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Fighting COVID-19 — All hands on Deck

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Complimentary COVID-19 Preparation and Administration Resources are Now Available on RxTOOLKIT.com

RxTOOLKIT has created new interactive RxWORKFLOW for IV Safety Preparation and Administration Worksheets for the currently available COVID-19 monoclonal antibody products and you can get now them for free! Please read on to find out how.

COVID-19 has presented a significant challenge to all healthcare organizations, large and small. Maintaining appropriate staffing levels and ensuring patients have access to the necessary therapies are just a couple of examples of the issues they face.

Big problems present big challenges. Big challenges present big opportunities — Opportunities to work together, as a community, to bring about a better outcome for everyone. A viable vaccine produced in months rather than years. Treatment protocols with life saving monoclonal antibody treatments, launched in record time, utilizing the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) process. The time calls for all hands on deck.

While there is a need to expedite treatment in times like these, we can’t compromise on patient safety – And RxTOOLKIT® is here to help.

Currently the FDA has introduced three COVID-19 vaccines and three monoclonal antibody drug therapies (though one has since been revoked). RxTOOLKIT has kept abreast of the new drug launches (as well as the frequent updates that have occurred) and immediately launched RxWORKFLOW for IV Safety™ drug monographs for the monoclonal antibody drugs, as well as RxWORKFLOW for Vaccine Safety drug monographs for the approved COVID-19 vaccines. We also launched drug-specific courses to train and track ongoing staff competency for these therapies in RxTOOLKIT eLEARNING™.

In addition, collaborating with the National Infusion Center Association (NICA) and the US Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 Monoclonal Antibodies Therapeutic Team, we have created several new RxWORKFLOW Drug Preparation and Administration Worksheets to be provided to their users and to be featured as part of our comprehensive clinician support resource, RxWORKFLOW for IV Safety.

These worksheets are designed to establish a consistent process by including automatic dose and administration calculations and step-by-step instructions for chairside/bedside administration of these new lifesaving drugs.

As industry leaders in providing tools that emphasize patient safety and the importance of a standardized process to the infusion therapy provider community, we also wanted to make certain ALL providers, clinicians, and patients could benefit from these medication safety tools.

Current RxTOOLKIT clients can access these tools once logged in by clicking the link at the top of the page for Complimentary COVID-19 Resources: RxWORKFLOW Preparation and Administration Worksheets.

If you are not a current RxTOOLKIT client, you will need to fill out a simple form in order to request your complimentary access: Click here to go directly to the Complimentary COVID-19 Resources Request Form.

It is our hope that by sharing these tools, either directly or through our strategic partnerships, and through the tireless efforts of our healthcare community, we can significantly diminish the more severe consequences of this COVID-19 virus.

For more information about RxWORKFLOW™ please contact us or check out these links:

 

Are You Ready to Prepare and Administer COVID-19 Vaccines and Therapies?

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The country is now entering a new phase of COVID-19, one that is less reactive and more proactive in the form of prevention and treatment.

As a medical community, we are now being armed with tools to fight the COVID pandemic. Science is working on prevention and treatment at the same time. Prevention means vaccines. Treatments include monoclonal antibodies.

Healthcare providers now have access to a new COVID vaccine from Pfizer through an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) and soon will have one from Moderna, with more in the pipeline coming soon. Additionally, the FDA has already granted EUA’s to two monoclonal antibody COVID therapies for use in a non-acute setting, Bamlanivimab from Eli Lilly and the Casirivimab/Imdevimab combination from Regeneron.

We, at RxTOOLKIT, want you to be prepared. Our RxWORKFLOW™ monographs:

  • Are available now for the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine and both COVID monoclonal antibody treatments
  • Include calculators and step-by-step procedures to help your staff provide consistent, reliable dose preparation and administration
  • Include printable patient teaching materials in both English and Spanish
  • Provide drug images to help familiarize your staff with the new drugs as they are released

RxWORKFLOW for Vaccine Safety™ drug monographs for additional COVID-19 vaccines will be made available as soon as the new drugs become available.

RxTOOLKIT continues to monitor the FDA and CDC for any new drugs identified as treatment alternatives. As more options for treatment and/or prevention become available, you can count on us to be proactive and diligent in providing resources published with timeliness and accuracy!

For more information about RxWORKFLOW™ please contact us or check out these links for more information:

 

More Than Just a Pharmacy Technician

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The following guest post was written by Joanne Adam, a certified pharmacy technician. We are grateful to Joanne for sharing her story and helping others to understand how important the role of pharmacy technician has become, especially in our nation’s hospitals.

 

When I first started out as a pharmacy technician, people would ask me, “What do you do for a living?” and I would often answer, “I am just a pharmacy technician.” When I think of the many changes that have happened over the 30+ years I have been working in as a tech, I certainly need to re-think my original answer!

Over time, I have seen the role of a pharmacy technician, in the hospital setting, evolve from clerk and typist into critical and important member of the pharmacy team. As my role changed, my attitude about my work also changed. I realized that what I did was important and had a direct impact on the safety and welfare on the patients I was helping to care for.

There are many opportunities for technicians to expand their skill sets, especially in a hospital environment: from stocking automated dispensing machines to repackaging and relabeling medications, from learning to make intravenous infusions to mixing chemotherapy drugs, from shooting IVs by hand to the latest in robotic technology – the possibilities are vast!

While many states don’t require it, getting your certification as a pharmacy technician is a great first step to begin a career in health care. Once you are placed in a job, continuing education builds on that training along with the experience you gain working with other technicians and pharmacists. I’ve taken away many new techniques and procedures from the people that I have worked with along the way.

If I could give some words of advice to someone thinking about becoming a pharmacy technician, I would say, “Learn as much as you can!” There is never a job too small to learn. Also, “Ask questions!” To ask is to better understand how and why something works. Lastly, “Can you show me how it’s done?” If you are shown how a task is done, you have an opportunity to learn a new skill and then you can take that skill with you.

It can be a stressful job and it’s essential to stay focused and get it correct. With a dedication to learn and the guidance of a good pharmacy team, the hard work can be very rewarding.

I take great pride in my job because I want to do the right thing for the patient and for myself.  There is great satisfaction in knowing that by delivering a stat medication to a nurse or preparing an IV needed for a critical NICU baby, that I was truly able to help someone in need.

As I think back about my career in pharmacy, I realize I am so much more than “just a pharmacy technician”! I am a certified pharmacy technician and a truly valuable member of the healthcare team.

 

Are you looking for an affordable and accessible career opportunity in healthcare?

Become a Certified Pharmacy Technician!

On Sale this Summer! Pharmacy Technicians University is the best-in-class online training program for pharmacy techs. Don’t miss out on the your chance to save, use coupon code: SUMMER25 to claim your discount in our online shop before it expires.

For more information about pharmacy technician certification please visit: https://rxtoolkitelearning.com/ptu/

To enroll in Pharmacy Technicians University and prepare to take the national certification exam from the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board, please visit: https://rxtoolkitelearning.com/shop/

 

 

We Support Pennsylvania House Bill 770!

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“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

B. Franklin

On April 9, 2019 my colleagues and I from the Pennsylvania Society of Health System Pharmacists (PSHP) will be attending a meeting with Pennsylvania State Representative Tony DeLuca. Representative DeLuca, along with 12 other co-sponsors, have sponsored House Bill 770 into the General Assembly of Pennsylvania.

This bill, when passed and signed into legislation, will amend the Pharmacy Act to “further provide for definitions; and providing for pharmacy technician and pharmacy technician registration, qualifications and supervision”. Pennsylvania is currently one of only four states that do not provide Board of Pharmacy oversight of pharmacy technicians through registration or licensure.

In 2006, Ohio was one of those states without any oversight of pharmacy technicians. In February of that year, a tragic error committed by a pharmacy technician and not caught by a pharmacist resulted in the death of 2-year-old Emily Jerry. Once Emily’s dad, Chris, understood the cause of Emily’s death, he took it upon himself to change the law in Ohio. Emily’s Law was passed in December 2008 and went into effect on April 8, 2009.

As with any change in law and/or regulations, there are voices on both sides of the argument. House Bill 770 is no exception. On one hand, it seems so logical. Why would you not want to regulate and demand standards of practice for individuals who prepare medications? On the other hand, there are economic issues that come with regulations and competency.

The answer, in my opinion lies with Ben Franklin. Prevention in healthcare typically leads to a better quality of life and can at the same time provide cost savings for patients and providers alike. It’s why we do things like vaccinate and perform cancer screenings. There are so many benefits to pharmacy technician training, but the most important one is that trained, competent, and reliable techs can drastically reduce any facility’s overall medication error rate.

When Pennsylvania adopts House Bill 770, my home state will take a step forward to prevent a tragedy like Emily’s from ever happening again. This makes Emily’s short time on this earth all the more meaningful and it is absolutely worth the continued fight!

Pennsylvania residents please call or write your representatives and ask them to support this bill!

About the bill:

Who is my Pennsylvania Legislator?:

 

Photo Credit: Governor Tom Wolf, The Pennsylvania State Capitol in Fall, November 4, 2015, Harrisburg, PA used under Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) source: https://flic.kr/p/AH98zR

Pharmacy Technicians: The Invisible Asset

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If you have ever had a prescription filled in a pharmacy, received an IV infusion in a hospital, or received a medication in a nursing home, you have received services from a pharmacy technician. Who are these people? How are they trained?

The answer to these questions is both complex and inconsistent but can be summarized in one phrase, “it depends.” This post will provide some background about my own experience with pharmacy technicians, explore the current regulatory landscape, and provide some suggestions for how we can move forward.

Pharmacist Mate – NEC HM-8242

One of my first positions as a pharmacist was as a pharmacy officer at the US Naval Hospital in Philadelphia. That job caused me to fall in love with both the Navy and Philadelphia, as well as, to develop a special appreciation for pharmacy technicians. The Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) for a pharmacy technician is NEC HM-8242. The pharmacy technicians are trained first as hospital corpsman and then they attend a 12-week course at the joint Medical Education and Training Campus (METC) in San Antonio, Texas. That’s 26-weeks total in military style training, 8-hour days, 5 days a week.

Naval pharmacy technicians perform the same type of tasks in naval hospitals as civilian pharmacy technicians. Among those duties are dispensing, sterile compounding, non-sterile compounding, automated dispensing cabinet management, and purchasing. Besides the work that they do in naval hospitals, they also serve “independent duty”. Independent duty involves work on naval war ships. These individuals can also be deployed to FMF (fleet marine force) to serve in combat areas.

After the intense training and military service, these healthcare professionals know their job and they do it well. Many of the pharmacy technicians that I knew went on to become pharmacists after leaving the Navy, one even later reentered the Navy and became the service chief for all naval pharmacists.

This experience provided me awareness and appreciation for the intensity of the training provided, the required skill sets, and the complex nature of the job of pharmacy technician.

Hospital Pharmacy Technicians

After my tour in the Navy, I spent the bulk of my career as a practicing hospital pharmacist, with many pharmacy technicians working under my supervision.

Typically, there is not a single dose of a medication in any hospital pharmacy that does not pass through the hands of at least one pharmacy technician prior to administration. They are extremely valuable team members but very few patients ever realize the complexities and importance of their role.

The Corner Drug Store

Pharmacy technicians also play an important role in retail pharmacy. They work “behind the counter” assisting pharmacists in the preparation and dispensing of medications. Retail pharmacy technicians must also learn about insurance plans, co-pays, and the use of generic medications so they are equipped to handle patient questions.

What do the Regulations Say?

Pharmacy technician certification or registration is controlled at the state level and not the federal level. As you can imagine, states are all over the board at this time, but that is changing.

The chart below shows the number of certified pharmacy technicians per 100,000 people in each state. The states with the orange bars are the states that have no regulations regarding pharmacy technicians. It’s easy to see that in states working to recognize this valuable resource and establish minimum standards of competency, the ratio of CPhT’s to the population rises dramatically.

The good news is that virtually every state in looking at legislation to regulate pharmacy technicians and the number of states regulating pharmacy technician training has increased steadily over the last 10 years.

While many states do not specifically define the duties of pharmacy technicians, some states mandate pharmacy technician to pharmacist work ratios. Common ratios are 2 to 1 or 3 to 1, meaning 2 technicians to 1 pharmacist in the workplace.

Unfortunately still, in most states (including my home state of Pennsylvania), licensure is not required. Registration is not required. There is no minimum skill proficiency required. Training is often provided on the job with no organized standards (though many organizations establish their own set of requirements which can vary widely).

In Ohio in 2005, there was no registration or licensure of pharmacy technicians. That changed in February of 2006. Only after Emily Jerry’s tragic death, through the formation of the Emily Jerry Foundation, and by the perseverance of her dad, Emily’s Law was passed–requiring certification, background checks, and minimum standards of practice for pharmacy technicians.

I guess that it’s human nature to only react after there is a tragedy. Do we really need to wait for a tragedy like this to happen in all of the states that still currently have no standards of practice? I sure hope not!

As you can imagine, the various requirements and differences across state lines creates confusion, inconsistency, and problems for both organizations and pharmacy technicians.

PTCB

The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board provides a nationally recognized exam to measure competency for pharmacy technicians. Once a technician achieves certification, they, like practicing pharmacists, must also obtain continuing educations credits to keep their skills up to date and relevant. Pharmacy technicians that have received certification from PTCB are required to complete 20 hours of continuing educations every 2 years.

Certification (CPhT) is achieved by passing a nation exam administered by PTCB. The exam covers a wide variety of subject matter, all of which would be included in the daily tasks of a pharmacy technician.

RxTOOLKIT in Action

We, at RxTOOLKIT, see the lack of standardization and training for pharmacy technicians as a significant patient safety issue and have made the decision to act.

RxTOOLKIT eLEARNING™ was developed in direct response to these observations. Our mission is to provide specialized online training with both clinical and operational focus to increase safety, expand competency, boost confidence, and ensure successful patient outcomes.

RxTOOLKIT eLEARNING™ has also recently partnered with TRC Healthcare (Authors of Pharmacist’s Letter and Pharmacy Technician’s Letter) in advancement of Pharmacy Technicians University (PTU). This online competency‐based curriculum provides all of the tools and information needed to prepare techs for the job and the national certification exam. Pharmacy Technicians University meets or exceeds requirements for technician training in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Our goal is to increase the pool of qualified pharmacy technicians as all states move toward certification. We do this for all the reasons I’ve articulated in this post. It is a complex and extremely important job and we need qualified pharmacy technicians!

Want to get involved?

Are you a pharmacy technician or a pharmacist that knows a really awesome tech? We invite you to share your story for publication on this blog! Please submit post ideas to: info@rxtoolkit.com.

Please make a generous donation to the Emily Jerry Foundation.

Tell someone you know about Pharmacy Technician’s University, a portion of proceeds from the sale of these courses is donated to the Emily Jerry Foundation.

For more information about RxTOOLKIT eLEARNING™ please contact elearning@rxtoolkit.com or visit RxTOOLKITeLEARNING.com.