PHARMACY TECHNICIAN TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION

To advocate for adoption of a national standard for accreditation of pharmacy technician education and training programs; further,

To advocate that a pharmacy technician education and training program accredited by ASHP and the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) be required for all new pharmacy technicians by the year 2022; further,

To advocate that all pharmacy technicians be required to obtain and maintain Pharmacy Technician Certification Board certification; further,

To foster expansion of ASHP/ACPE-accredited pharmacy technician education and training programs.

Rationale

In January 2017, the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) suspended the condition that by 2020 the completion of an accredited technician education and training program would be required to be eligible for the PTCB certification exam. There is no indication that PTCB will reinstate that requirement; however, ASHP supports completion of an education and training program accredited by ASHP and the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) as well as PTCB certification for all pharmacy technicians. Although education requirements have been added by PTCB to take the certification exam starting in 2020, completion of an accredited education and training program is only one pathway for eligibility for the exam; PTCB also recognizes equivalent work experience. If an applicant has completed an unaccredited program, there is a required attestation for the content of that program.

In 2018, ASHP and ACPE developed revised national standards that serve as a guide for the development of ASHP/ACPE-accredited pharmacy technician education and training programs. These standards serve as the criteria for the evaluation of new and established pharmacy technician training programs and will help ensure that pharmacy technicians possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for their critical role on the healthcare team. A number of environmental factors, including changes in state laws allowing for expanded roles, responsibilities, and authority for pharmacy technicians, prompted the reassessment of the standards, which were last revised in 2015. ASHP supports more uniform state statutes and regulations regarding pharmacy technicians. The anticipated increase in demand for enrollment in ASHP/ACPE-accredited training programs will require an expansion of the number and distribution of such programs, including innovative education and training formats.

This policy is also aligned with the work of the Pharmacy Technician Stakeholder Consensus Conference, the national consensus conference that engaged all sectors of pharmacy to define basic knowledge, skills, and abilities of pharmacy technicians, to promote and define advanced competencies, and to promote national definitions and regulation of pharmacy technicians. Furthermore, the August 2022 Model State Pharmacy Act and Model Rules of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy states, “It is contemplated that Boards will approve those Certified Pharmacy Technician Candidate training programs whose standards are at least equivalent to the minimum standards developed by an accrediting organization recognized by state Boards, such as ACPE, ASHP, and ABHES.”