Pharmacy Technician Duties: Attention to Detail Matters

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Once you become certified as a pharmacy technician, you’ll need to focus on your work and your customers and be very detail oriented. Those medicines you help dispense are critically important to patients. That’s why you’ll need sharp attention to detail to do these 5 tasks of your job as a pharmacy technician:

Pharmacy Technician Responsibilities and Daily Activities

1. Review a Customer’s Prescription

Customer service is important for pharmacy technicians. Your first interaction with a customer will likely be when they hand you a prescription from their doctor. Before they leave, you’ll need to review the prescription to make sure that it has all the important and required information on it, such:

  • Patient’s name
  • Doctor’s name
  • Contact information
  • Signature
  • Medication name
  • Dosage amount

State law may also require you to check the customer’s ID.

2. Stock Shelves and Maintain Inventory

As a pharmacy technician, you may need to maintain inventory and stock shelves with the appropriate medications and equipment. You’ll also need to order the medications and supplies before they run low. It’s important that all of this is done accurately and that you place the necessary orders and stock the items in their correct places. This will ensure that the pharmacy provides accurate and efficient service to customers. Errors can cause confusion and unnecessary delays in the customer’s order being filled or even put them at risk.

3. Fill Prescriptions

You may have the ability to fill prescriptions and package them for the pharmacist to review. If so, you’ll need to pay close attention to the prescription and be sure that you fill it accurately. The pharmacist will always check that you filled it correctly, but when you are careful the first time, every time, you help reduce errors and do your part to ensure that the pharmacy runs smoothly.

4. Check IDs When Necessary

Each state has its own laws about when identification is required for the pharmacy and when a pharmacy is allowed to request ID. It’s important to know your own state’s regulations and closely follow them, along with the rules of your pharmacy. You may be required to review the customer’s ID when they drop off a prescription, pick it up, or pick it up on the patient’s behalf. Additional rules might apply if the prescription is for a controlled substance like an opiate.

5. Confirm Insurance Information

Health insurance can get confusing for customers. You may find that customers ask you questions about their coverage. You’ll need to verify that the patient named on the prescription matches the insurance information you have. Once you have their insurance details in your computer, you’ll be able to tell them how their insurance covers the prescribed medication and what other options they may have. Pay close attention to their insurance details so that the customer understands what to expect and what they may have to pay. This kind of quality service can help your customers feel good about their choice to use your pharmacy.

If you are excited for a career in health care and you already possess great attention to detail, you might discover that the career of a Pharmacy Technician is a good fit for you. Contact Charter College at 888-200-9942 today to learn how we can help you gain the other skills you need to enter the field in as little as 10 months.