California 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

California Law

I. Statutes (Laws)

Section 4038
Section 4115
Section 4202

4038

4038. Pharmacy Technician

(a) “Pharmacy technician” means an individual who assists a pharmacist in a pharmacy in the performance of his or her pharmacy related duties, as specified in Section 4115.

(b) A “pharmacy technician trainee” is a person who is enrolled in a pharmacy technician training program operated by a California public postsecondary education institution or by a private postsecondary vocational institution approved by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education.

4115

4115. Pharmacy Technician: Activities Permitted; Required Supervision; Activities Limited to Pharmacist; Registration; Requirements for Registration; Ratio

(a) A pharmacy technician may perform packaging, manipulative, repetitive, or other nondiscretionary tasks, only while assisting, and while under the direct supervision and control of a pharmacist.

(b) This section does not authorize the performance of any tasks specified in subdivision (a) by a pharmacy technician without a pharmacist on duty.

(c) This section does not authorize a pharmacy technician to perform any act requiring the exercise of professional judgment by a pharmacist.

(d) The board shall adopt regulations to specify tasks pursuant to subdivision (a) that a pharmacy technician may perform under the supervision of a pharmacist. Any pharmacy that employs a pharmacy technician shall do so in conformity with the regulations adopted by the board.

(e) No person shall act as a pharmacy technician without first being licensed by the board as a pharmacy technician.

(f) (1) A pharmacy with only one pharmacist shall have no more than one pharmacy technician performing the tasks specified in subdivision (a). The ratio of pharmacy technicians performing the tasks specified in subdivision (a) to any additional pharmacist shall not exceed 2:1, except that this ratio shall not apply to personnel performing clerical functions pursuant to Section 4116 or 4117. This ratio is applicable to all practice settings, except for an inpatient of a licensed health facility, a patient of a licensed home health agency, as specified in paragraph (2), an inmate of a correctional facility of the Department of the Youth Authority or the Department of Corrections, and for a person receiving treatment in a facility operated by the State Department of Mental Health, the State Department of Developmental Services, or the Department of Veterans Affairs.

(2) The board may adopt regulations establishing the ratio of pharmacy technicians performing the tasks specified in subdivision (a) to pharmacists applicable to the filling of prescriptions of an inpatient of a licensed health facility and for a patient of a licensed home health agency. Any ratio established by the board pursuant to this subdivision shall allow, at a minimum, at least one pharmacy technician for a single pharmacist in a pharmacy and two pharmacy technicians for each additional pharmacist, except that this ratio shall not apply to personnel performing clerical functions pursuant to Section 4116 or 4117.

(3) A pharmacist scheduled to supervise a second pharmacy technician may refuse to supervise a second pharmacy technician if the pharmacist determines, in the exercise of his or her professional judgment, that permitting the second pharmacy technician to be on duty would interfere with the effective performance of the pharmacist’s responsibilities under this chapter. A pharmacist assigned to supervise a second pharmacy technician shall notify the pharmacist in charge in writing of his or her determination, specifying the circumstances of concern with respect to the pharmacy or the pharmacy technician that have led to the determination, within a reasonable period, but not to exceed 24 hours, after the posting of the relevant schedule. No entity employing a pharmacist may discharge, discipline, or otherwise discriminate against any pharmacist in the terms and conditions of employment for exercising or attempting to exercise in good faith the right established pursuant to this paragraph.

(g) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), the board shall by regulation establish conditions to permit the temporary absence of a pharmacist for breaks and lunch periods pursuant to Section 512 of the Labor Code and the orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission without closing the pharmacy. During these temporary absences, a pharmacy technician may, at the discretion of the pharmacist, remain in the pharmacy but may only perform nondiscretionary tasks. The pharmacist shall be responsible for a pharmacy technician and shall review any task performed by a pharmacy technician during the pharmacist’s temporary absence. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to authorize a pharmacist to supervise pharmacy technicians in greater ratios than those described in subdivision (f).

(h) The pharmacist on duty shall be directly responsible for the conduct of a pharmacy technician supervised by that pharmacist.

4202

4202. Pharmacy Technician: License Requirements for Education, Experience; Board Regulations; Criminal Background Check; Discipline

(a) The board may issue a pharmacy technician license to an individual if he or she is a high school graduate or possesses a general educational development certificate equivalent, and meets any one of the following requirements:

(1) Has obtained an associate’s degree in pharmacy technology.

(2) Has completed a course of training specified by the board.

(3) Has graduated from a school of pharmacy recognized by the board.

(4) Is certified by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board.

(b) The board shall adopt regulations pursuant to this section for the licensure of pharmacy technicians and for the specification of training courses as set out in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a). Proof of the qualifications of any applicant for licensure as a pharmacy technician shall be made to the satisfaction of the board and shall be substantiated by any evidence required by the board.

(c) The board shall conduct a criminal background check of the applicant to determine if an applicant has committed acts that would constitute grounds for denial of licensure, pursuant to this chapter or Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 480) of Division 1.5.

(d) The board may suspend or revoke a license issued pursuant to this section on any ground specified in Section 4301.

(e) Once licensed as a pharmacist, the pharmacy technician registration is no longer valid and the pharmacy technician license shall be returned to the board within 15 days.

REGULATIONS

CALIFORNIA CODE OF REGULATIONS
DIVISION 17, TITLE 16

Article 11. Ancillary Personnel

1793. Definitions
1793.1. Duties of a Pharmacist
1793.2. Duties of a Pharmacy Technician
1793.3. Other Non-Licensed Pharmacy Personnel
1793.5. Pharmacy Technician Application
1793.6. Training Courses Specified by the Board
1793.7. Requirements for Pharmacies Employing Pharmacy Technicians
1793.8. Technicians in Hospitals with Clinical Pharmacy Programs

Article 11. Ancillary Personnel

1793. Definitions. “Pharmacy technician” means an individual who, under the direct supervision and control of a pharmacist, performs packaging, manipulative, repetitive, or other nondiscretionary tasks related to the processing of a prescription in a pharmacy, but who does not perform duties restricted to a pharmacist under section 1793.1.
Authority cited: Sections 4005, 4007, 4038, 4115 and 4202, Business and Professions Code. Reference: Sections 4005, 4007, 4038, 4115 and 4202, Business and Professions Code.

1793.1. Duties of a Pharmacist.
Only a pharmacist, or an intern pharmacist acting under the supervision of a pharmacist, may:

(a) Receive a new prescription order orally from a prescriber or other person authorized by law.

(b) Consult with a patient or his or her agent regarding a prescription, either prior to or after dispensing, or regarding any medical information contained in a patient medication record system or patient chart.

(c) Identify, evaluate and interpret a prescription.

(d) Interpret the clinical data in a patient medication record system or patient chart.

(e) Consult with any prescriber, nurse or other health care professional or authorized agent thereof.

(f) Supervise the packaging of drugs and check the packaging procedure and product upon completion.

(g) Perform all functions which require professional judgment.

Authority cited: Sections 4005, 4007, 4038, 4115 and 4202, Business and Professions Code. Reference: Sections 4005, 4007, 4038, 4115 and 4202, Business and Professions Code.

1793.2. Duties of a Pharmacy Technician.
“Nondiscretionary tasks” as used in Business and Professions Code section 4115, include:

(a) removing the drug or drugs from stock;

(b) counting, pouring, or mixing pharmaceuticals;

(c) placing the product into a container;

(d) affixing the label or labels to the container;

(e) packaging and repackaging.

Authority cited: Sections 4005, 4007, 4038, 4115 and 4202, Business and Professions Code. Reference: Sections 4005, 4007, 4038, 4115 and 4202, Business and Professions Code.

1793.3. Other Non-Licensed Pharmacy Personnel.

(a) In addition to employing a pharmacy technician to perform the tasks specified in section 1793.2, a pharmacy may employ a non-licensed person to type a prescription label or otherwise enter prescription information into a computer record system, but the responsibility for the accuracy of the prescription information and the prescription as dispensed lies with the registered pharmacist who initials the prescription or prescription record. At the direction of the registered pharmacist, a non-licensed person may also request and receive refill authorization.

(b) A pharmacist may supervise the number of non-licensed personnel performing the duties specified in subdivision (a) that the pharmacist determines, in the exercise of his or her professional judgment, does not interfere with the effective performance of the pharmacist’s responsibilities under the Pharmacy Law.

(c) A pharmacist who, exercising his or her professional judgment pursuant to subdivision (b), refuses to supervise the number of non-licensed personnel scheduled by the pharmacy, shall notify the pharmacist-in-charge in writing of his or her determination, specifying the circumstances of concern with respect to the pharmacy or the non-licensed personnel that have led to the determination, within a reasonable period, but not to exceed 24 hours, after the posting of the relevant schedule.

(d) No entity employing a pharmacist may discharge, discipline, or otherwise discriminate against any pharmacist in the terms and conditions of employment for exercising or attempting to exercise in good faith the right established pursuant to this section.

Authority cited: Sections 4005 and 4007, Business and Professions Code. Reference: Sections 4005 and 4007, Business and Professions Code.
1793.5. Pharmacy Technician Application.
The “Pharmacy Technician Application (Form 17A-5(Rev. 01/11)), incorporated by reference herein, required by this section is available from the Board of Pharmacy upon request.

(a) Each application for a pharmacy technician license shall include:

(1) Information sufficient to identify the applicant.

(2) A description of the applicant’s qualifications, and supporting documentation for those qualifications.

(3) A criminal background check that will require submission of fingerprints in a manner specified by the board and the fee authorized in Penal Code section 11105(e).

(4) A sealed, original Self-Query from the National Practitioner Data Bank – Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank (NPDB-HIPDB) dated no earlier than 60 days of the date an application is submitted to the board.

(b) The applicant shall sign the application under penalty of perjury and shall submit it to the Board of Pharmacy.

(c) The board shall notify the applicant within 30 days if an application is deficient; and what is needed to correct the deficiency. Once the application is complete, and upon completion of any investigation conducted pursuant to section 4207 of the Business and Professions Code, the board will notify the applicant within 60 days of a license decision.

(d) Before expiration of a pharmacy technician license, a pharmacy technician must renew that license by payment of the fee specified in subdivision (r) of section 4400 of the Business and Professions Code.

Authority cited: Sections 163.5, 4005, 4007, 4038, 4115, 4202, 4207, and4400, Business and Professions Code. Reference: Sections 163.5, 4005, 4007, 4038, 4115, 4202, 4207, 4402, and 4400, Business and Professions Code; Section 11105, Penal Code.

1793.6. Training Courses Specified by the Board.
A course of training that meets the requirements of Business and Professions Code section 4202 (a)(2) is:

(a) Any pharmacy technician training program accredited by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists,

(b) Any pharmacy technician training program provided by a branch of the federal armed services for which the applicant possesses a certificate of completion, or

(c) Any other course that provides a training period of at least 240 hours of instruction covering at least the following:

(1) Knowledge and understanding of different pharmacy practice settings.

(2) Knowledge and understanding of the duties and responsibilities of a pharmacy technician in relationship to other pharmacy personnel and knowledge of standards and ethics, laws and regulations governing the practice of pharmacy.

(3) Knowledge and ability to identify and employ pharmaceutical and medical terms, abbreviations and symbols commonly used in prescribing, dispensing and record keeping of medications.

(4) Knowledge of and the ability to carry out calculations required for common dosage determination, employing both the metric and apothecary systems.

(5) Knowledge and understanding of the identification of drugs, drug dosages, routes of administration, dosage forms and storage requirements.

(6) Knowledge of and ability to perform the manipulative and record-keeping functions involved in and related to dispensing prescriptions.

(7) Knowledge of and ability to perform procedures and techniques relating to manufacturing, packaging, and labeling of drug products.

Authority cited: Sections 4005, 4007, 4038, 4115 and 4202, Business and Professions Code. Reference: Sections 4005, 4007, 4038, 4115 and 4202, Business and Professions Code.
1793.7. Requirements for Pharmacies Employing Pharmacy Technicians.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in section 1793.8, any function performed by a pharmacy technician in connection with the dispensing of a prescription, including repackaging from bulk and storage of pharmaceuticals, must be verified and documented in writing by a pharmacist. Except for the preparation of prescriptions for an inpatient of a hospital and for an inmate of a correctional facility, the pharmacist shall indicate verification of the prescription by initialing the prescription label before the medication is provided to the patient.

(b) Pharmacy technicians must work under the direct supervision of a pharmacist and in such a relationship that the supervising pharmacist is fully aware of all activities involved in the preparation and dispensing of medications, including the maintenance of appropriate records.

(c) A pharmacy technician must wear identification clearly identifying him or her as a pharmacy technician.

(d) Any pharmacy employing or using a pharmacy technician shall develop a job description and written policies and procedures adequate to ensure compliance with the provisions of Article 11 of this Chapter, and shall maintain, for at least three years from the time of making, records adequate to establish compliance with these sections and written policies and procedures.

(e) A pharmacist shall be responsible for all activities of pharmacy technicians to ensure that all such activities are performed completely, safely and without risk of harm to patients.

(f) For the preparation of a prescription for an inpatient of a licensed health facility and for a patient of a licensed home health agency, the ratio shall not be less than one pharmacist on duty for a total of two pharmacy technicians on duty. Pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 4115(g)(1), this ratio shall not apply to the preparation of a prescription for an inmate of a correctional facility of the Department of the Youth Authority or the Department of Corrections, or for a person receiving treatment in a facility operated by the State Department of Mental Health, the State Department of Developmental Services, or the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Authority cited: Sections 4005, 4007, 4038, 4115 and 4202, Business and Professions Code. Reference: Sections 4005, 4007, 4038, 4115 and 4202, Business and Professions Code.

1793.8 Technicians in Hospitals with Clinical Pharmacy Programs.

(a) A general acute care hospital, as defined in Health and Safety Code 1250 (a), that has an ongoing clinical pharmacy program may allow pharmacy technicians to check the work of other pharmacy technicians in connection with the filling of floor and ward stock and unit dose distribution systems for patients admitted to the hospital whose orders have previously been reviewed and approved by a licensed pharmacist. Only inpatient hospital pharmacies as defined in 4029(a) that maintain a clinical pharmacy services program as described in 4052.1 may have a technician checking technician program as described. The pharmacy shall have on file a description of the clinical pharmacy program prior to initiating a technician checking technician program.

(1) This section shall only apply to acute care inpatient hospital pharmacy settings.

(2) Hospital pharmacies that have a technician checking technician program shall deploy pharmacists to the inpatient care setting to provide clinical services.

(b) Compounded or repackaged products must have been previously checked by a pharmacist and then may be used by the technician to fill unit dose distribution systems, and floor and ward stock.

(c) To ensure quality patient care and reduce medication errors, programs that use pharmacy technicians to check the work of other pharmacy technicians pursuant to this section must include the following components:

(1) The overall operation of the program shall be the responsibility of the pharmacist-in-charge.

(2) The program shall be under the direct supervision of a pharmacist and the parameters for the direct supervision shall be specified in the facility’s policies and procedures

(3) The pharmacy technician who performs the checking function has received specialized and advanced training as prescribed in the policies and procedures of the facility.

(4) To ensure quality there shall be ongoing evaluation of programs that use pharmacy technicians to check the work of other pharmacy technicians.

Authority cited: Section 4005 and 4115, Business and Professions Code. Reference: Section 4005, 4052.1 and 4115 Business and Professions Code.

III. References

California 2012 LAWBOOK FOR PHARMACY

http://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/laws_regs/lawbook.pdf

California Code of Regulations Title 16, Division 17
http://weblinks.westlaw.com/toc/default.aspx?Abbr=ca%2Dadc&Action=ExpandTree&AP=I2F03BEC0D48F11DEBC02831C6D6C108E&ItemKey=I2F03BEC0D48F11DEBC02831C6D6C108E&RP=%2Ftoc%2Fdefault%2Ewl&Service=TOC&RS=WEBL12.04&VR=2.0&SPa=CCR-1000&pbc=DA010192&fragment#I2F03BEC0D48F11DEBC02831C6D6C108E

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.