Pharmacy Technician II

Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority•Cherokee, NC

13d•Onsite

About The Position

The incumbent in this position serves as a Pharmacy Technician for the Cherokee Service Unit under the Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority. The incumbent for this position has prior and/or initial experience as a pharmacy technician. The incumbent is responsible for the provision of technical and support duties associated with the provision of pharmaceutical services to the patient population that is served by the organization. The technician fully assists the pharmacist in the preparation and provision of medications in the fulfillment of patient care functions. The technician will have responsibilities for inventory control, which include, but are not limited to, ordering of pharmaceuticals and supplies, management of stock, inventory maintenance, maintenance of appropriate records, and management of requisitions and requests. The technician will participate in the provision of outpatient pharmaceutical services. This includes, but is not limited to: performing receptionist/clerical duties; performing data entry functions; preparing prescriptions for patient use; maintenance of appropriate records; and completing functions related to insurance and billing. The technician will participate in the provision of inpatient pharmaceutical services which include: data entry responsibilities; preparation of intravenous admixtures; preparation of unit dose supplies; maintenance of appropriate records; and maintenance of medication inventories for patient use. The technician will have responsibilities related to medication supply management including packaging, labeling, minor compounding, maintenance of appropriate records, and maintenance of adequate supplies to meet patient and hospital needs. The technician will have other general department duties including: automated equipment maintenance and monitoring; department cleaning and organizing; professional interactions with pharmacy and hospital staff; proper monitoring of medication storage conditions and status; and maintenance of appropriate records related to pharmacy operation. The technician will be responsible for other duties as assigned, in order to meet the mission of the pharmacy department to provide patient care. More specific information related to job duties is available as a supplement to this job description.

Requirements

Pharmaceutical nomenclature
Characteristics, strengths, and dosage forms of pharmaceuticals
Pharmaceutical Calculations
Pharmaceutical systems and metric/apothecary systems of weights and measures
Procedures and techniques involved in the care, storage, repackaging, bulk compounding, and distribution of pharmaceuticals
Sterile and aseptic procedures
Federal pharmacy laws and regulations, JCAHO and IHS standards
Operation of various types of pharmaceutical apparatus, equipment, automated technology, compounding techniques, and measurement of ingredients
Public relation skills
Valid driver’s license is required
Ability to learn and/or knowledge of basic pharmacy process and systems, pharmaceutical drug names, calculations, and regulations.
Ability and/or knowledge to manage the ordering, receipt, accounting of, and proper storage of supplies.
Ability to work with a variety of people from various backgrounds.
Ability to exercise tack and diplomacy in order to gain the confidence, support, and cooperation of the individuals.
Any type of work that demonstrates the applicant’s ability to perform the work of the position, or experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the board subject area of the occupation.
Basic proficiency in position expected within 6 to 12 months of the date of hire.
Two or more years of specialized experience including experience as a pharmacy technician, working in health care in a hospital or practice setting with direct patient care experience, or in a pharmaceutical firm or laboratory.
High School graduate with diploma
Ability to perform basic mathematical calculations
Ability to operate a typewriter and/or keyboard for the production of documents, labels, and other printed materials.

Nice To Haves

For consideration for this position, certification by the National Pharmacy Technician Certification Board as a Certified Technician (CPhT).

Responsibilities

Assists the pharmacist(s) in the provision of patient pharmaceutical care.
Calculates dosages to match physician orders with pharmacy stocks.
Explains pharmacy policies and prescription directions to patients as necessary.
Prepares emergency orders as necessary and checks status of pending orders.
Reviews and checks all areas of the facility which maintain medication supplies.
Checks nursing units, ER, and pharmacy areas for expired drugs and proper storage conditions on a routine basis.
Responsible for proper disposal and/or return for credit of deteriorated or outdated drugs.
Processes incoming orders. Shelves and stores all received drugs and supplies.
Assures that all drug stock is stored appropriately and rotated properly.
Fills inpatient, outpatient, and ER drug requisitions.
Restocks pharmacy automated dispensing systems according to approved policies and procedures.
Responsible for some clerical duties as needed, such as typing memos, copying, and distribution of information for pharmacists and pharmacy related committees.
Answers patient questions as to pharmacy procedures and policies.
Greets patients and assists with fulfilling the patient’s medication requests and needs.
Maintains patient charts in proper sequence for processing.
Stages completed medication orders and patients for pharmacist counseling.
Screens patient medical records for obvious transcription, technical, and/or omission errors.
Assesses patient eligibility and determines patient insurance status.
Accurately enters prescription orders into the RPMS computer system. Includes interpretation of the prescription order in terms of drug name, strength, directions for use, correct quantity, and number of refills.
Selects correct drug, strength, and dosage form from inventory.
Counts appropriate quantity and reviews data entry prescription information for accuracy.
Labels prescription bottles including addition of appropriate auxiliary information labels.
Processes ScriptPro produces prescriptions. Certifies correct filling by system through use of bar-coding protocol.
Assesses patient insurance status.
Fills prescriptions in quantity and manner consistent with third party insurance requirements.
Assists in insurance Point of Sale billing process and processing.
Prepares sterile reconstitutions and intravenous admixtures using sterile and aseptic procedures.
Visually checks all prepared intravenous solutions and admixtures for inadequate preparation, unexpected discoloration, particles, and unexpected participation.
Determines compatible solutions for each admixture and sufficient volumes of solution to support medication dosages.
Accuracy enters admixture orders into the RPMS data base program.
Labels prepared products accurately and completely.
Maintains appropriate workload records.
Prepares unit dose medication packages for distribution.
Assists pharmacist with filling of unit dose carts for 24-hour period.
Monitors and refills automated prescription dispensing systems with appropriate drug item and package size.
Prepackages drug from bulk containers to smaller patient ready dispensing units for efficient stock maintenance and prescription processing.
Prepackages single use medication units for inpatient, emergency department, and automated dispensing cabinets.
Compounds bulk supplies such as ointments and solutions following appropriate guidelines for aseptic and pharmaceutically elegant preparations.
Correctly labels and stores all prepared medication supplies.
Maintains sufficient prepackaged medication supply to meet after hour dispensing requirements.
Maintains the pharmacy and storage areas in a neat, clean, and orderly condition by organizing, dusting, and cleaning as needed.
Remove and dispose of all unnecessary materials. Patient sensitive materials must be shredded and disposed of in a manner to maintain confidentiality.
Remove and provide for proper disposal of expired and deteriorated medications.
Return medications not retrieved by patients back to stock according to accepted pharmacy protocol.
Return unneeded drug supplies, bottles, and filled prescriptions back to stock and ScriptPro machine as indicated.
Maintains the highest level of professional standards of pharmacy practice when serving patients of all age groups, service unit staff, and the greater community. Ascribes to the Indian Health Service Standards of Practice for Pharmacy.
Other duties as assigned.