The role of pharmacy technicians in the healthcare industry is changing. Pharmacy technicians have filled a growing niche as the number of prescription drugs and medical procedure combinations have exploded exponentially.
Pharmacy technicians (or pharmacy techs, for short) are allied health professionals who help pharmacists provide services to patients. The most familiar role of pharmacy techs is filling prescriptions.
Let’s explore the reason behind the evolving role of pharmacy technicians today.
Increase in Pressure
There is a significant increase in pharmaceutical services today due to many factors. Some factors are the aging population, new technologies, higher patient expectations, and an increase in morbidity. As a result, there is a higher number of prescriptions being issued today.
Change in Expectations
Customer expectations and new technologies have prompted changes in the role of pharmacy technicians today. Online prescription medication sales have grown in the US as more pharmacies offer online and home delivery services. The introduction of these new services has increased pressure on pharmacists, urging a change in the role of pharmacy technicians. Today, techs are now more of a partner in providing patient care.
Increase in Responsibilities
Pharmacy technicians are being asked to take on more advanced responsibilities as well. Many are being involved in purchasing management, supervisory positions, medication therapy management, immunizations, quality improvement, and many more.
Better On-the-Job Training
Fortunately, the changing roles of pharmacy technicians have also called for better training opportunities. These on-the-job training options are designed to help technicians take on more advanced roles to help them excel in their careers in today’s even more challenging nature.
With the increase of tasks and higher expectations for pharmacy technicians, what can they get out of this?
- Job satisfaction: The evolving role of pharmacy technicians will lead to an increase in job satisfaction. This is also due to better training and the responsibilities given to them. Moreover, this increases the confidence of technicians in their ability to perform.
- Better career opportunities: As mentioned, there are now more training opportunities for pharmacy technicians. Therefore, this has paved the way for better career opportunities as technicians gain more skills and experience to move on to better roles in the future within the healthcare industry.
- Better earning potential: The salaries of pharmacy technicians are expected to increase as their roles continue to evolve.
- Job security: Due to the growing demand for pharmacy technicians, employment opportunities will increase as well. In turn, there will be more job security for today’s pharmacy techs.
Conclusion
Pharmacy technicians are not just answering phones and stocking shelves. This role has evolved to include helping patients manage their medications, performing tasks that free pharmacists to process insurance claims, and much more.
Along with this evolution in role comes a growing salary. The career outlook for pharmacy technicians is also favorable. With the aging population and an increase in chronic disease management, demand for qualified pharmacy technicians is expected to grow over the next decade.
That said, now is the perfect time to explore this career! Indeed, it’s one of the best jobs to have today.
Northwest Suburban College offers pharmacy tech programs near Schaumburg, IL. Enroll now and start a career as a pharmacy technician!
