Pharmacy Technician

There was a 154% increase in telehealth visits during the last week of March 2020, compared with the same period in 2019.

With many people remaining to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and everyone 6 months and older needing an annual influenza vaccine for the 2021-2022 season, many pharmacies are turning to pharmacy technicians to assist in the process.

Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are perfectly positioned to help manage patients' transitions of care, according to experts with University of Michigan Health.

The objective of the study was to design and implement a useful tool to record ambulatory metrics that is reportable and can be easily integrated into the clinical workflow.

In an interview with Pharmacy Times, Chris Zaleski, PharmD, RPh, said pharmacy technicians are essential pharmacy team members to prevent dispensing errors and enhance patient care.

As the first point of contact at many pharmacies, technicians can often see whether a patient has been prescribed an opioid or other monitored substances.

Pharmacists now play an integral role as medication experts of the health care team, ensuring optimal medication use and improving patient health outcomes.

Paul Sabatini, M.Ed, CPhT, FCSHP, was recognized by the California Pharmacists Association and NHA as the recipient of the 2020 Pharmacy Technician of the Year Award.

Technicians can help prevent drug diversion, provide care for patients with opioid use disorder.

Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians can more efficiently and proactively incorporate their expertise into patient care, reduce the administrative burden on nursing staff, and help patients overcome financial obstacles and other hurdles to accessing medications.

This week on Pharmacy Times, there are a number of important topics that will be covered and posted throughout the week.

An overview of continuing education and advanced training offerings for pharmacy technicians and what is on the horizon for 2021.

Pharmacy team members can provide educational resources, strategies to kids to promote safety.

Pharmacy Times spoke with Lauren Simko, managing performance specialist at Pharmacy Development Services, about the future of lengthening the patient lifecycle and further developing pharmacy services.

Pharmacy Times spoke with Lauren Simko, managing performance specialist at Pharmacy Development Services, about how elevating the patient experience can increase revenue for pharmacists in the healthcare space.

Working with colleagues or patients from different cultural backgrounds requires an open mind, especially when addressing common issues such as vaccine hesitancy.

To accelerate the national COVID-19 vaccination campaign, Husson University in Bangor, Maine, has announced that it will provide training to any pharmacist, technicians, or intern.

Building on business skills such as negotiating, managing employees, and providing culturally competent care is essential for modern pharmacists, said Shane Desselle, BSPharm, PhD.

As the bridge between the pharmacy, the provider, and the patient, it’s essential for pharmacy technicians to develop and maintain good relationships with everyone involved in a patient’s care.

Support from pharmacy management and increased job satisfaction for pharmacy technicians can improve medication therapy management programs.

There are a number of ways in which job design and working conditions can be improved in the community pharmacy setting, either on the store level or on an organization-wide basis.

For World Immunization Week, Pharmacy Times® interviewed Nurisha Wade, MBA, VP of Global Healthcare Quality & Safety Center of Excellence at US Pharmacopeia (USP), and Farah Towfic, PharmD, MBA, director, CEO of Operations at USP, on USP’s COVID-19 Vaccine Handling Toolkit.

Pharmacy Times® interviewed Scott J. Knoer, MS, PharmD, FASHP, the EVP and CEO of the American Pharmacists Association, on the Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Area Enhancement Act that was recently introduced in Congress.

A new service connects community pharmacies with health care systems to support the delivery of health care products and services through crowdsourcing.

Tapping techs as immunizers opens up greater visibility and new source of health care labor.

Collaboration between a health coach and pharmacist is a relatively new concept, but initial evidence is promising.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created challenges and opportunities, and this requires agility and flexibility.

Technicians and other pharmacy professionals have been focused on the pandemic, but now can turn to what's next.

Just as pharmacists have been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kristen Lund, CPhT, a technician at Hy-Vee Pharmacy in Harlan, Iowa, said technicians have taken on greater responsibilities and have become more involved in patient care.

Community pharmacists should consider leaning on their specialty pharmacist peers, where available, as we continue to navigate the new, more virtual normal and attempt to expand these types of services in the future.