Conversations at a Chemist's Store

 

Ex. 1

What Does a Pharmacy Technician Do?

 

A pharmacy technician assists a pharmacist with the preparation of prescription medications for customers. He or she may receive written prescription requests or may process requests doctors' offices that have been sent electronically or phoned in.

Depending on state laws, a pharmacy technician may compound or mix medications and get refill authorizations from doctors. Technicians organize drug inventory and lets the pharmacist know if there are any shortages.

A pharmacy technician is not the same as a pharmacy aide, although pharmacy technicians and pharmacy aides (also called pharmacy assistants) both assist and are both supervised by pharmacists. Although there is an overlap between their duties, an aide performs primarily clerical tasks while a tech helps the pharmacist fill prescriptions.

Pharmacy Technician Duties & Responsibilities

A pharmacy technician generally performs the following duties. Please note, laws in some states may prohibit them from performing some of these tasks. Pharmacy technicians may:

• Fill bottles with doctor-prescribed medications, type and apply labels with directions and other information for patients, and pre-pack bulk medications.

• Handle any required cash register operations

• Resolve issues, concerns or complaints made by customers

• Call doctors for prescription refill authorizations

• Type up prescription information details to produce labels for packages

• Keep detailed records of on-hand medications and other stock

• Resolve any issues with patients' insurance coverage

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Diseases

 Pathogenic, Deficiency, Hereditary and Physiological Diseases

Common Pharmacists Duties

 

Pharmacists dispense prescription medication along with key information, such as side effects, contraindications with other medicines, and a range of other concerns. They also walk customers through their physicians' dosage and usage instructions to ensure medications are safely and effectively consumed.

Pharmacist Duties & Responsibilities

Tasks pharmacists typically perform include:

• Dispensing or supervising the dispensation of medications and related supplies, according to physicians' prescriptions

• Reviewing prescriptions for accuracy

• Checking for drug interactions

• Compounding medications and preparing special solutions

• Counseling patients regarding appropriate use of medications

• Overseeing daily ordering, as well as automatic refills

• Collaborating with other healthcare professionals to plan, monitor, review, and evaluate patient effectiveness

• Recommending drug therapy changes when appropriate

• Ensuring the pharmacy complies with all local, state, and federal regulations

• Educating patients and staff on drug therapies