Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. The Pharmacy Technician: Foundations and Practices Mike Johnston, Karen Davis, and Jeff Gricar The Pharmacy Technician FOUNDATIONS AND PRACTICES Chapter 7 Health-System Pharmacy

Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. The Pharmacy Technician: Foundations and Practices Mike Johnston, Karen Davis, and Jeff Gricar Figure 7.1 A health system pharmacy is often located within a hospital.

Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. The Pharmacy Technician: Foundations and Practices Mike Johnston, Karen Davis, and Jeff Gricar Health System Pharmacy Provided to residents of: –Long-term care facilities (nursing homes) –Hospitals –Hospices –Other residential facilities (prisons, etc.) Provides around-the-clock delivery service Provides prescription drugs in individually packaged blister packs

Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. The Pharmacy Technician: Foundations and Practices Mike Johnston, Karen Davis, and Jeff Gricar Health System Pharmacy (cont.) Often work with: –Physicians –Nurses –Therapists –Dietitians –Laboratory personnel –Other professionals

Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. The Pharmacy Technician: Foundations and Practices Mike Johnston, Karen Davis, and Jeff Gricar Figure 7.6 The unit-dose system makes it very easy to track a patient’s medications.

Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. The Pharmacy Technician: Foundations and Practices Mike Johnston, Karen Davis, and Jeff Gricar The Unit-Dose System The most efficient distribution system Scanners may be used to track and bill for medications when they are dispensed Very easy to track a patient’s medications Unit-dose systems can be centralized, decentralized, or a combination

Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. The Pharmacy Technician: Foundations and Practices Mike Johnston, Karen Davis, and Jeff Gricar sample Figure 7.7 A sample medication order. Click the image for a larger view of the worksheet.

Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. The Pharmacy Technician: Foundations and Practices Mike Johnston, Karen Davis, and Jeff Gricar Patient Information Name Room/bed number Hospital ID number Birth date/age

Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. The Pharmacy Technician: Foundations and Practices Mike Johnston, Karen Davis, and Jeff Gricar Medication Information Name Dose Frequency of administration Route Signature of prescriber Date and hour the order was written

Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. The Pharmacy Technician: Foundations and Practices Mike Johnston, Karen Davis, and Jeff Gricar Accepting a Medication Order The medication order may arrive in the pharmacy in several different ways: –The order may be submitted electronically to the pharmacy, utilizing a point of entry (POS) or CPOE system –The order may be sent by way of a pneumatic tube device –The pharmacist may be handed the order directly

Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. The Pharmacy Technician: Foundations and Practices Mike Johnston, Karen Davis, and Jeff Gricar Accepting a Medication Order (cont.) The medication order may arrive in the pharmacy in several different ways: –The order may be faxed to the pharmacy –Orders may be sent through the institutional computer system –A technician may be assigned to collect medication orders from many sources throughout the institution

Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. The Pharmacy Technician: Foundations and Practices Mike Johnston, Karen Davis, and Jeff Gricar Verification Technicians may review the medication orders for completeness These orders are called unverified

Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. The Pharmacy Technician: Foundations and Practices Mike Johnston, Karen Davis, and Jeff Gricar Verification (cont.) Unverified orders cannot be processed until they have been verified by a pharmacist –Correct order entry –Potential interactions –Allergies –Drug utilization review –Formulary utilization

Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. The Pharmacy Technician: Foundations and Practices Mike Johnston, Karen Davis, and Jeff Gricar Comparing Centralized and Decentralized Unit-dose Systems Centralized pharmacy system—all pharmacy-related activities are performed from one location and medications are delivered to various patient care units throughout the facility Decentralized pharmacy system—consists of a central, or inpatient, pharmacy; multiple satellite pharmacies; and an outpatient pharmacy

Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. The Pharmacy Technician: Foundations and Practices Mike Johnston, Karen Davis, and Jeff Gricar Filling a Medication Order Filling prescriptions is one of the most basic duties of a pharmacy technician

Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. The Pharmacy Technician: Foundations and Practices Mike Johnston, Karen Davis, and Jeff Gricar Filling a Medication Order (cont.) Filling is more than counting and basic measuring –Pharmacy technicians are charged with maintaining the unit-dose system –Because many medications do not come in unit-dose form, it is the pharmacy technician’s responsibility to prepare all medications –Technicians preparing orders for IV medications or TPNs need specialized training

Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. The Pharmacy Technician: Foundations and Practices Mike Johnston, Karen Davis, and Jeff Gricar Filling a Medication Order (cont.) The final check is the sole domain of the pharmacist No medications may be dispensed without the pharmacist’s final approval

Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. The Pharmacy Technician: Foundations and Practices Mike Johnston, Karen Davis, and Jeff Gricar Pharmacy Technician Duties in Health- System Settings Typically provide drug-related products and services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year Provide medications for emergency departments Many tasks once performed by the pharmacist are now delegated to pharmacy technicians