680-X-2-.14 The Role Of Technicians In Pharmacies In Alabama.

(1) Title 34, Chapter 23, Code of Ala. 1975, specifies that only persons licensed by the Board of Pharmacy may practice pharmacy. The practice of pharmacy shall mean the interpretation and evaluation of prescription orders; the compounding, dispensing, administering and labeling of drugs and devices; the participation in drug selection and drug utilization reviews and drug therapy management; the proper and safe storage of drugs and devices and the maintenance of proper records; the responsibility for advising, where necessary or where regulated, of therapeutic values, content, hazards and use of drugs and devices; and the offering or performing of those acts, services, operations or transactions necessary in the conduct, operation, management and control of pharmacy.

(2) The only other persons who may perform the above tasks other than a licensed pharmacist, and then only under the immediate direct supervision of a pharmacist, are the following:

(a) A person serving an internship who holds a professional degree in pharmacy from a school of pharmacy recognized by the Board.

(b) A person serving an externship who is enrolled in a school of pharmacy recognized by the Board.

(c) A person who hold an assistant's license.

(3) It is ruled by the Board of Pharmacy that three (3) technicians, one of which shall be certified by any credentialing organization approved by the Board, on duty are sufficient in the prescription area of a retail pharmacy or an institutional pharmacy for each full time licensed pharmacist on duty. Nothing in this rule shall prevent a pharmacy from employing technicians to perform supervised tasks not requiring professional judgment.

(4) In order to adequately protect the public health, technicians shall not:

(a) Communicate, orally or in writing, any medical, therapeutic, clinical or drug information, or communicate any information recorded on a patient profile that requires professional judgment.

(b) Document the receipt of a controlled substance into inventory.

(c) Accept by oral communication a new prescription of any nature.

(d) Prepare a copy of a prescription or read a prescription to another person.

(e) Provide a prescription or medication to a patient without a pharmacist's verification as to the correctness of the prescription or medication. For the purpose of this rule, verification shall mean that the licensed pharmacist shall be aware of the patient profile, DUR, computer overrides and drug interactions as well as the correctness of the selected medication and labeling.

(f) Counsel a patient on medications or perform a drug utilization review.

(g) Perform any task that requires the professional judgment of a pharmacist.

(h) Perform any task that is in violation of any federal, state or local pharmacy regulations.

(5) Written control procedures and guidelines for supervision of technicians by a licensed pharmacist and for performance of tasks by technicians shall be established and made available for review by the Board of Pharmacy.

(6) In order to be registered as a pharmacy technician in this state, an applicant shall: (a) Have submitted a written application on a form provided by the Board of Pharmacy. (b) Have attained the age of seventeen (17).

(7) No pharmacist whose license has been denied, revoked, suspended, or restricted for disciplinary purposes shall be eligible to be registered as a pharmacy technician.

(8) All technicians shall wear a nametag, identifying them as such, while on duty.

(9) Each technician registered by the Board shall notify the board in writing within 10 days on change of employment. The notice shall contain his/he name, registration number, the name of the pharmacy where formerly employed and the name of the pharmacy where currently employed.

(10) All pharmacy technicians shall register with the Alabama State Board of Pharmacy. This registration shall expire on December 31 of odd numbered years. Effective January 1, 2006, the initial registration fee and renewal fee shall be sixty dollars ($60). All pharmacy technicians shall pay the renewal fee biennially with this fee being due on October 31 and delinquent after December 31 of odd numbered years. All pharmacy technician registrations shall expire on December 31 biennially in odd-numbered years. The payment of the renewal fee shall entitle the registrants to renewal of their registrations at the discretion of the Board. If any pharmacy technician shall fail to pay a renewal fee on or before December 31 of any year, such registration shall become null and void, and the holder of such registration may be reinstated as a pharmacy technician only upon payment of a penalty of Twenty Dollars ($20.00) for each lapsed year and all lapsed fees for each lapsed year, up to a maximum of 5 years of total penalties and lapsed fees.

(a) All technicians receiving their initial registration on or after January 1, 2020, shall complete a Board-approved training program within the first six months after their registration and submit evidence of completion to the board within 10 days of completion. The technician and the employing pharmacy shall keep documentation of this training for a period of two years from the completion of the training. The passage of a Board-recognized pharmacy technician certification examination shall be accepted as a training program. The training program shall be the responsibility of the technician and the pharmacy employing the technician. The Board of Pharmacy may issue a fine of up to one thousand ($1,000) to the pharmacy, and/or revocation of the registration of a technician for violation of this rule.The Board may impose allowable sanctions for violation of this Rule against the employing pharmacy permit holder, the Supervising Pharmacist of the employing pharmacy and/or the pharmacy technician.

(b) Every pharmacy technician registered by the Alabama State Board of Pharmacy shall, prior to reregistration, complete six (6) hours of continuing education, two (2) hours of which shall be ‘live’ presentation, within the renewal periods.

(11) The Alabama State Board of Pharmacy shall refuse to issue a pharmacy technician registration whenever the Board finds by the preponderance of the evidence any of the following:

(a) That the applicant does not possess good moral character.

(b) That the applicant has willfully violated any of the provisions of Code of Ala. 1975, §34-24-1 et seq., or the Alabama Uniform Controlled Substances Act.

(c) That the applicant has willfully violated any rule or regulation promulgated in accordance with the provisions of Code of Ala. 1975, §34-24-1 et seq., or in accordance with the Alabama Uniform Controlled Substances Act.

(d) That the applicant has engaged in conduct which threatens the public health, safety or welfare.

(e) That the applicant has been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude. A copy of the record of the conviction, certified by the Clerk of the Court entering the conviction, shall be conclusive evidence of the conviction.

(f) That the applicant has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving a drug related offense of a legend drug of controlled substance. A copy of the record of the conviction, certified by the Clerk of the Court entering the conviction, shall be conclusive evidence of the conviction.

(g) That the applicant has been convicted of any crime or offense that reflects the inability of the applicant to engage in the performance of pharmacy technician functions with due regard for the health and safety to the public. A copy of the record of the conviction, certified by the Clerk of the Court entering the conviction, shall be conclusive evidence of the conviction.

(h) That the applicant has attempted to obtain a pharmacy technician registration by fraudulent means.

(i) That the applicant has violated any of the laws regulating the sale or dispensing of narcotics, exempt narcotics or drugs bearing the label "caution, federal law prohibits dispensing without prescription" or similar wording which causes the drugs to be classified as a prescription legend drugs.

(j) That the applicant is unable to engage in the performance of pharmacy technician functions with reasonable skill and safety by reason of illness, inebriation, misuse of drugs, narcotics, alcohol, chemicals or any other substance, or as a result of any mental or physical condition.

(k) The suspension, revocation or probation by another state of the applicant's license, permit or registration to practice as a pharmacy technician. A certified copy of the record of suspension, revocation or probation of the State making such suspension, revocation or probation shall be conclusive evidence of the suspension, revocation or probation.

(l) That the applicant refused to appear before the Board after having been ordered to do so in writing by the Executive Officer or President of the Board.

(m) That the applicant made any fraudulent or untrue statement to the Board.

(12) In addition to all other applicable requirements for registration or reinstatement as a pharmacy technician and a prerequisite for consideration of an application for registration or reinstatement as a pharmacy technician, each individual seeking registration or reinstatement of registration as a pharmacy technician shall consent and be subject to a Board approved criminal background check, the cost of which to be paid by the applicant. The information received as a result of the background check shall be relied upon in determining whether the applicant meets the applicable qualifications to obtain the referenced registration.

Author: Donna C. Yeatman R.Ph. Executive Secretary

Statutory Authority:Code of Ala. 1975, §34-23-92.

History: Filed June 1, 1982. Amended: Filed May 30, 1990. Repealed and Replaced: Filed July 26, 1996; operative August 30, 1996; effective January 1, 1997. Amended: Filed February 13, 1997; effective March 20, 1997. Amended: Filed September 20, 1999; effective October 25, 1999. Amended: Filed April 11, 2001; effective May 16, 2001; operative January 1, 2002. Amended: Filed July 1, 2002; effective August 5, 2002. Amended: Filed January 6, 2005; effective February 10, 2005. Amended: Filed November 1, 2005; refiled December 22, 2005; effective December 22, 2005. Amended: Filed September 22, 2009; effective October 27, 2009. Amended: Filed December 8, 2009; effective January 12, 2010. Amended: Filed January 30, 2012; effective March 5, 2012. Amended: Filed March 21, 2016; effective May 5, 2016. Amended: Filed July 25, 2016; effective September 8, 2016. Amended: August 23, 2019 effective: October 7, 2019. Amended: filed May 15, 2020 effective; October 15, 2020, Amended: Filed April 28, 2021, effective October 15, 2021.