The pharmacist-to-pharmacy technician ratio is a legal regulation that establishes the maximum number of
pharmacy technicians that may be supervised by a licensed
pharmacist
A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...
at one given time. For example, a pharmacist-to-pharmacy technician ratio of 1:3 would mean that three people are allowed to be working as pharmacy technicians at one time for every one pharmacist present.
Characterization
In the United States, the regulation of the pharmacist-to-pharmacy technician ratio is regulated at the individual state level.
Some states vary the ratio by institutional (e.g. hospital) pharmacy practice versus retail (i.e. community) pharmacy practice, while others do not regulate pharmacist-to-pharmacy technician ratios at all.
The ratios vary from a minimum of 1:2 (e.g. in Kansas) to 1:6 (e.g. Idaho).
In some countries, such as in the United Kingdom and in Denmark, technicians can practice without pharmacist supervision at all.
Globally, one survey found that pharmacists are the most frequent source of supervision for pharmacy technicians.
Rationale and criticism
Pharmacist-to-pharmacy technician ratios are an attempt to find a balance between providing assistance to the practicing pharmacist in operating the pharmacy while maintaining adequate supervision of their pharmacy technicians.
While staffing issues are reported by pharmacy technicians to increase the risk for medication-related medical errors, misconduct by an unsupervised pharmacy technician can result in significant patient harm.
Critics of low pharmacist-to-pharmacy technician ratios have complained that the lack of pharmacy technicians staffing forces pharmacists to devote more time to non-clinical, dispensing-related tasks, as opposed to performing direct patient care services and
over-the-counter counseling Over-the-counter counseling (or OTC counseling) refers to the counseling that a pharmacist may provide on the subject of initiating, modifying, or stopping an over-the-counter (OTC) drug product. OTC counseling requires an assessment of the patient ...
.
History
While pharmacist-to-pharmacy technician ratio were initially low with pharmacy technicians engaged in retail tasks (acting as
cashiers
Cashiers is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated village located in southern Jackson County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the community had a total population of 657, up from 157 at the 2010 c ...
), the ratios have increased over time as pharmacy technicians have taken on new duties, such as
pharmaceutical formulation
Pharmaceutical formulation, in pharmaceutics, is the process in which different chemical substances, including the active drug, are combined to produce a final medicinal product. The word ''formulation'' is often used in a way that includes dosage ...
and intermediating between the pharmacy and
insurance companies
Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...
.
See also
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Pharmacy (shop)
A pharmacy (also called "drugstore" in American English or "community pharmacy" or "chemist" in Commonwealth English, or rarely, apothecary) is a retail shop which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmacis ...
References
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Pharmacies
Technicians