When thinking of a pharmacy technician, the first thought that may come to mind is a retail pharmacy technician who works at a local drug store chain and hands you your prescriptions at a drive-thru window. This individual is often a familiar face, as he/she is generally customer facing and plays a vital role in processing, dispensing and distributing medications to customers. Although retail pharmacy technicians may be the most commonly seen in the profession, there are a variety of rewarding settings for pharmacy technicians.
Some additional settings include:

• Institutional Pharmacy
• Home Healthcare
• Mail Order Pharmacy
• Nuclear Pharmacy
• Managed Care

One thing unique about the managed care setting is that these pharmacy technicians are often employed by Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) companies and work in a phone-based office environment. A Prior Authorizations Pharmacy Technician, for example, typically assists patients and clients over the phone where they work to obtain approval for a patient’s medication, which falls outside of their insurance’s drug list formulary. As frustrating as it may be for patients to have to wait for approval of their prescribed medication, a Prior Authorizations Pharmacy Technician helps resolve these conflicts efficiently by facilitating communication and documentation between patients, physicians, clients and providers. Through the use of this role, among many others, Pharmacy Technicians remain highly valuable in the pharmaceutical industry.
As the work settings, roles and responsibilities of pharmacy technicians continue to expand in the pharmaceutical industry, so do their job opportunities. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the job outlook for pharmacy technicians is expected to increase 9 percent from 2014-2024, which is faster than the average. This means it is the perfect time to join the pharmacy field and, in even greater news, individuals can become pharmacy technicians extremely quickly! By pursuing an online self-study program, individuals can often prepare for and take the PTCB’s national Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam (PTCE) in eight weeks or less. Upon passing the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board’s exam, you too can obtain your national Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) credential to become qualified for opportunities.
If you interested in a fast track to become a pharmacy technician, check out Medix’s Pharm Tech Direct Program to help you jumpstart your career in the pharmaceutical field.
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