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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1994

Cancer morbidity among Danish female pharmacy technicians.

OBJECTIVES: Pharmacy technicians maintain a substantial production and packing of pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, many of which are carcinogens. This study reports on cancer incidence among Danish female pharmacy assistants and dispensers. METHODS: Altogether, 8499 compulsory members were identified in the archives of the Association of Danish Pharmacy Technicians and followed through the files of the Danish Cancer Registry (1970-1990); observed figures were compared with those expected on the basis of national cancer incidence rates. RESULTS: The overall standardized incidence ratio [SIR] for cancer was 1.0 [N = 219, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.8-1.1]. A 1.5-fold (N = 34; 95% CI 1.1-2.1) elevated risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer was found, especially for long-term pharmacy assistants (N = 15, SIR 2.8, 95% CI 1.6-4.6). An increased risk for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma appeared among long-term pharmacy dispensers (N = 5, SIR 3.7, 95% CI 1.2-8.9). In the entire group, the risk of tobacco-related tumors was significantly reduced (N = 8, SIRW 0.4, 95% CI 0.2-0.9), together with the probably socioeconomic-associated cervical cancer risk (N = 18, SIR 0.6, 95% CI 0.4-0.9). CONCLUSIONS: Sunlight is usually the dominant cause of nonmelanoma and melanoma skin cancer, but occupational factors may have contributed in this study in view of the uncommon localization observed for many of these cancers and the unelevated melanoma risk. In addition to the increased risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, which may have been associated with exposure to organic solvents, the results do not indicate any other notable cancer risks during the follow-up.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Legal status and functions of hospital-based pharmacy technicians and their relationship to clinical pharmacy services.

The relationships among (1) laws and regulations governing hospital-based pharmacy technicians, (2) functions pharmacy technicians perform, and (3) pharmacists' provision of clinical pharmacy services were studied. A state-level technician-restriction score was developed, based on state rules and regulations in effect in 1989. Scoring included (1) type of supervision required for hospital-based pharmacy technicians, (2) ratio of technicians to pharmacists, (3) pharmacist-only reconstitution of injectable products, and (4) pharmacist-only counting and pouring. Actual use of hospital pharmacy technicians was measured with the technician-use index, and overall provision of clinical pharmacy services was measured with the pharmaceutical-care index. Based on the technician-restriction scores, 25 states and the District of Columbia were categorized as having less restrictive laws and 25 states as having more restrictive laws. Technician use varied with hospital size, teaching affiliation, owner-ship, type of drug delivery system, and education level of the director of pharmacy. Use of pharmacy technicians increased with the severity of hospital-patient illness treated. A fair correlation was found between the pharmaceutical-care index and the technician-use index. A positive association was found between pharmacy technician use and pharmacists' provision of clinical pharmacy services.

Certification↗
PubMed2001

Data analyst technician: an innovative role for the pharmacy technician.

The development of an innovative role for the pharmacy technician is described. The role of the pharmacy technician was based on a needs assessment and the expertise of the pharmacy technician selected. Initial responsibilities of the technician included chart reviews, benchmarking surveys, monthly financial impact analysis, initiative assessment, and quality improvement reporting. As the drug-use and disease-state management (DUDSM) program expanded, pharmacist activities increased, requiring the expansion of data analyst technician (DAT) duties. These new responsibilities included participation in patient assessment, data collection and interpretation, and formulary enforcement. Most recently, technicians' expanded duties include maintenance of a physician compliance profiling database, quality improvement reporting and graphing, active role in patient risk assessment and database management for adult vaccination, and support of financial impact monitoring for other institutions within the health system. This pharmacist-technician collaboration resulted a threefold increase in patient assessments completed per day. In addition, as the DUDSM program continues to expand across the health system, an increase in DAT resources from 0.5 to 1.0 full-time equivalent was obtained. The role of the DAT has increased the efficiency of the DUDSM program and has provided an innovative role for the pharmacy technician.

Academic Medical Centers↗
PubMed1998

Attitudes of Ohio hospital pharmacy directors toward national voluntary pharmacy technician certification.

Ohio pharmacy directors' attitudes about national voluntary pharmacy technician certification were surveyed. In May 1996 a questionnaire was mailed to all 224 hospitals in Ohio. The questionnaire contained 29 attitudinal statements constructed as forecasts of the effects of certification; pharmacy directors were asked to rate their level of agreement or disagreement with each statement using a 7-point Likert scale. The response rate was 61.4% (137 questionnaires returned). Respondents indicated modest agreement with 21 of 27 attitudinal statements and therefore had a generally positive view of certification. For example, they agreed that certification will improve technicians' knowledge, image, confidence, skills, and job satisfaction. They disagreed that certification will allow technicians to function independently, result in the replacement of pharmacist positions with technicians, or eliminate the need for on-the-job training of technicians. There were significant differences in scores between directors working at hospitals employing certified technicians and directors working at hospitals not employing certified technicians for only three statements. Overall, Ohio hospital pharmacy directors had positive attitudes about pharmacy technician certification.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Errors remaining in unit dose carts after checking by pharmacists versus pharmacy technicians.

The accuracy of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in checking unit dose carts was compared. One-half of the unit dose patient medication drawers, for a 92-bed medicine service in a 450-bed teaching hospital, were checked by pharmacy technicians and the remaining by pharmacists. These drawers then were checked again to determine the number and type of checking errors committed by technicians and pharmacists. During the 10-day study, carts checked by pharmacists contained over twice as many errors (1.85%) as similar carts checked by technicians (0.87%). The results suggest that pharmacy technicians could probably be trained to perform the cart-checking task in unit dose drug distribution systems. Time-extended studies should be done to determine if technician performance is maintained after the novelty of the task wears off.

Drug Packaging↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Knowledge and attitudes about smoking cessation among pharmacy technicians.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of pharmacy technicians before and after attending a continuing education program about smoking cessation. DESIGN: A pre/post survey of a single group. SETTING: Two statewide meetings of the Iowa Pharmacy Association. PARTICIPANTS: Pharmacy technicians. INTERVENTION: One 2-hour continuing education (CE) course about smoking cessation for pharmacy technicians. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Changes in scores before and after the CE sessions among three domains (knowledge, efficacy, and outcome) of a validated survey instrument. RESULTS: Fifty-one technicians completed both the presession and postsession questionnaire. For the three survey domains, technicians' knowledge (P = .034), efficacy (P < .001), and outcome (P < .001) showed significant improvement between the presession and postsession surveys (Wilcoxon signed rank test). CONCLUSION: Pharmacy technicians who attended a CE program on smoking cessation improved their knowledge, attitudes, and self-confidence in helping smokers quit. Additional research should be conducted to test the role of pharmacy technicians in smoking cessation promotion.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Pharmacy technicians and computer technology to support clinical pharmacy services.

Use of pharmacy technicians, computer-assisted patient-selection algorithms, and bar-code technology to increase efficiency of clinical pharmacy staff is described. Workload assessment showed that clinical pharmacists at Henry Ford Hospital (Detroit) were spending two thirds of their time with data collection, patient selection, and documentation and only one third of their time intervening to improve drug therapy. To increase pharmacist efficiency, two technicians were hired to perform the clerical functions associated with clinical pharmacy services. Also, a bar-code data-collection system was implemented to help pharmacists document their clinical activity. Computerized algorithms helped pharmacists target patients whose therapy should be most carefully reviewed. Reports generated by the system summarized workload distribution and provided information about the types of problems identified and corrected. After these changes were implemented, the fraction of time that pharmacists spent intervening to improve drug therapy increased to one half. Use of technicians to perform clerical tasks, computerized algorithms to help identify patients in need of pharmacist assistance, and bar-code technology to facilitate data collection has helped clinical pharmacists improve their time management.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1984

Observational study of job satisfaction in hospital pharmacy technicians.

Intrinsic and extrinsic factors contributing to job satisfaction of pharmacy technicians in two community hospitals were studied. A pharmacy student employed part-time as a pharmacy technician by one of the hospitals observed fellow technicians in a wide range of job activities for 22 months. In a second hospital, the same student conducted similar observations during one summer while posing as a social researcher. Both hospitals had technician training programs providing classroom instruction and on-the-job training. Data were gathered primarily from informal conversations with technicians and pharmacists and by recording activities through notetaking. Formal training programs, praise from pharmacists, opportunities to train other technicians, diversity of job activities, and autonomy in coordinating work with time demands were identified as factors contributing to job satisfaction of technicians. Negative aspects of the job that employers attempted to circumvent or clarify were the unchallenging nature of the work and the limited opportunities for advancement. Technicians' and pharmacists' attitudes toward job enrichment for technicians are discussed, and suggestions for improving technicians' intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction are provided. A reliable cadre of pharmacy technicians is necessary for further expansion of clinical pharmacy services under current hospital budgetary restraints. In addition to modifying job activities to promote technicians' intrinsic job satisfaction, pharmacy managers can improve extrinsic satisfaction by providing adequate salaries, job security, and flexible work schedules.

Humans↗
PubMed1993

A survey of selected issues involving pharmacy technician training in Canada.

A non-random, snowball sampling technique was used to survey eleven Canadian pharmacy technician training programs and thirteen pharmacy regulatory and voluntary bodies on issues surrounding pharmacy technicians. A 100% response rate was achieved in the questionnaires which targeted issues such as nomenclature, certification, accreditation, and education of pharmacy technicians. Survey results indicate that while many provincial pharmacy regulatory boards have addressed issues such as the nomenclature and workplace role of pharmacy technicians, there is a lack of consensus and discussion in the areas of certification, accreditation, and responsibility for continuing education.

Accreditation↗
PubMed1981

Training hospital pharmacy technicians: joint effort by departments of education and pharmacy.

The cooperative development and initiation of a one-year pharmacy technician training program is described. The hospital's pharmacy and education departments formulated goals and objectives for the didactic and clinical areas of the program and developed methods to evaluate student competency and the program itself. The training for first class of students consisted of three months of didactic instruction, one month of laboratory experience, and eight months of on-the-job training. The program includes an observation of medication administration which is designed to increase the student's awareness of the entire medication process.

Connecticut↗
PubMed1979

Pharmacy technician specialist: a career opportunity.

A training program for pharmacy technician specialists is described. The 200-hour pharmacy technician specialist training program consists of 20 hours of management seminars and conferences and 180 hours of on-the-job training. The program educates inhouse-trained technicians to assume more specialized tasks and supervisory roles. The behavioral objectives for the training program, and the responsibilities and job description of the technician specialist are presented. The technician specialist training program provides career opportunities which help stimulate and motivate technicians.

Job Description↗
PubMed1980

Job satisfaction of hospital pharmacy technicians in North Carolina.

Factors related to job satisfaction among pharmacy technicians in North Carolina hospitals were studied. To gather data on job satisfaction, job function, and work attitudes, a questionnaire was designed and sent to pharmacy directors and technicians at 83 North Carolina hospitals. The 389 responses represented response rates of 70.3% for technicians and 91.6% for directors. Pharmacy technicians had significantly lower job satisfaction scores (p = 0.05) for work pay, promotion, and coworkers than those reported elsewhere for other workers. There was no difference between technicians and other workers in satisfaction with supervisors. Pharmacy technicians were most satisfied with their supervisors and coworkers, least satisfied with their pay and promotion outlook, and neutral about their work. Higher satisfaction scores were found for technicians who (1) worked in smaller hospitals, (2) performed a wider variety of tasks, or (3) were over 35 years old. Directors judged technician attitudes toward their work to be slightly higher than the technicians did. The study indicates that, in addition to monetary reward, careful consideration of nonmonetary rewards and job functions could contribute to greater technician job satisfaction.

Administrative Personnel↗