restrictions or conditions may be further restricted in employment or have additional conditions placed on their registration. The board may also implement full disqualification on a registrant who has violated any restrictions or conditions.
(6) The letter of notice of intent to disqualify and the disqualification list shall be considered an open record of the board as well as any notice of appeal or litigation that pertains to the disqualification and/or conditional registration as a pharmacy technician.
AUTHORITY: sections 338.013 and 338.380, RSMo
Supp. 2009, and section 338.140, RSMo 2000.* This rule originally filed as 4 CSR 220-2.700. Original rule filed Aug. 21, 1998, effective Feb. 28, 1999. Amended: Filed Nov. 13, 2002, effective June 30, 2003. Moved to 20 CSR 2220-2.700, effective Aug. 28, 2006. Amended: Filed Aug. 18, 2009, effective March 30, 2010.
*Original authority: 338.013, RSMo 1997, 2004, 2009;
338.140, RSMo 1939, amended 1981, 1989, 1997; and 338.380, RSMo 2007.

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.