NABP recommends state boards of pharmacy to require PTCB certification

NEW YORK The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board welcomed a recommendation this week by the National Association of Board of Pharmacy that state boards of pharmacy require pharmacy technicians to have PTCB certification. The NABP will amend its Model Act to recommend that all boards of pharmacy require pharmacy tech certification by 2015.

A uniform, nationwide pharmacy tech testing and certification system like the one the NABP recommends will ensure that pharmacy techs throughout the country are held to the same standard and thus ensure they provide the same standard of service to patients. The more than 339,000 pharmacy technicians the PTCB has certified since its 1995 inception places its testing system in a position to be a nationwide benchmark.

According to a poll that the PTCB commissioned in 2007, 91% of American consumers support strong, nationwide regulations to require training and certification of pharmacy techs. And since April 1, the test has been offered in an online, on-demand format, prompting 6,800 pharmacy technicians to apply between then and the beginning of this month. Not only that, but Walgreens became a proponent of the PTCB’s testing and accreditation process early on, giving it a big-name advocate.