A. Permissible
tasks of a pharmacy technician trainee. Acting in compliance with all
applicable statutes and rules and under the supervision of a pharmacist, a
pharmacy technician trainee registered under
R4-23-1103 may assist an intern or
pharmacist with the following when applicable to the pharmacy practice site:
1. Record on the original prescription order
the serial number of the prescription medication and date dispensed;
2. Initiate or accept verbal or electronic
refill authorization from a medical practitioner or medical practitioner's
agent and record, on the original prescription order or by an alternative
method approved by the Board or its designee, the medical practitioner's name,
patient name, name and quantity of prescription medication, specific refill
information, and name of medical practitioner's agent, if any;
3. Record information in the refill record or
patient profile;
4. Enter
information for a new or refill prescription medication as required under
A.R.S. §
32-1964;
5. Type and affix a label for the
prescription medication. A pharmacist or intern working under the supervision
of a pharmacist shall verify the accuracy of the label as described under
R4-23-402(A)(11);
6. Reconstitute a prescription medication, if
a pharmacist checks the ingredients and procedure before reconstitution and
verifies the final product after reconstitution;
7. Retrieve, count, or pour a prescription
medication, if a pharmacist verifies the contents of the prescription
medication against the original prescription medication container or by an
alternative drug identification method approved by the Board or its
designee;
8. Prepackage drugs in
accordance with
R4-23-402(A);
and
9. Measure, count, pour, or
otherwise prepare and package a drug needed for hospital inpatient dispensing,
if a pharmacist verifies the accuracy, measuring, counting, pouring, preparing,
packaging, and safety of the drug before the drug is delivered to a patient
care area.
B.
Permissible tasks of a pharmacy technician. Acting in compliance with all
applicable statutes and rules and under the supervision of a pharmacist, a
pharmacy technician licensed under
R4-23-1102 may:
1. Perform the tasks listed in subsection
(A);
2. After completing a pharmacy
technician drug compounding training program developed by the pharmacy
permittee or pharmacist-in-charge under
R4-23-1105(C),
assist a pharmacist or intern in compounding prescription medications and
sterile or non-sterile pharmaceuticals in accordance with written policies and
procedures, if the preparation, accuracy, and safety of the final product is
verified by a pharmacist before dispensing;
3. Perform a final
technology-assisted verification of product if the pharmacy technician is
qualified under R4-23-1104.01(D) ;
4. If technology-assisted
verification is performed, type and affix a label for the prescription
medication. A pharmacist or intern shall verify the accuracy of the label as
described under R4-23-402(A)(12) ;
5.3. Administer a vaccine
when:
a. Administration of the vaccine is
done under an order that complies with A.R.S. §
32-1974 and
R4-23-411;
c.b.
Administration of the vaccine is delegated by and done under the supervision of
a pharmacist on duty who is certified under A.R.S. §
32-1974 to administer vaccines;
and
d.
c. There is documentation by the permittee that the
pharmacy technician has completed the following:
i. A practical training program that is
approved by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education and includes
hands-on injection technique and recognition and treatment of emergency
reactions to vaccines; and
ii.
Current certification in basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
6.4. Perform a task not
related to professional judgment if the task is delegated to the pharmacy
technician by the pharmacist on duty after the pharmacist on duty ensures the
pharmacy technician is trained to do the task and there is documentation by the
permittee of the training; and
7.
5. A pharmacist on duty
shall not delegate or attempt to delegate the following tasks to a pharmacy
technician:
a. Administering an emergency
medication,
b. Counseling a
patient,
c. Conducting a drug
utilization review,
d. Performing
any task that requires the exercise of clinical judgment,
e. Issuing a prescription order,
f. Receiving a new prescription order for a
controlled substance, or
g.
Transferring by telephone an existing prescription order for a controlled
substance.
C. A trained and licensed pharmacy technician or pharmacy
technician trainee who performs a task as authorized under subsections (A) and
(B) shall ensure the task is performed accurately.
D.C. Prohibited
activities. A pharmacy technician or pharmacy technician trainee shall not
perform a professional practice reserved for a pharmacist or intern in
accordance with
R4-23-402 or
R4-23-653 unless otherwise allowed
by rule.
E.D. A pharmacy
technician or pharmacy technician trainee shall wear a badge indicating name
and title while on duty.
F.E. Before
employing a pharmacy technician or pharmacy technician trainee, a pharmacy
permittee or pharmacist-in-charge shall develop, implement, review, revise, and
enforce, in the manner described in
R4-23-653(A),
policies and procedures addressing tasks to be performed by the pharmacy
technician or pharmacy technician trainee that are consistent with state and
federal law and the site at which the pharmacy technician or pharmacy
technician trainee will be employed.
G.
A pharmacy permittee or pharmacist-in-change shall
ensure policies and procedures required under subsection (F) include the
following:
1. For all practice
sites:
a. Supervisory controls and
verification procedures to ensure the quality and safety of pharmaceutical
service;
b. Employment performance
expectations for a pharmacy technician and pharmacy technician
trainee;
c. The tasks a pharmacy technician
or pharmacy technician trainee may perform as specified under subsections (A)
and (B);
d. Pharmacist and patient
communication;
e. Reporting, correcting, and
avoiding medication and dispensing errors;
f. Security procedures
for:
i. Confidentiality of patient
prescription records, and
ii. The pharmacy
area;
g. Automated medication
distribution system;
h. Compounding procedures for
pharmacy technicians; and
i. Brief overview of state and
federal pharmacy statutes and rules;
2. For community and
limited-service pharmacy practice sites:
a. Prescription dispensing
procedures for:
i. Accepting a new written
prescription order,
ii. Accepting a refill
request,
iii. Selecting a drug
product,
iv. Counting and
pouring,
v. Labeling, and
vi. Obtaining refill
authorization; and
b. Computer data-entry procedures
for:
i. New and refill
prescriptions,
ii. Patient's drug
allergies,
iii. Drug-drug
interactions,
iv. Drug-food
interactions,
v. Drug-disease state
contraindications,
vi. Refill
frequency,
vii. Patient's disease and medical
condition,
viii. Patient's age or date of
birth and gender, and
ix. Patient profile maintenance;
and
3. For hospital pharmacy practice
sites:
a. Medication order procurement
and data entry,
b. Drug preparation and
packaging,
c. Outpatient and inpatient drug
delivery, and
d. Inspection of drug storage and
preparation areas and patient care areas.
