Certification
Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT)
Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB)
Median earnings
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Cost
$129
Duration
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Completion
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PTCB’s CPhT Program is nationally accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), and is the technician credential pharmacists trust. With the CPhT credential, technicians demonstrate their knowledge and commitment in medication safety and effective patient care across pharmacy settings.
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Skills taught
Identify medications by generic name, brand name, classification, indication, dosage form, route of administration, strength, dose, and duration of therapy for accurate prescription processing and patient safetyRecognize and manage drug interactions, contraindications, therapeutic duplications, side effects, adverse effects, and allergies including drug-drug, drug-dietary supplement, drug-laboratory, and drug-disease interactionsApply drug stability and proper storage requirements including temperature ranges, light sensitivity, restricted access, and handling instructions for oral suspensions, insulins, reconstitutables, injectables, and vaccinationsApply federal requirements for storage, handling, ordering, dispensing, labeling, returning, and disposing of non-hazardous, hazardous, and pharmacological substances and wastes in compliance with DEA and EPA regulationsProcess controlled substance prescriptions in compliance with federal requirements including new, refill, and transfer procedures, DEA scheduling, loss or theft reporting, take-back programs, and destruction protocolsApply federal restricted drug program requirements including pseudoephedrine sales restrictions and Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) medication-processing requirementsComply with FDA requirements for medication recalls, product serialization, tracking, tracing, and quarantining of drug products in accordance with the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA)Identify and manage high-alert, look-alike, and sound-alike medications using error prevention strategies including Tall Man lettering, bar code usage, leading and trailing zeros, and separation of inventoryRecognize issues requiring pharmacist intervention including drug utilization review, adverse drug events, OTC recommendations, therapeutic substitutions, medication misuse, adherence concerns, and drug interactionsReport medication errors, adverse effects, near misses, and product integrity issues using appropriate reporting procedures including MedWatch, VAERS, root-cause analysis, and continuous quality improvement processesIdentify and prevent prescription errors including incorrect dose, quantity, patient, drug, and route of administration through systematic verification and quality assurance processesApply infection prevention procedures and cleaning standards including handwashing, PPE use, and proper cleaning of counting trays, countertops, and pharmacy equipmentPerform pharmacy calculations including formulas, ratios, proportions, unit conversions, days supply, dose, concentration, and dilution calculations using Sig codes, abbreviations, and medical terminology for accurate order entry and processingSelect and verify equipment and supplies required for drug administration including diabetic supplies, inhaler spacers, oral and injectable syringes, filters, dilution solutions, immunization supplies, and nebulizersVerify and process lot numbers, expiration dates, and National Drug Code (NDC) numbers for accurate medication dispensing and inventory managementIdentify and process dispensable, non-dispensable, and expired medications and supplies through appropriate procedures including credit returns, return to stock, and reverse distribution