Virginia 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

Virginia Law

I. Laws
Virginia Pharmacy Statutes
http://www.dhp.virginia.gov/pharmacy/leg/PharmacyLaw7-2012.doc

Chapter 33. Pharmacy
§ 54.1-3300. Definitions.
“Pharmacy technician” means a person registered with the Board to assist a pharmacist under the pharmacist’s supervision.

§ 54.1-3321. Registration of pharmacy technicians.
A. No person shall perform the duties of a pharmacy technician without first being registered as a pharmacy technician with the Board. Upon being registered with the Board as a pharmacy technician, the following tasks may be performed:
1. The entry of prescription information and drug history into a data system or other record keeping system;
2. The preparation of prescription labels or patient information;
3. The removal of the drug to be dispensed from inventory;
4. The counting, measuring, or compounding of the drug to be dispensed;
5. The packaging and labeling of the drug to be dispensed and the repackaging thereof;
6. The stocking or loading of automated dispensing devices or other devices used in the dispensing process;
7. The acceptance of refill authorization from a prescriber or his authorized agency, so long as there is no change to the original prescription; and
8. The performance of any other task restricted to pharmacy technicians by the Board’s regulations.
B. To be registered as a pharmacy technician, a person shall submit satisfactory evidence that he is of good moral character and has satisfactorily completed a training program and examination that meet the criteria approved by the Board in regulation or that he holds current certification from the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board.
C. A pharmacy intern may perform the duties set forth for pharmacy technicians in subsection A when registered with the Board for the purpose of gaining the practical experience required to apply for licensure as a pharmacist.
D. In addition, a person enrolled in an approved training program for pharmacy technicians may engage in the acts set forth in subsection A for the purpose of obtaining practical experience required for registration as a pharmacy technician, so long as such activities are directly monitored by a supervising pharmacist.
E. The Board shall promulgate regulations establishing requirements for evidence of continued competency as a condition of renewal of a registration as a pharmacy technician.
F. The Board shall waive the initial registration fee and the first examination fee for the Board-approved examination for a pharmacy technician applicant who works as a pharmacy technician exclusively in a free clinic pharmacy. If such applicant fails the examination, he shall be responsible for any subsequent fees to retake the examination. A person registered pursuant to this subsection shall be issued a limited-use registration. A pharmacy technician with a limited-use registration shall not perform pharmacy technician tasks in any setting other than a free clinic pharmacy. The Board shall also waive renewal fees for such limited-use registrations. A pharmacy technician with a limited-use registration may convert to an unlimited registration by paying the current renewal fee.
(2001, c. 317; 2004, c. 47.)

Virginia Pharmacy Rules
http://www.dhp.virginia.gov/pharmacy/leg/Pharmacy_12222011.doc

Part III. Requirements for Pharmacy Technician Registration
18VAC110-20-101. Application for registration as a pharmacy technician.
A. Any person wishing to apply for registration as a pharmacy technician shall submit the application fee and an application on a form approved by the board.
B. In order to be registered as a pharmacy technician, an applicant shall provide evidence of the following:
1. Satisfactory completion of an approved training program, and
2. A passing score on a board-approved examination.
C. In lieu of the requirements of subsection B of this section, an applicant may provide evidence of current PTCB certification.
D. A pharmacy technician trainee may perform tasks restricted to pharmacy technicians for no more than nine months without becoming registered as a pharmacy technician.

18VAC110-20-102. Criteria for approval for training programs.
A. Any person wishing to apply for approval of a pharmacy technician training program shall submit the application fee and an application on a form approved by the board and meet the criteria established in this section.
B. The curriculum of a training program for pharmacy technicians shall include instruction in applicable, current laws and regulations and in the tasks that may be performed by a pharmacy technician to include the following or any other task restricted to pharmacy technicians in regulation:

1. The entry of prescription information and drug history into a data system or other recordkeeping system;
2. The preparation of prescription labels or patient information;
3. The removal of the drug to be dispensed from inventory;
4. The counting, measuring, or compounding of the drug to be dispensed;
5. The packaging and labeling of the drug to be dispensed and the repackaging thereof;
6. The stocking or loading of automated dispensing devices or other devices used in the dispensing process; and
7. The acceptance of refill authorization from a prescriber or his authorized agent provided there is no change to the original prescription.
C. Each program shall have a program director who shall be either (i) a pharmacist with a current license in any jurisdiction and who is not currently suspended or revoked in any jurisdiction in the United States; (ii) a pharmacy technician with at least one year of experience performing technician tasks who holds a current registration in Virginia or current PTCB certification and who is not currently suspended or revoked as a pharmacy technician in any jurisdiction; or (iii) other person approved and deemed qualified by the board to be a program director.
D. Instructors for the core components listed in subsection B of this section shall meet the requirements for the program director listed in subsection C of this section. The program director may serve as an instructor.
E. The length of the program shall be sufficient to prepare a program participant to sit for the board-approved examination and demonstrate entry-level competency.
F. The program shall maintain records of program participants either on-site or at another location where the records are readily retrievable upon request for inspection. A program shall provide a certificate of completion to participants who successfully complete the program and provide verification of completion of the program for a participant upon request by the board. Records shall be maintained for two years from date of completion or termination of program.
G. The program shall report within 14 days any substantive change in the program to include a change in program name, program director, instructors, name of institution or business if applicable, address, program content, length of program, or location of records.
H. A pharmacy technician training program approval expires after two years, after which the program may apply for renewal. For continued approval, the program shall submit the renewal application, renewal fee, and a self-evaluation report on a form provided by the board at the time of renewal notification. Renewal of a program’s approval is at the discretion of the board, and the decision to renew shall be based on documentation of continued compliance with the criteria set forth in this section.

18VAC110-20-103. Examination.
A. The board shall approve one or more examinations to test entry-level competency for pharmacy technicians. In order to be approved, a competency examination shall be developed in accordance with and meet the recognized acceptable test measurement standards of the Joint Technical Standards for Education and Psychological Testing (American Psychological Association, current edition), and shall be administered by an independent third party.
B. The board may contract with an examination service for the development and administration of a competency examination.
C. The board shall determine the minimum passing standard on the competency examination.
D. Any requests for testing accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act shall be in accordance with the provisions of 18VAC110-20-60 F.
18VAC110-20-104. Address of record; maintenance of certificate.
A. It shall be the duty and responsibility of each pharmacy technician to inform the board of his current address. A pharmacy technician shall notify the board in writing or electronically of any change of an address of record within 14 days. Properly updating address of record directly through the board’s web-based application or other approved means shall constitute lawful notification. All notices required by law or by these rules and regulations are deemed to be legally given when mailed to the address of record and shall not relieve the registrant of the obligation to comply.
B. A pharmacy technician shall maintain his current registration certificate at his principal place of practice available for inspection upon request. A pharmacy technician who does not have a principal place of practice may maintain it at any pharmacy in which he practices or his address of record.
18VAC110-20-105. Renewal and reinstatement of registration.
A. Pharmacy technician registrations expire on December 31 and shall be renewed annually prior to that date by the submission of a renewal fee and renewal form. A pharmacy technician newly registered on or after July 1 shall not be required to renew that registration until December 31 of the following year. Failure to receive the application for renewal shall not relieve the pharmacy technician of the responsibility for renewing the registration by the expiration date.
B. A pharmacy technician who fails to renew his registration by the expiration date may renew his registration at any time within one year of its expiration by submission of the renewal fee and late fee, renewal form, and proof of required continuing education.
C. A pharmacy technician who fails to renew his registration for more than one year following expiration and who wishes to reinstate such registration shall submit an application for reinstatement, pay the current renewal fee and a reinstatement fee, and submit documentation showing compliance with continuing education requirements. Reinstatement is at the discretion of the board and may be granted by the executive director of the board provided no grounds exist to deny said reinstatement. Conducting tasks associated with a pharmacy technician with a lapsed registration shall be illegal and may subject the registrant to disciplinary action by the board.
D. A person who fails to reinstate a pharmacy technician registration within five years of expiration, shall not be eligible for reinstatement and shall repeat an approved training program and repeat and pass the examination, or hold current PTCB certification, before applying to be reregistered.
18VAC110-20-106. Requirements for continued competency.
A. A pharmacy technician shall be required to have completed a minimum of 0.5 CEUs or five contact hours of approved continuing education for each annual renewal of registration. Hours in excess of the number required for renewal may not be transferred or credited to another year.
B. An approved continuing education program shall meet the requirements as set forth in subsection B of 18VAC110-20-90 or subsection B of 18VAC110-20-100.
C. Upon written request of a pharmacy technician, the board may grant an extension of up to one year in order for the pharmacy technician to fulfill the continuing education requirements for the period of time in question. The granting of an extension shall not relieve the pharmacy technician from complying with current year requirements. Any subsequent extension shall be granted for good cause shown.
D. Original certificates showing successful completion of continuing education programs shall be maintained by the pharmacy technician for a period of two years following the renewal of his registration. The pharmacy technician shall provide such original certificates to the board upon request in a manner to be determined by the board.

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.