Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) Announces Milestone: 300,000 Certified Pharmacy Technicians (CPhT)

    WASHINGTON, May 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pharmacy Technician
 Certification Board (PTCB) announced today that over 300,000 pharmacy
 technicians have officially been designated Certified Pharmacy Technicians
 (CPhT) through successfully completing the national Pharmacy Technician
 Certification Examination or transfer process since the program's inception
 in 1995. In 2006, PTCB transitioned from a paper-and-pencil format to
 computer-based testing through Pearson VUE, thereby making its exam more
 widely available.
 
     PTCB is the pioneer in the certification of pharmacy technicians, who
 play a vital role in assisting pharmacists in serving patients nationwide.
 Pharmacy technicians work in retail pharmacies, hospitals and
 health-systems, nursing homes, mail-order pharmacies, and other pharmacy
 locations. The field is growing -- pharmacy technician was named one of the
 30 top jobs of 2008 by CareerBuilder.com.
 
     The PTCB national Pharmacy Technician Certification Examination (PTCE)
 is the only certification program for pharmacy technicians accredited by
 the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). NCCA accreditation
 represents an independent audit by certification industry experts and
 ensures that PTCB's certification program adheres to current standards of
 practice in the certification industry. The PTCE is recognized by the
 National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, major employers, pharmacy
 technicians nationwide, and state boards of pharmacy. The PTCE is delivered
 through Pearson Professional Centers in all 50 states, and is included in
 regulations of 30 states.
 
     "Certifying pharmacy technicians is critical to patient safety. We know
 that in a recent survey of American consumers, 91% support strong
 regulations across the country to protect patient safety by requiring that
 pharmacy technicians be trained and certified," said Melissa Murer
 Corrigan, RPh, Executive Director and CEO of PTCB. "With more than 300,000
 trained and tested PTCB certified pharmacy technicians and new regulations
 for pharmacy technicians in states such as Florida, significant progress is
 being made to meet this expectation."
 
     "Pharmacists need the support of their techs, and the confidence that
 the technicians are trained and tested. Walgreens was the first to get
 behind certification, and close to 65% of our techs are PTCB certified,
 said Mark Wagner, Executive Vice President of Store Operations at
 Walgreens. "The 300,000 milestone is important as qualified pharmacy
 technicians are essential to a pharmacy's smooth operations."
 
     About the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB)
 
     PTCB was established in January 1995 and is governed by five pharmacy
 organizations -- the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), the American
 Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), the Illinois Council of
 Health-System Pharmacists (ICHP), the Michigan Pharmacists Association
 (MPA) and the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP). The goal
 of the PTCB national certification program is to enable pharmacy
 technicians to work more effectively with pharmacists to offer safe and
 effective patient care and service. PTCB contracts with Pearson VUE, the
 industry's technology leader, as its computer-based testing vendor. PTCB
 draws upon the experience and expertise of its 13-year partner,
 Professional Examination Service (PES) for test development.
 
     About Pearson VUE
 
     Pearson VUE (http://www.pearsonvue.com) is the global leader in
 electronic testing for regulatory and certification boards, providing a
 full suite of services from test development to test delivery to data
 management. Pearson VUE offers exams through the world's largest network of
 test centers in 162 countries, providing testing services for information
 technology, academic, government and professional clients. Pearson VUE
 acquired the former Promissor in 2006, thereby extending its leadership in
 the certification market. The company's innovative technology offers the
 highest levels of security and program control, while its commitment to
 service provides clients and individual test takers with an unmatched
 testing experience.
 
     Pearson VUE is a business of Pearson (NYSE:   PSO; LSE: PSON), the
 international media company, whose businesses include the Financial Times
 Group, Pearson Education and the Penguin Group.
 
 
 

SOURCE Pharmacy Technician Certification Board