Ohio 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

Appendix 1 – Statutes and Regulations

http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/4729

4729.42 Unauthorized conduct by pharmacy technicians.

(A) As used in this section, “qualified pharmacy technician” means a person who is under the personal supervision of a pharmacist and to whom all of the following apply:

(1) The person is eighteen years of age or older.

(2) The person possesses a high school diploma, possesses a certificate of high school equivalence, or was employed prior to April 8, 2009, as a pharmacy technician without a high school diploma or a certificate of high school equivalence.

(3) The person has passed an examination approved by the state board of pharmacy to determine a person’s competency to perform services as a pharmacy technician.

(4) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the person has submitted to a criminal records check in accordance with section 4776.02 of the Revised Code as if the person was an applicant for an initial license who is subject to that section, and the results of the criminal records check provided as described in that section and section 4776.04 of the Revised Code do not show that the person previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any felony in this state, any other state, or the United States.

(B) Except as provided in division (F) of this section, no person who is not a pharmacist, pharmacy intern, or qualified pharmacy technician shall do any of the following in a pharmacy or while performing a function of a pharmacy:

(1) Engage in the compounding of any drug;

(2) Package or label any drug;

(3) Prepare or mix any intravenous drug to be injected into a human being.

(C) No pharmacist shall allow any person employed or otherwise under the control of the pharmacist to violate division (B) of this section.

(D) No person who owns, manages, or conducts a pharmacy shall allow any person employed or otherwise under the control of the person who owns, manages, or conducts the pharmacy to violate division (B) of this section.

(E) No person who submits to a criminal records check in accordance with section 4776.02 of the Revised Code for the purpose of satisfying the criterion set forth in division (A)(4) of this section and who obtains a report pursuant to section 4776.02 or 4776.04 of the Revised Code containing the results of the criminal records check and any information provided by the federal bureau of investigation shall modify or alter, or allow any other person to modify or alter, any item, record, or information contained in the report and thereafter use the modified or altered report for the purpose of satisfying the criterion set forth in division (A)(4) of this section or otherwise submit or use it for any purpose or in any manner identified in division (A) of section 2921.13 of the Revised Code.

(F)(1) Division (B) of this section does not prohibit a health care professional authorized to engage in the activities specified in division (B)(1), (2), or (3) of this section while acting in the course of the professional’s practice.

(2) Division (B) of this section does not prohibit the activities performed by a student as an integral part of a pharmacy technician training program that is operated by a vocational school district or joint vocational school district, certified by the department of education, or approved by the Ohio board of regents.

(3) In the case of a person employed after April 8, 2009, division (B) of this section does not prohibit the person’s activities for the first twelve months following the initial date of employment, if both of the following apply:

(a) The person is participating in or has completed a pharmacy technician training program that meets the board’s standards for those programs and is making substantial progress in preparation to take a pharmacy technician examination approved by the board.

(b) The results of the person’s criminal records check provided as described in sections 4776.02 and 4776.04 of the Revised Code show that the person previously has not been convicted of or has not pleaded guilty to any felony in this state, any other state, or the United States.

(4) In the case of a person who completes a pharmacy technician training program that is operated by a vocational school district or joint vocational school district, division (B) of this section does not prohibit the person’s activities for the first twelve months following the date of completing the program, if both of the following apply:

(a) The person is making substantial progress in preparation to take a pharmacy technician examination approved by the board.

(b) The results of the person’s criminal records check show that the person previously has not been convicted of or has not pleaded guilty to any felony in this state, any other state, or the United States.

(5) In the case of a person employed on April 8, 2009, in the capacity of a pharmacy technician, division (B) of this section does not do either of the following:

(a) Require the person to undergo a criminal records check if the person has been employed for five years or longer;

(b) Prohibit the person’s activities until the earlier of either of the following:

(i) If the person has not passed an examination described in division (A)(3) of this section, eighteen months after April 8, 2009;

(ii) If a criminal records check is required because the person has not been employed for five years or longer, the date on which the person and the employer receive the results of a criminal records check provided as described in sections 4776.02 and 4776.04 of the Revised Code that show the person previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any felony in this state, any other state, or the United States.

(G) If, pursuant to rules adopted under section 4729.26 of the Revised Code, the board requires a person that develops or administers a pharmacy technician examination to submit examination materials to the board for approval, any examination materials that are submitted shall not be public records for purposes of section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

Amended by 128th General Assembly File No. 9, HB 1, § 101.01, eff. 10/16/2009.

Amended by 128th General Assembly ch. 1, HB 2, § 101.01, eff. 4/1/2009.

Effective Date: 2008 SB203 04-08-2009

Ohio Administrative Code

http://www.pharmacy.ohio.gov/rules/index.htm

Rule 4729-4-01 [Effective 06/21/2009]

As used in Chapter 4729-4 of the Administrative Code:

(A) “Compounding” has the same meaning as defined in division (C) of section 4729.01 of the Revised Code.

(B) “Package or label any drug” means the placement of a drug into a container or package and the affixing of a drug label or drug information to the immediate drug container or drug package.

(C) “Prepare or mix any intravenous drug to be injected into a human being” has the same meaning as “Compounding” as defined in division (C) of section 4729.01 of the Revised Code.

(D) “Qualified pharmacy technician” has the same meaning as defined in section 4729.42 of the Revised Code.

Rule 4729-4-02 [Update Effective 07/25/2009]

A board approved examination for qualified pharmacy technicians required in section 4729.42 of
the Revised Code means either of the following:
(A) An examination provided by a national pharmacy technician certification program that is accredited by the national commission for certifying agencies. Information regarding these examinations will be posted on the board’s web site (www.pharmacy.ohio.gov).
(B) An examination provided by an employer after being approved by the board of pharmacy.
(1) The employer shall ensure that the examination is of appropriate breadth and depth, clearly addressing the competencies required for a technician to safely and effectively work in that particular setting and shall include at a minimum the following:
(a) The applicable employer practice areas specified in division (B) of section 4729.42 of the Revised Code;
(b) Pharmacy terminology;
(c) Basic drug information;
(d) Basic calculations;
(e) Quality control procedures;
(f) State and federal laws, rules, and regulations regarding:
(i) Qualified pharmacy technician duties;
(ii) Pharmacist duties;
(iii) Pharmacy intern duties;
(iv) Prescription or drug order processing procedures;
(v) Drug record keeping requirements;
(vi) Patient confidentiality;
(vii) Security requirements;
(viii) Storage requirements.
(2) An examination provided by an employer shall only be considered as an approved examination for that employer.
(3) The employer shall have procedures that ensure the security and integrity of the
examination materials, describe the testing format, and define the successful completion of an examination which must be at least seventy-five percent. The administration of an examination shall be supervised by a proctor and at a minimum shall consist primarily of multiple choice, essay, or short answer questions. The questions on the examination Ohio State Board of Pharmacy ∼ 77 South High Street Room 1702 Columbus, OH 43215-6126 ∼ 614/466-4143 shall not be given to the examinee prior to taking the examination. The answers to the
examination must not be given to the examinee prior to or during the examination. The examinee shall agree in writing not to share the questions or answers to the
examination with any other person.
(4) The employer shall maintain the examinations and scores of all of the employees who successfully passed an examination for a minimum of three years after the employee ceases employment.
(5) An employer shall provide the examination procedures and the examination materials to the board for review and approval. The board, after reviewing the examination procedures and materials, may approve the examination program or return it to the employer for revision without approval. If an examination program has been returned for revision without approval, the board will indicate the reasons for the rejection and it may not be used further until the board has approved it. If requested by the state board of pharmacy, an employer shall provide the examination results to the board within three working days, excluding weekends and holidays.

Rule 4729-4-03 [Update Effective 10/27/11]

A pharmacy technician training program pursuant to division (F) of section 4729.42 of the Revised Code shall be of appropriate breadth and depth, clearly addressing the competencies for a technician to safely and effectively work in that particular setting and shall include at a minimum the following:

(A) The applicable practice areas specified in division (B) of section 4729.42 of the Revised Code;

(B) Pharmacy terminology;

(C) Basic drug information;

(D) Basic calculations;

(E) Quality control procedures;

(F) State and federal laws, rules, and regulations regarding:

(1) Qualified pharmacy technician duties;

(2) Pharmacist duties;

(3) Pharmacy intern duties;

(4) Prescription or drug order processing procedures;

(5) Drug record keeping requirements;

(6) Patient confidentiality;

(7) Security requirements;

(8) Storage requirements.

Rule 4729-4-04 [Effective 06/21/2009]

(A) Pursuant to sections 4729.42 and 4776.02 of the Revised Code, the criminal records check performed by the Ohio bureau of criminal identification and investigation (BCI&I) shall consist of both a BCI&I criminal records check and a federal bureau of investigation (FBI) criminal records check. BCI&I shall send the results of the BCI&I criminal records check directly to the employer or potential employer. BCI&I shall provide a letter regarding the FBI criminal records check to the employer or potential employer stating that there is either no record of any conviction or a letter stating that the request may not meet the criteria. When an employer or potential employer receives a letter stating that the request may not meet the criteria, they may share this information with the employee or potential employee. In order to complete the criminal records check, the employee or potential employee must then complete a “Request for Release-FBI Rapsheet” and send it to BCI&I to request a copy of the FBI criminal record results be sent directly to the employee or potential employee. The employee or potential employee is then responsible for providing the FBI criminal records check results to the employer or potential employer. The employee or potential employee must provide the results to the employer or potential employer. The employee or potential employee must provide the results to the employer or potential employer in the original sealed envelope received from BCI&I.

(B) The criminal records check shall be based on electronic fingerprint impressions that are submitted directly to BCI&I from a “WebCheck” provider agency located in Ohio. The employer may accept the results of a criminal records check based on ink impressions from a “WebCheck” provider agency only in the event that readable electronic fingerprint impressions cannot be obtained.

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.