VA pharmacy techs now required to receive PTCB certification

WASHINGTON Pharmacy technicians working for the Department of Veterans Affairs will be required to receive certification from the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board, under new regulations announced Friday.

The new regulations stem from formal recommendations from the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and parallel standards in the private sector, the PTCB said.

“The Department of Veterans Affairs relies extensively on its cadre of pharmacy technicians to provide a world-class pharmacy benefit to our nation’s veterans,” VA chief consultant for pharmacy benefits management Michael Valentino stated. “PTCB certification provides a solid foundation to support the pharmacy technician services of the VA as they work to serve our nation’s veterans.”

VA pharmacy techs work in a number of settings, including hospitals, outpatient care, pharmacy automation, staffing phone lines and working within the Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy, a mail-order pharmacy service.