PTCB Funds Anti-Opioid Abuse Projects Including Naloxone Training for Pharmacy Technicians

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) has awarded grants to state pharmacy associations in Arizona, Connecticut, and Massachusetts to support projects to advance medication safety and the role of pharmacy technicians, including programs to address the opioid abuse crisis. The three grants, totaling $26,000, will fund technician training in the use and benefits of the opioid antagonist naloxone to counter overdoses, and in processes to monitor prescriptions, track high-alert medications, and related duties.

The Arizona Pharmacists Association (AzPA) received a grant to establish an opioid and controlled substance diversion prevention training program for pharmacy technicians. The goal of AzPA's Ensuring Access to Naloxone Project is to reduce opioid-related deaths by increasing access to naloxone, according to AzPA CEO Kelly Fine, RPh. "Educating technicians about the benefits of naloxone is the next critical step in decreasing deaths from the opioid epidemic," said Fine. "Pharmacy technicians are often the first line of communication with patients. The public benefits when technicians play a bigger role in recognizing opioid abuse and recommending naloxone to patients."

In addition to the training program, AzPA's project includes development of a legislative roadmap and model language for state-level rulemaking to allow technicians to dispense naloxone. Only one state, Idaho, currently permits technicians to deliver the treatment. "We hope our project will create national momentum and remove barriers so this vital service can expand across the country," said Fine.

PTCB awarded funding to the Connecticut Pharmacists Association (CPA) to create an accredited, online education module to train technicians in all pharmacy settings to access and report on patient records found in the Connecticut Prescription Monitoring and Reporting System (CPMRS). The CPA course will meet requirements for CPMRS technician training under a new state law to address opioid abuse that took effect in October. Technicians who complete the training will be qualified to consult the CPMRS to check patient records under the supervision of a pharmacist preparing to dispense a controlled substance prescription.

The webinar training platform will be available for other state pharmacy associations to offer their members. "The training enhances patient safety and, at the same time, offers technicians an opportunity to advance on their own career paths," said Nathan Tinker, PhD, CEO of CPA. "Pharmacy technicians aspire to undertake more advanced roles. Advancing their role in this critical area will further allow pharmacists' roles to expand to take on more clinical functions." 

The Massachusetts Pharmacists Association's (MPhA) grant will fund a webinar series on key safety topics for technicians, such as the medication-use process, medication tracers, high-alert medications that require safeguards, pharmacy audits, and error identification. "Education is fundamental to a culture of safety, and the avoidance of medication errors and patient harm," said MPhA Executive Vice President Lindsay De Santis. "This program will serve as a consolidated source of pertinent, high value information for today's technicians. It is critical that technicians be confident and prepared as their roles evolve to include greater patient interactions and operational responsibilities."

"PTCB is focused on advancing medication and patient safety by credentialing pharmacy technicians who are qualified to support pharmacists in all practice settings," said Ryan Burke, PharmD, PTCB Director of Professional Affairs. "We also support building a sustainable career ladder for technicians. We applaud these state association initiatives intended to enhance safety and combat the opioid crisis by advancing technicians."

The grants are the most recent awarded by PTCB's Partnership Funds Program launched in March 2019 to support selected projects of the 72 state pharmacy associations that participate in PTCB's State Associate Program. Participating associations have an exclusive opportunity to request the grants. A panel of expert pharmacy volunteers chose the recipients based on each project's impact on the twin goals of medication safety and advancing technician roles.

https://www.ptcb.org/news/ptcb-funds-anti-opioid-abuse-projects-including-naloxone-training-for-pharmacy-technicians

PTCB is proud to be the nation's leading pharmacy technician certifying body. PTCB holds medication safety paramount through rigorous programs to certify technicians qualified to support pharmacists and patient care teams in all practice settings. PTCB was founded in 1995 and since then has transitioned to an increasingly dynamic organization. PTCB's Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) Program, offered since 1995, is the foundation for all PTCB credentials. PTCB offers the Compounded Sterile Preparation Technician^® (CSPT^®) Certification Program, launched in 2017, and began introducing a series of Assessment-Based Certificate Programs in 2019. PTCB serves more than 288,000 active PTCB CPhTs and CSPTs, and many thousands within pharmacy technician stakeholder organizations. ptcb.org

SOURCE Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB)

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