The profession of pharmacy technician suits individuals who want to work in a highly demanded field and improve the population’s quality of life without spending several years of training at medical school. Pharmacy technicians can work in different places, such as hospital pharmacies and primary care, but they always work under the supervision of pharmacists. In general, the pharmacist-to-pharmacy technician ratio can vary from one to six technicians for one pharmacist. However, a smaller number of pharmacy technicians per pharmacist is recommended to ensure a higher level of supervision. Thus, in California, the recommended ratio requires no more than one pharmacy technician per pharmacist.
Next, pharmacy technicians’ duties include interacting with customers, receiving and preparing prescriptions, defining potential drug interactions for customers receiving multiple medications, managing the inventory, and processing medical insurance information. In California, a license from the California State Board of Pharmacy is required for the practice of a pharmacy technician. The license requirements include an education certificate or diploma from an accredited pharmacy school or training program. The license age requirements also do not allow persons under the age of 18. Lastly, the applicant should pass a criminal background check to ensure that the candidate does not have a history of substance abuse.
Thus, the background check procedure for a pharmacy technician license includes an examination of applicants’ employment history, education documentation and training certification, criminal history records, and state sanctions check. A high school diploma or GED certificate presents a part of the required education documentation in California State. A valid social security number is required for verification of the applicant’s identity. Lastly, the date from the self-report with the National Practitioner Data Bank Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank (NPDB-HIPDB) should be no earlier than 60 days from the day of application.