Pennsylvania 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

Pennsylvania Law

I. Laws
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/http;//www.portal.state.pa.us;80/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_159777_770541_0_0_18/ACT_114.pdf

No stated regulations on pharmacy technicians.

PENNSYLVANIA CODE
http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/049/chapter27/chap27toc.html

§ 27.1. Definitions.
Pharmacy technician—An unlicensed person working in a pharmacy to assist a pharmacist in the practice of pharmacy in accordance with §  27.12 (relating to practice of pharmacy and delegation of duties). The term does not include a pharmacy intern or clerical or housekeeping personnel.

§ 27.12. Practice of pharmacy and delegation of duties.
(d)  Pharmacy technicians.

(1)  A pharmacy technician may work only under the direct, immediate, personal supervision of a pharmacist in accordance with subsection (b)(2).

(2)  The following are examples of the types of activities which a pharmacy technician may perform:
(i)   Carry containers of drugs in and around the pharmacy.
(ii)   Count pills, tablets and capsules and put them in a container.
(iii)   Type or print, or both, labels.
(iv)   Maintain records which are related to the practice of pharmacy.
(v)   Assist the pharmacist in preparing and reconstituting parenteral products and other medications. After the parenteral product or other medication has been prepared, the supervising pharmacist shall initial the label of the product or medication to document his final inspection and to accept total responsibility for its preparation.
(vi)   Enter prescription, drug order or patient information in a patient profile.

(3)  A pharmacy technician may not:
(i)   Accept or transcribe an oral order or telephone prescription.
(ii)   Enter or be in a pharmacy if a pharmacist is not on duty.
(iii)   Perform any act within the practice of pharmacy that involves discretion or independent professional judgment.
(iv)   Perform a duty until the technician has been trained and the duty has been specified in a written protocol.

(4)  The pharmacist manager shall create and maintain a written protocol for each pharmacy technician employed in the pharmacy. The protocol shall specify each duty which the pharmacy technician may perform. The pharmacist manager and the pharmacy technician shall date and sign the protocol and each amendment to the protocol. The pharmacist manager shall make the protocol available to agents of the Board upon demand.

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.