When you visit your local pharmacy to pick up your prescription, you may assume that the person who hands you your prescription and rings up your purchase is a pharmacist. While this may be true in some instances, the most likely scenario is that the person is a drugstore pharmacy tech. If you aspire to become a pharmacy tech, here are some of the job duties you can expect to perform when you go to work.
Checking Prescriptions
Whether the prescriptions come in electronically or are brought in by the customer, the pharmacy tech needs to verify it. The pharmacy technician will verify the prescribing physician's license number, the physician's name, phone number, address, and whether or not the medication is for a narcotic, or other controlled substance. The tech will also make sure that the prescribing doctor's medical license number is on the prescription.
If the license number is absent, then the physician will need to be notified because a prescription without the license number is invalid and cannot be filled. The drugstore pharmacy tech will also make sure that the prescription includes the name of the patient, and will also make sure that the pharmacy has the correct address and phone number of the patient on file.
In addition, the prescription will need to be checked to ensure that that it includes the drug dosage, the route of administration, and how many times a day the medication is to be taken. Pharmacy technicians work under the guidance of the registered pharmacist, so if the tech has questions or if something appears unclear, he or she will consult with the pharmacist on duty.
Filling Prescriptions
Another job duty of the pharmacy technician is to fill prescriptions. He or she will make sure that the proper medication, amount of medication, and the proper dosage of the medication is dispensed. He or she will also choose the correct container for the medication and will then print out the label.
After the label has been printed, the tech will affix it to the container. It is important to note that while the pharmacy technician has the authority to fill prescriptions, he or she cannot give the prescription medication to the customer until the registered pharmacist has checked it for accuracy.
If you want to learn more about becoming a pharmacy tech or pharmacist, visit your local drugstore and ask to talk to one of these professionals or contact a college that offers a pharmacy or tech program.
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