Pharmacy Technician: Today and Tomorrow

Cheaper version of Epi-Pen a Welcome Surprise

2017-02-26T13:34:00.001-06:00

Whether or not you need to keep an Epi-Pen just in case you suffer an allergic reaction, you probably heard about the huge price increase for Epi-Pen. The increase in price was so crazy that even Martin Shkreli had something to say about it. Yes, Martin Shkreli had something to say about Mylan raising the price. If you suffer from allergies and your name is not Heather Bresch (CEO of Mylan) or Martin Shkreli, then you most likely cannot afford to pay for Epi-Pen at the price that Mylan carefully calculated for you. Whether or not you can afford to have an emergency is not really their top concern, so they removed that possibility from their calculations and figured they can sell you a dollar's worth of epinephrine for 400% more. When opportunity knocks such as the introduction of Adrenaclick, you open that freaking door!

Image source: drugtopics.modernmedicine.com

CVS Health has done it again to reassure us that health is important. Walk past the empty shelves that use to have cigarettes and you'll find that generic Adrenaclick is now being offered to patients at the lowest price in the market (currently) which is $109. Although the price could possibly be only $9.00 for patients, says CVS Pharmacy president Helena Foulkes who said that patients can take advantage of a $100 rebate, bringing the price down to just $9.00. This is such a welcome surprise for those that need it the most, and I'm glad that pulling Auvi-Q from the market is no longer a good excuse for Mylan to sell their version of the product for such a huge price. The price being paid by allergy sufferers is already high enough.

The View from the Top

2016-04-13T18:59:00.000-05:00

Ever wondered how it would be like to be the best that you can be? We all have pondered that at one point, and I'd be lying if I said that it never crossed my mind. It turns out that more people have been wondering the same thing.

Pharmacy technicians have always worked under the supervision of the pharmacist, and that pharmacist helps them be the best that they can be. (I hear that it works the other way around as well). Gone are the days when technicians served in a role whose job title today would be "clerk". The technician of today works side-by-side with the pharmacist to deliver the best possible patient care. But the technician of tomorrow? Well, they will be moving on up alongside their pharmacist colleagues.

I recently read an article in Pharmacy Times that talked about ways in which the role of the pharmacy technician is changing. As you know, the provider status of pharmacists will be becoming a reality in the years to come. With this shift in responsibility, technicians will experience movement in their careers that they have never experienced before. What does this mean?

1. Pharmacists will be giving up their non-clinical duties: Technicians should expect to see more interest in employers to implement a program similar to "tech-check-tech" if not the same program. In situations where the medication distribution is straight-forward, the technician will be the one verifying another technician's work.

2. Technicians will be the patient's advocate: Communicating with patients is key in building a successful pharmacy team. Technicians are increasingly being involved in more face time with patients, taking on responsibilities that even include explaining medications to their patients. This role comes very close to the counseling that the pharmacist provides, but is not exactly the same. The pharmacist, in their new role as provider, would provide MTM services while the technician will take up the most straight-forward aspects of dispensing medication. This means that any kind of patient counseling that the technician does would not be clinical in nature, and the technician would be trained to escalate clinical questions to the pharmacist.

3. Standardized technician education: If you take a look around at other health care support staff, you should notice that technicians in other branches of health care actually have standardized education requirements. This enabled them to practice at the very top of their license while those without standardized education (pharmacy technicians, for example) are left stuck in one place. Technicians of tomorrow should expect to step away from their comfort zones and embrace advanced training. Technicians will have the opportunity to serve in advanced roles! Don't believe me? Check out what the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy has created to provide advanced training to pharmacy technicians. Here is the link:
https://www.pharmacy.umaryland.edu/admissions/pharmtechx/

With these and other changes to come, pharmacy technicians will finally be able to practice at the top of their license. But now that the thought leaders of our profession have acted and are recognizing us as true professionals, we all must do our part and embrace these changes. By welcoming these changes with open arms, we can finally enjoy the view from the top.

When are typos ever ok?

2014-12-06T11:34:00.003-06:00

I have to start out by talking about one of my pet peeves...typos.

So I remember that one day when I was at work. One of my responsibilities was to pull up prescription orders that have been clarified by a technician and verified by a pharmacist and make the changes in the system based on what was clarified. I pulled one up on my computer and I saw the typo- and laughed out loud about it. The pharmacist sitting close by me probably already knew I was crazy, but wanted to see what I was laughing about anyways. I told her, and she says to me, "Well maybe they were just tired." Well yes I know that person might have been tired, but that's not really why I was laughing.

Do not be fooled by the fact that I was laughing- typos can have many negative consequences. All of us in this field know that there are many look-alike sound-alike drugs, many of which look like the result of a typo when viewed on a prescription pad. Because talking about pharmacy errors is almost like beating a dead horse, I want to veer away from that and show you what happens when you make typos in real life and fail to identify and correct them.

So let's say that I'm unemployed and looking for work and I'm on Careerbuilder looking for a pharmacy technician position (of course), but I THOUGHT that I knew how to spell "technician" correctly. Instead, this is what I enter:

Do you notice on the bottom that no results were found? So, if I was someone that failed to identify that I made a typo, I would think that there are no pharmacy technician jobs available. Well maybe I'm just tired. Oh yeah, I'd be tired of being unemployed if I kept making these typos that I do not even realize that I'm making. Meanwhile, someone else that knows how to spell better than I do is also searching for a pharmacy technician position and this is what they get:

The search (the CORRECTLY spelled search) returned 95 jobs! This person is HIRED! I highly doubt that a person that knows how to spell would end up unemployed in the first place.
I know and I understand that spelling might not be every person's strong point. I would be a fool to even pretend like I'm an expert when it comes to spelling (like for example, I can never remember whether the word "accommodate" has 2 C's, 2 M's or BOTH of those). But please use your resources. When you type something into Microsoft Word, it even identifies your typos and corrects them for you! You can look up the word that you are uncertain about (I just now Googled "accommodate" to see how it is spelled).

So the next time you are unsure of how a word is spelled, look it up or try asking someone. Leaving it there to make you look dumb might be harming you. And if you really are just tired, I guess you should get more sleep.

Can I have your job?

2013-01-15T21:00:00.001-06:00

With 2013 off to a great start, I never expected that I would have to write a blog entry as bad as this one. It is about something that I noticed only 10 minutes prior to posting this blog that really disturbs me, and as much as I do not want to type this out I know that somebody somewhere has to say something.

Unemployment is a problem much larger than we can even imagine, but I always try my best to do my part and help local people, friends and family in particular, to look for a job. A surprising number of people have reached out to me to help them find a pharmacy technician job either because they wanted to break into their first pharmacy job or because they wanted to do something "better" than their current position. I am willing to help any of you no matter what your situation is. Literally about 10 minutes before writing this blog entry, I found things pharmacy-related, but sadly they had nothing to do with positions that needed to be filled. They have to do with positions that are already filled...allow me to explain.

While helping someone find a pharmacy technician job, I came across a link to the Facebook page of a long term care pharmacy that is not too far from me that happens to have many jobs available. After clicking that link, it took me to a not-so-helpful page (for my purposes anyways), and it also gave me the link to an employee's Facebook page that currently works there. I am naturally curious, so I click to explore what that person posted and what I saw did not please me at all.

I will not say the name of the LTC pharmacy nor will I mention the employee's name, but there was a picture posted that can be viewed by the public showing three individuals, and the caption reads "working hard or hardly working". Another picture can be viewed publicly on this individual's site showing them and a fellow co-worker with vials of medication in front of them, making it look like they were taking pictures while preparing an order that is going out to a patient! Is that not error prone?

I guess what I really would like to say in this blog using my professional tone of voice is that we need to be good examples and show that our profession can be trusted. The impression I get from the individual who took those pictures is that they are not so interested in their job. If that is the case, can I have your job? Not for me since I have had a job since I was 16, but for the many individuals that are looking for a pharmacy technician job and can't seem to get one. In fact, I know three people that would like an LTC pharmacy technician job, so I can easily replace those three individuals that I saw in that picture "working hard or hardly working". I guess that individual did not think to set their pictures to "private" so that nobody can see. Perhaps they wanted EVERYONE to see that they do not care about their job. If you are not happy with the work that you are doing, get out and find what makes you happy. Make some room for the people that actually care and want to do some work.

Pharmacists rate high in Gallup poll

2012-05-31T06:49:00.000-05:00

The Gallup poll has been conducted since 1976 and it asks people to rate the honesty as well as the ethical robustness of all professions. The direct link to the article can be found here: http://www.gallup.com/poll/151460/Record-Rate-Honesty-Ethics-Members-Congress-Low.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=syndication&utm_content=morelink&utm_term=Americas%20-%20Congress%20-%20Government%20-%20Northern%20America%20-%20Politics

Based on the article showing results from the November 28-December 1 Gallup poll, the three top professions that Americans rated high were nurses, pharmacists and medical doctors. This should not come as a surprise (in general anyways). Historically, nurses have always topped the list excluding year 2001 when firefighters were included to honor their efforts during the 9/11 attacks on the WTC. For pharmacists and medical doctors, the most current numbers have increased from their historical figures, with pharmacists taking the lead at 3% higher. The lowest ranking according to the poll were members of Congress.

These results do not surprise me at all. Anyone that has contacted a doctor's office has probably at one point felt forever grateful with the excellent work put in by the nurses. The nurses truly make up the backbone of the healthcare system and so they have earned that trust with the public through their work. When it comes to the results for physicians and pharmacists, although the results are also not surprising, both professions may benefit from having more contact with patients. The fact that nurses come in contact with patients very heavily puts them in a position to be able to prove their honesty. Would patients rate physicians and pharmacists higher if they could get more access to them? Perhaps. In terms of increasing patient contact with the pharmacist, the pharmacy profession is moving in the right direction and for several reasons. The most obvious reason would be the efforts being put in by retail stores in trying to move the pharmacist out from behind the counter and with their customers. Although there may be some critics out there that dislike this move, it is still a good move to encourage patients to ask questions. In order for the pharmacist to spend more time with patients, they need some good technicians to support them, which is another reason why the profession is moving in the right direction. Never before has the education of pharmacy technicians ever been so crucial to success; an ongoing effort by PTCB to make recommended changes to the way certified pharmacy technicians are trained is in the works. (Currently called the C.R.E.S.T. initiative) Currently, there are plans being made to perhaps make the certifying process for technicians more rigorous and to create specialization training beyond the regular national certification. At this time, declaring what the changes for technicians will be would be premature, but stay tuned for updates on this exciting time in pharmacy technology. For more information on the C.R.E.S.T. initiative, visit www.ptcb.org

Where has he been?

2012-04-21T14:28:00.001-05:00

Ok, so because I have not posted in so long, you're probably thinking, "Ok, where could this guy be?" and yes, I completely understand why you'd think that. Let me tell you that there is a lot to take in this year when it comes to anything pharmacy-related and I promised that I'd bring you all the latest and greatest. Here is an updated list of what I'll bring you coming up (while you shake your head and call me a 'tease'):

-Gallup Poll and how the pharmacists rank
-Pharmacy Technician Certification: How it may no longer be just an exam.
-New Laws and Legislation in Pharmacy (based on a CE article that I'm writing and hope to publish soon)

Happy New Year! What's next in pharmacy for 2012?

2011-12-31T19:35:00.001-06:00

I want to start out by saying that year 2011 was a mixed bag of terrible loss, huge surprises, and most importantly, great success! I wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

The changes that pharmacy technicians undergo are continuous and it can be hard to keep track of sometimes. Maybe there are many changes currently going on in the pharmacy setting that you work in. In this blog, I am committed to bringing you the latest information on anything worth knowing about our profession. As always, I invite my viewers to email me or comment about anything that they would like to read about in my blog.

Here is a preview of the things that I will be posting on in the coming weeks:

-Pharmacists rank high on the Gallup poll...again!
-Pharmacy Technician training at brick-and-mortar schools: Is it worth it?
-Certification Exam Success: Tips and Tricks

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-24T21:36:00.000-06:00

This goes to everyone out there that has worked hard all year to give the best service possible, especially to my fellow colleagues who work overtime and during the holidays to deliver the best possible service to all the patients that we serve. It is because of you that our profession can move forward and into the new year.

Happy Holidays to all! Let's finish the year strong!

Welcome all!

2011-12-23T22:39:00.001-06:00

Welcome to my blog!
My name is Jonathan E. Cano and I want to thank you for stopping by. I want to make my goals clear and simple from the very beginning. My goal is to provide you with a place where you can stop by for information and resources on the ever-growing field of pharmacy technology. Whether you are interested in becoming a pharmacy technician, or are already a tenured pharmacy professional, my goal is to create a place on the internet where you can get simple, no-nonsense information about becoming and being a pharmacy technician.

Just a little about me: I have been a certified pharmacy technician since high school (so that is a total of almost 8 years! Time flies!) and I am currently working on getting into pharmacy school. All throughout college while I was working on my pre-pharmacy requirements, I have found that working as a pharmacy technician has provided me with the stability that I needed to move forward in my studies as well as the growth that I needed in my profession. I have also found, through feedback from colleagues that I have helped study for the certification exam, that I am an effective teacher. After that first interview at a community college for an adjunct instructor position, I knew that I had this talent that only others could see and tell me about. After finding that not many resources were available to help students train to become certified technicians, I found that teaching future technicians would be a good place for me to call home.

Being able to help students understand concepts makes me feel good. There is this synergy that exists in working as a pharmacy technician and being a pharmacy technician educator; it is as if being both at the same time is making me better at being both. I hope that I can instill my passion for the profession into the students that I will have the pleasure to teach.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions that you may have or with any ideas that you would like me to write about in my blog. Please check back often because I will be working diligently to provide everyone with the latest information on pharmacy technology.