Louisiana 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

Louisiana Board of Pharmacy

Laws and Regulations

(43) “Pharmacy technician” means an individual who assists in the practice of pharmacy under the direct and immediate supervision of a licensed pharmacist and is certified to do so by the board.

§1212. Pharmacy technicians

The board may register individuals as pharmacy technician candidates and certify individuals as pharmacy technicians, both of whom may assist a pharmacist in the practice of pharmacy, as specified in board rules. Notwithstanding any provision in law to the contrary, in all cases, a pharmacist must verify the accuracy of a prescription before the drug or device may be transferred to a patient or patient’s agent. The board may also set minimum training and education requirements and examinations for certification as a pharmacy technician as it deems necessary. The board may, by rule, establish ratios for pharmacy technician candidates to pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to pharmacists, but in no case shall such ratio be less than two pharmacy technicians to one pharmacist.

(Amended by Act 131 of 2004 Legislature, effective August 15, 2004; Act 387 of 2005 Legislature, effective August 15, 2005)

Louisiana Administrative Code

Title 46 – Professional and Occupational Standards

Part LIII: Pharmacists

Chapter 9. Pharmacy Technicians

§901. Definitions

A. As used in this Chapter, the following terms shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this Section:

ACPE – Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.

CPE – continuing pharmaceutical education, as part of a postgraduate educational program to enhance professional competence.

CPE Monitor – a collaborative service from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) and the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) that provides an electronic system for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to record and track their completed CPE activities.

CPE unit – a standard of measurement adopted by the ACPE for the purpose of accreditation of CPE programs. One CPE unit is equivalent to 10 credit hours.

Pharmacist Preceptor – Repealed.

Pharmacy Technician – an individual, certified by the board, who assists in the practice of pharmacy under the direct and immediate supervision of a Louisiana-licensed pharmacist.

Pharmacy Technician Candidate – an individual, registered by the board, training to become a pharmacy technician, who assists in the practice of pharmacy under the direct and immediate supervision of a Louisiana-licensed pharmacist.

Training Program – a pharmacy technician training program that is currently nationally-accredited and has been approved by the board.

§903. Pharmacy Technician Candidates

A. Registration

1. All pharmacy technician candidates shall obtain a registration from the board prior to performing any professional functions in a pharmacy; failure to do so may result in disciplinary action by the board.

2. Qualifications

a. The applicant shall be at least 18 years of age, as evidenced by a valid and legible copy of a birth certificate or other appropriate credential.

b. The applicant shall be of good moral character and non-impaired.

c. The applicant shall satisfy one of the following eligibility criteria:

i. Proof of enrollment in a nationally-accredited and board-approved pharmacy technician training program; or

ii. Proof of successful completion of a board-approved technician certification examination, and further, proof of successful completion of a high school approved by a state department of education or an equivalent degree of education, as evidenced by a valid and legible copy of a diploma, transcript, or other appropriate credential; or

iii. Proof of credentialing as a pharmacy technician by another state board of pharmacy as well as evidence of practice as a pharmacy technician for at least one year in that state, and further, proof of successful completion of a board-approved technician certification examination.

d. Exceptions:

i. A pharmacist or pharmacist intern whose board credential has been denied, suspended, revoked, or restricted for disciplinary reasons by any board of pharmacy shall not be a pharmacy technician candidate or pharmacy technician.

ii. A pharmacist or pharmacist intern whose board credential is lapsed shall not be a pharmacy technician candidate or pharmacy technician until such lapsed credential is recalled through non-disciplinary board action.

3. Issuance and Maintenance

a. Upon receipt of a properly completed application, appropriate fee, and any other documentation required by the board, the board may issue a pharmacy technician candidate registration to the applicant.

b. The board reserves the right to refuse to issue, recall, or discipline a registration for cause.

c. The registration shall expire 24 months after the date of issuance, and it shall not be renewable.

d. Termination of Enrollment; Status of Registration

i. In the event the candidate is no longer enrolled in a nationally-accredited and board-approved and board-approved pharmacy technician training program for any reason other than graduation, the candidate no longer meets the eligibility criteria to possess the registration, and the candidate shall relinquish the registration to the board, giving notice of their last day of enrollment in the program.

ii. In the event a candidate fails to relinquish their registration when required to do so, or when notified by the board office of that requirement, the board staff shall inactivate the registration and refer the matter to the board for its consideration of disciplinary action against the candidate.

iii. In the event the candidate should re-enroll in the original program or a   different program, and gives proof that that enrollment to the board, the board may re-issue the registration with the original expiration date preserved.

iv. In its discretion, the board may grant an exception to the original expiration date upon request by the candidate demonstrating unusual circumstances.

e. A pharmacy technician candidate shall notify the board, in writing, no later than 10 days following a change of mailing address. The written notice shall include the candidate’s name, registration number, and old and new addresses.

f. A pharmacy technician candidate shall notify the board, in writing, no later than 10 days following a change in location(s) of employment. The written notice shall include the candidate’s name, registration number, and name, address, and permit numbers for old and new employers.

B. Training Programs

1. All training programs approved by the board shall maintain their national accreditation.

2. The training program shall notify the board when a pharmacy technician candidate is no longer enrolled in the program. Evidence of a program’s failure to comply with this rule shall constitute sufficient basis for the withdrawal of the board’s approval for the program.

3. The training program shall provide an appropriate credential to the pharmacy technician candidate who has successfully completed the program, provided, however, that such credential shall not be formatted in such a manner to lead anyone to believe that credential resembles a document providing legal authority to practice as a pharmacy technician.

C. Practical Experience

1. The candidate shall possess a registration prior to performing any permitted professional function or earning any practical experience in a pharmacy.

2. The candidate shall wear appropriate attire and be properly identified as to name and candidate status while on duty in the prescription department.

3. A candidate shall not work in a permitted site that is on probation with the board, or with a pharmacist who is on probation with the board.

4. The candidate’s registration shall evidence his authority to earn practical experience in a pharmacy, under the supervision of a pharmacist, in satisfaction of the requirements for pharmacy technician certification.

a. In the event the registration was issued to an applicant enrolled in a nationally accredited and board-approved training program, the candidate shall earn the amount of experience prescribed by the curriculum of that program, which may include hours earned in a consultant pharmacy practice which does not hold a pharmacy permit; or

b. In the event the registration was issued to an applicant by any other method, the candidate shall earn at least 600 hours of practical experience in a pharmacy in Louisiana, provided however, that a candidate may received board credit for a maximum of 50 hours per week.

5. Hours of practical experience earned by a candidate shall expire two years after the expiration date of the registration.

D. Examination

1. A board-approved technician examination shall consist of integrated pharmacy subject matter and any other disciplines the board may deem appropriate in order to permit the candidate to demonstrate his competency. The candidate shall achieve a passing score, as determined by the board.

2. Re-examination

a. Following the first or second unsuccessful attempt of an examination, the candidate may be permitted to retake that examination.

b. Following the third unsuccessful attempt of an examination, the candidate shall wait one year after the date of the last examination to retake that examination. If the candidate fails to wait the prescribed one year period, the board may delay any future certification until that one year period has elapsed.

§905. Pharmacy Technician Certificate

A. Qualifications

1. An applicant for a pharmacy technician certificate shall be at least 18 years of age, as evidenced by a valid and legible copy of a birth certificate or other appropriate credential.

2. An applicant shall be of good moral character and non-impaired.

3. An applicant shall demonstrate one of the following educational competencies:

a. In the event the applicant obtained their technician candidate registration on the basis of their enrollment in a nationally-accredited and board-approved pharmacy technician training program, the applicant shall demonstrate successful completion of that training program, or in the alternative, another nationally-accredited and board-approved pharmacy technician training program.

b. In the event the applicant obtained their technician candidate registration by any other method, the applicant shall demonstrate the acquisition of at least 600 hours of practical experience under the supervision of a pharmacist, using a form supplied by the board.

4. An applicant shall demonstrate successful completion of a board-approved technician examination, as evidenced by a valid and legible copy of the appropriate credential.

B. Issuance and Maintenance

1. Upon receipt of a properly completed application, copies of valid and legible credentials, the appropriate fee, and any other documentation required by the board, and following verification that all requirements have been satisfied, the board may issue a pharmacy technician certificate to the applicant for the current renewal period.

2. The board reserves the right to refuse to issue, recall, or discipline a certificate for cause.

3. The annual renewal shall expire and become null and void on June 30 of each year.

a. The board shall make available, no later than May 1 of each year, an application for renewal to all pharmacy technicians to the address of record.

b. The completed application, along with the appropriate fee, shall be submitted to the board by June 30 of each year.

c. A pharmacy technician shall not assist in the practice of pharmacy in Louisiana with an expired renewal.

d. An application for an expired pharmacy technician renewal, along with the appropriate fee, shall be submitted to the board’s Reinstatement Committee for consideration.

4. A pharmacy technician shall notify the board, in writing, no later than 10 days following a change of mailing address. The written notice shall include the technician’s name, certificate number, and old and new addresses.

5. A pharmacy technician shall notify the board, in writing, no later than 10 days following a change in location(s) of employment. The written notice shall include the technician’s name, certificate number, and name, address, and permit numbers for old and new employers.

6. Upon written request of any certified pharmacy technician in active military service of the United States or any of its allies, the board may waive the requirement for the annual renewal of the certificate, including fees.

§907. Scope of Practice

A. Pharmacy technician candidates and pharmacy technicians may assist the pharmacist by performing those duties and functions assigned by the pharmacist while under his direct and immediate supervision.

1. The ratio of candidates to pharmacists on duty shall not exceed one to one at any given time.

2. The ratio of technicians to pharmacists on duty shall not exceed two to one at any given time.

However, the ratio of technicians to pharmacists on duty may be increased to three to one if no technician candidates are on duty at the same time.

B. Pharmacy technician candidates shall not:

1. receive verbal initial prescription orders;

2. give or receive verbal transfers of prescription orders;

3. interpret prescription orders (however, a technician candidate may translate prescription orders);

4. compound high-risk sterile preparations, as defined by the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), or its successor.

5. counsel patients.

C. Pharmacy technicians shall not:

1. release a verbal prescription order for processing until it is reduced to written form and initialed by the receiving technician and supervising pharmacist;

2. interpret prescription orders (however, a technician may translate prescription orders);

3. counsel patients.

§909. Continuing Education

A. A minimum of one technician-specific ACPE or board-approved CPE unit, or 10 credit hours, shall be required each year as a prerequisite for annual renewal of a pharmacy technician certificate. Such CPE units shall be credited in the 12-month period prior to the expiration date of the certificate.

B. Certified pharmacy technicians shall maintain copies of their individual records of personal CPE activities with CPE Monitor and shall authorize the board’s access to their file by recording their Louisiana pharmacy technician certificate number within that file, and shall present a copy of their CPE Monitor transcript when requested by the board.

C. If judged appropriate by the board, some or all of the required number of hours may be mandated on specific subjects. When so deemed, the board shall notify all certified pharmacy technicians prior to the beginning of the renewal year in which the CPE is required.

D. Complete compliance with CPE rules is a prerequisite for renewal of a pharmacy technician certificate.

1. Non-compliance with the CPE requirements shall be considered a violation of R.S. 37:1241(A)(2) and shall constitute a basis for the board to refuse annual renewal.

2. The failure to maintain an individual record of personal CPE activities, or falsifying CPE documents, shall be considered a violation of R.S. 37:1241(A)(22).

3. The inability to comply with CPE requirements shall be substantiated by a written explanation, supported with extraordinary circumstances, and submitted to the board for consideration.

§911. Impairment

A. Pharmacy technician candidates and pharmacy technicians shall be non-impaired.

B. Pharmacy technician candidates and pharmacy technicians who have knowledge that a pharmacist, pharmacist intern, pharmacy technician candidate, or pharmacy technician is impaired shall notify the board of that fact.

C. Pharmacy technician candidates and pharmacy technicians shall be subject to a medical evaluation for impairment by a board-approved addictionist, as authorized by the Louisiana Pharmacy Practice Act,

R.S. 37:1161 et seq.