Ariz. Admin. Code § 4-23-1104

Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 25, June 21, 2024

Section R4-23-1104 - Pharmacy Technicians and Pharmacy Technician Trainees

A. Permissible tasks of a pharmacy technician trainee. Acting in compliance with all applicable statutes and rules and under the supervision of a pharmacist, a pharmacy technician trainee licensed under R4-23-1103 may assist an intern or pharmacist with the following when applicable to the pharmacy practice site:

1. Record on the original prescription order the serial number of the prescription medication and date dispensed;

2. Initiate or accept verbal or electronic refill authorization from a medical practitioner or medical practitioner's agent and record, on the original prescription order or by an alternative method approved by the Board or its designee, the medical practitioner's name, patient name, name and quantity of prescription medication, specific refill information, and name of medical practitioner's agent, if any;

3. Record information in the refill record or patient profile;

4. Enter information for a new or refill prescription medication as required under A.R.S. § 32-1964;

5. Type and affix a label for the prescription medication. A pharmacist or intern working under the supervision of a pharmacist shall verify the accuracy of the label as described under R4-23-402(A)(11);

6. Reconstitute a prescription medication, if a pharmacist checks the ingredients and procedure before reconstitution and verifies the final product after reconstitution;

7. Retrieve, count, or pour a prescription medication, if a pharmacist verifies the contents of the prescription medication against the original prescription medication container or by an alternative drug identification method approved by the Board or its designee;

8. Prepackage drugs in accordance with R4-23-402(A); and

9. Measure, count, pour, or otherwise prepare and package a drug needed for hospital inpatient dispensing, if a pharmacist verifies the accuracy, measuring, counting, pouring, preparing, packaging, and safety of the drug before the drug is delivered to a patient care area.

B. Permissible tasks of a pharmacy technician. Acting in compliance with all applicable statutes and rules and under the supervision of a pharmacist, a pharmacy technician licensed under R4-23-1102 may:

1. Perform the tasks listed in subsection (A);

2. After completing a pharmacy technician drug compounding training program developed by the pharmacy permittee or pharmacist-in-charge under R4-23-1105(C), assist a pharmacist or intern in compounding prescription medications and sterile or non-sterile pharmaceuticals in accordance with written policies and procedures, if the preparation, accuracy, and safety of the final product is verified by a pharmacist before dispensing;

3. Perform a final technology-assisted verification of product if the pharmacy technician is qualified under R4-23-1104.01(D);

4. If technology-assisted verification is performed, type and affix a label for the prescription medication. A pharmacist or intern shall verify the accuracy of the label as described under R4-23-402(A)(12);

5. Perform a task not related to professional judgment if the task is delegated to the pharmacy technician by the pharmacist on duty after the pharmacist on duty ensures the pharmacy technician is trained to do the task and evidence of the training exists in the pharmacy file.

6. A pharmacist on duty shall not delegate or attempt to delegate the following tasks to a pharmacy technician:

a. Administering an emergency medication,

b. Counseling a patient,

c. Conducting a drug utilization review,

d. Performing any task that requires the exercise of clinical judgment,

e. Issuing a prescription order,

f. Receiving a new prescription order for a controlled substance, or

g. Transferring by telephone an existing prescription order for a controlled substance; and

7. The pharmacist on duty shall not delegate or attempt to delegate to a pharmacy technician the administering of an immunization or vaccine unless authority for the administration is specifically provided by statute or rule.

C. A trained and licensed pharmacy technician or pharmacy technician trainee who performs a task as authorized under subsections (A) and (B) shall ensure the task is performed accurately.

D. Prohibited activities. A pharmacy technician or pharmacy technician trainee shall not perform a professional practice reserved for a pharmacist or intern in accordance with R4-23-402 or R4-23-653 unless otherwise allowed by rule.

E. A pharmacy technician or pharmacy technician trainee shall wear a badge indicating name and title while on duty.

F. Before employing a pharmacy technician or pharmacy technician trainee, a pharmacy permittee or pharmacist-in-charge shall develop, implement, review, and revise in the manner described in R4-23-653(A) and comply with policies and procedures outlined in subsection (G) for pharmacy technician and pharmacy technician trainee tasks.

G. A pharmacy permittee or pharmacist-in-change shall ensure policies and procedures required under subsection (F) include the following:

1. For all practice sites:

a. Supervisory controls and verification procedures to ensure the quality and safety of pharmaceutical service;

b. Employment performance expectations for a pharmacy technician and pharmacy technician trainee;

c. The tasks a pharmacy technician or pharmacy technician trainee may perform as specified under subsections (A) and (B);

d. Pharmacist and patient communication;

e. Reporting, correcting, and avoiding medication and dispensing errors;

f. Security procedures for:

i. Confidentiality of patient prescription records, and

ii. The pharmacy area;

g. Automated medication distribution system;

h. Compounding procedures for pharmacy technicians; and

i. Brief overview of state and federal pharmacy statutes and rules;

2. For community and limited-service pharmacy practice sites:

a. Prescription dispensing procedures for:

i. Accepting a new written prescription order,

ii. Accepting a refill request,

iii. Selecting a drug product,

iv. Counting and pouring,

v. Labeling, and

vi. Obtaining refill authorization; and

b. Computer data-entry procedures for:

i. New and refill prescriptions,

ii. Patient's drug allergies,

iii. Drug-drug interactions,

iv. Drug-food interactions,

v. Drug-disease state contraindications,

vi. Refill frequency,

vii. Patient's disease and medical condition,

viii. Patient's age or date of birth and gender, and

ix. Patient profile maintenance; and

3. For hospital pharmacy practice sites:

a. Medication order procurement and data entry,

b. Drug preparation and packaging,

c. Outpatient and inpatient drug delivery, and

d. Inspection of drug storage and preparation areas and patient care areas.

Ariz. Admin. Code § R4-23-1104

New Section made by final rulemaking at 10 A.A.R. 1192, effective May 1, 2004 (Supp. 04-1). Amended by final rulemaking at 12 A.A.R. 3032, effective October 1, 2006 (Supp. 06-3). Amended by final rulemaking at 19 A.A.R. 102, effective March 10, 2013 (Supp. 13-1). Amended by final rulemaking at 23 A.A.R. 3257, effective 1/8/2018. Amended by final rulemaking at 28 A.A.R. 994, effective 7/2/2022.

Amended by emergency rulemaking at 29 A.A.R. 1196, effective 5/4/2023.