Certified pharmacy technicians help pharmacists with providing medication to patients. A pharmacy technician will usually perform simple tasks to help get the prescriptions ready. This basically means that they count tablets, and label prescription bottles. They also perform certain administrative duties as well. Some of these duties include stocking shelves, answering the phone, and operating the cash register.

The pharmacy technician refers all questions concerning health, drugs, and prescriptions over to the pharmacist. With out a pharmacist present the technician can not addressee these concerns for the patient. Technicians that work in a retail pharmacy have varying responsibilities depending upon the regulations and state rules.

Technicians are allowed to receive written prescriptions and refill request for patients. The pharmacy technician can also receive prescriptions sent electronically or called in by a doctor. The technician has to verify the information and make sure it is all correct. A technician is allowed to retrieve, count, pour, weigh, measure, and mix medications.

They then have to prepare the prescription labels, select a container for the prescription, and place the medication and labels where they belong on the container. A technician then prices and files the prescription that must then be double checked by a pharmacist. A prescription can not be handed to a patient until the pharmacist has checked it.

Usually a pharmacy technician is the one that makes and maintains the patients profile, file insurance claims, and do inventory of the prescription medication. Sometimes the inventory has to include non prescription medications. When a technician works in a nursing home or hospital there are a few things more they are responsible for.

Some of these responsibilities include reading a patients chart, and preparing the right medication. After the prescription is checked by the pharmacist the technician then delivers the medicine to the patient. The information will then need to be added to the patients profile and that is also the technician’s job.

The hours that a technician works will depend on the hours of the pharmacist they work with. A technician has to work the hours that the pharmacist works because they can not prepare medication by themselves. Depending on the institution the technician works in they could be asked to work nights, weekends, and holidays. Most pharmacies have regular hours but a hospital or nursing home can have various working hours.

Thinking about becoming a certified pharmacy technician then check out my blog with information about certified pharmacy technicians and even information on how to get ready for the pharmacy technician certification.