1. CP-1 Introduction Results (cont.) Objectives Methods Conclusion
1Fischer Exact was used instead of Chi-square because more than 20% of the cells had expected count less than 5
EVALUATION OF THE ROLE OF PHARMACY TECHNICIAN IN EGYPTIAN PHARMACIES
Eglal A. Mostafa, Maggie M. Abbassi and Samar F. Farid
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Egypt
1Fischer Exact was used instead of Chi-square because more than 20% of the cells had expected count less than 5
1Fischer Exact was used instead of Chi-square because more than 20% of the cells had expected count less than 5
CP-1
Introduction
Results (cont.)
A Pharmacy technician is "an individual working in a pharmacy setting who, under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist, assists in pharmacy activities that do not require the professional judgment of a pharmacist“ [1]. Technicians have increased in number and qualified ones relieve the health man power shortage and allow pharmacists to focus on direct patient care [2].
In the USA , there are national voluntary certification programs and some states require registration to allow the technicians to practice [3]. In the UK, technician’s registration is mandatory. Although the title of “pharmacy technician” is the same in UK and USA but the technician’s role is more developed in the former [4].
In Egypt, pharmacies nowadays offer an increasing number of services besides drug dispensing. This leads to increased work load for pharmacists with potential implications for patient safety. Despite the increasing number of pharmacy technicians, their exact role is not clear. The current lack of clear responsibilities, standard education and training of technicians inhibits the extent to which pharmacists can delegate tasks to them.
The pharmacists’ and technicians’ responses on the technician’s involvement in daily tasks performed in the pharmacy
Probability
P<(0.05)
Technician's response
Frequency (%)
N=500
Pharmacist's response
N=502
Task
Pharmacist only
Technician under pharmacist's supervision
Technician alone
N/A
N/A*
0.000
63(12.6)
86(17.2)
351(70.2)
0(0)
184(36.7)
148(29.5)
170(33.9)
Dispensing OTC
51(10.2)
139(27.8)
310(62)
120(23.9)
255(50.8)
127(25.3)
Dispensing Prescriptions
227(45.4)
35(7)
49(9.8)
189(37.8)
311(62)
23(4.6)
15(3)
153(30.5)
Dispensing narcotics
0.0001
255(51)
90(18)
155(31)
426(84.9)
54(10.8)
20(4)
2(0.4)
Fixing prescribing errors
120(24)
46(9.2)
334(66.8)
297(59.2)
75(14.9)
130(25.9)
Patient counseling
170(34)
52(10.4)
270(54)
8(1.6)
312(62.2)
106(21.1)
9(1.8)
Recommending alternatives
69(13.8)
323(64.6)
99(19.8)
132(26.3)
29(5.8)
236(47)
105(20.9)
Cashier
0.020
231(46.2)
25(5)
157(31.4)
87(17.4)
266(53)
118(23.5)
83(16.5)
Managing bills
133(26.6)
37(7.4)
324(64.8)
6(1.2)
188(37.5)
60(12)
248(49.4)
Tech-check-tech2
258(51.6)
34(6.8)
140(28)
68(13.6)
380(75.7)
26(5.2)
76(15.1)
Training pharmacy students
Objectives
This study aims to evaluate the pharmacists’ and technicians’ view on the current role of the pharmacy technician in Egypt and the idea of implementing national standards for certifying technicians.
Methods
This is a cross-sectional study. Stratified sampling technique based on geographical distribution was used in selecting participants. Two specially designed and validated surveys were distributed
to 502 pharmacists and 500 technicians in 737 different pharmacies in Greater Cairo and were filled at once by a direct interview.
Participants were assured that their responses are confidential and will only be used for research purposes. The participant's approval to fill in the survey was considered as consent to participate
in the study.
The pharmacist’s survey was in English and it consisted of 15 questions. The technician’s survey was in Arabic and it consisted of 18 questions. Both surveys contained questions covering: demographics, education, experience, the pharmacy setting, the pharmacist-technician relationship, level of technician’s involvement in daily tasks and the participants’ attitude towards implementing national standards for educating, training and certifying technicians.
*N/A: Either this task is performed by the pharmacy manager or this task is not available in the pharmacy.
1 Fischer Exact was used instead of Chi-square because more than 20% of the cells had expected count less than 5.
2 Tech-check-tech: The checking of a technician's order-filling accuracy by another technician rather than a pharmacist.
Conclusion
Results
Implementing national standards for technician’s education and expanding their role will allow pharmacists to focus on direct patient care and will reduce drug related errors. Thus, we need to
work on a vision and a standard operating procedure for pharmacy technicians as a part of the
pharmacy profession and set goals and strategies to achieve this vision.
The number of pharmacies entered was 941. Two hundred and four pharmacies refused to
participate. Technicians were standing alone in 247 pharmacies (26.2%).
Two hundred and sixty seven pharmacists (53.2%) stated that technicians made drug related errors.
Four hundred and thirty seven pharmacists (87.1%) and 470 technicians (94%) wanted technicians
to be educated and certified based on national standards.
Three hundred and eighty one pharmacists (75.9%) were ready to train technicians as a part of
this certification program.
There was a significant difference between the pharmacists’ and technicians’ responses on the technician’s level of involvement in daily tasks (Chi-square test and Fischer Exact test P<0.05).
References
1995 candidate handbook—national pharmacy technician certification examination. Washington, DC: Pharmacy Technician Certification Board; 1995:15.
Keresztes, JM. Role of pharmacy technicians in the development of clinical pharmacy. Ann Pharmacother. 2006; 40:
American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Accreditation Standards for Pharmacy Technician Education and Training Programs 2013 in Pharmacy. Am J Hosp Pharm. 1989; 46:1420–9. 15.
Telford, J and Soma, N. Comparing the role of pharmacy technicians in the US and UK. Hosp. Pharm., (9): p. 379.