Language Skills for Pharmacy Technicians – Understanding The Role of the Pharmacy Technician – Answer key

Category: Assisting the pharmacist in the preparation of prescriptions

  • Receiving a written prescription or request for a prescription refill from the patient or representative
  • Ensuring completeness of information on prescription
  • Preparation of prescription labels
  • Retrieving, counting, pouring, weighing, measuring and mixing medications
  • Reconstituting medications
  • Selecting type of prescription container
  • Affixing prescription and auxiliary labels to prescription containers
  • Pricing prescriptions
  • Filing prescriptions
  • Establishing and maintaining patient profiles
  • Repackaging and labeling of medications
  • Maintaining packaging and dispensing equipment
  • Replenishing medications for nursing units, night cupboards, emergency boxes and cardiac arrest kits
  • Preparing IV admixtures, TPN solutions, chemotherapeutic agents requiring aseptic technique
  • Preparing specialty products

Category: Preparing and reconciling third party billings

  • Preparing receipts, invoices, letters and memos, and general filing
  • Generating long-term care data (i.e. medication and administration record, medication review)
  • Maintaining drug information files
  • Billing appropriate department for medication
  • Receiving and sending electronic communication

Category: Communication skills

  • Communicating with customers, physicians and suppliers. Questions relating to prescriptions, drug information, poison information, or any health matter must be referred to the pharmacist

Category: Inventory Management

  • Monitoring stock levels to ensure sufficient quantities for optimal operation
  • Preparing and placing orders from specified sources
  • Receiving and checking supplies purchased
  • Issuing supplies from the storeroom
  • Restocking medications and related supplies
  • Maintaining storage facilities
  • Maintaining inventory records, including those for narcotics and controlled drugs
  • Rotating stock and monitoring expiry dates
  • Identifying expired products for disposal, destruction, or return to manufacturer
  • Prepackaging of medications (including unit dose packaging)
  • Delivery of medications to institutional wards
  • Restocking of institutional wards with narcotics and controlled drugs