Pharmacist Salary Survey

The Fall 2002 National Pharmacy Compensation Reports
Excerpted from the Fall 2002 National Pharmacy Compensation Report
by Buck Consultants

Peer Group: NATIONAL-ALL PARTICIPATING COMPANIES*

*Data pulled from the Fall 2002 National Pharmacy Compensation Reports by Buck Consultants, sponsored by Syncor International, Pharmacy Week, and PharmacyOneSource.com. The following is the "Survey Methodology" from the report.

THE FALL 2002 NATIONAL PHARMACY COMPENSATION REPORT
Copyright © 2002 Buck Consultants, Inc.

JOB DESCRIPTIONS

Pharmacy Intern - Position Code 005
Under the direction of a licensed Pharmacist, assists with many aspects of pharmacy operations, including dispensing medications, providing drug information and advising customers in compliance with corporate and regulatory guidelines. Must have completed 5th or 6th year of pharmacy degree.

Pharmacist I - Position Code 010
This is the entry-level position for a Pharmacist. Compounds and dispenses medications within corporate and regulatory guidelines. Must have a valid Pharmacist's license (if this is a Nuclear Pharmacist, may or may not have nuclear certification).

Pharmacist II - Position Code 020
Provides more complex pharmacy services. Compounds and dispenses medications within corporate and regulatory guidelines. Procures and maintains pharmaceutical supplies. Supervises pharmacy employees in the absence of the Pharmacy Manager. Must have a valid Pharmacist's license (if this is a Nuclear Pharmacist, must have nuclear certification with at least six months experience in nuclear pharmacy and knowledge of radiation safety procedures).

Clinical Pharmacist - Position Code 030
Spends majority of time consulting with patients, physicians and medical staff regarding use of medications and potential drug interactions, and monitors drug therapies. Compounds and dispenses medications within corporate and regulatory guidelines. May supervise and train staff.

Pharmacy Manager - Position Code 040
Oversees and is accountable for the operation and financial results of assigned pharmacy(ies). Plans, coordinates, and directs all activities related to the compounding, dispensing, delivery, receipt, and handling of medications and associated products within corporate and regulatory guidelines. Oversees operational, human resources and finance activities associated with the pharmacy(ies).

Regional Pharmacy Manager - Position Code 045
Provide overall professional support to pharmacies within a defined geographic region. Accountable for the operations and financial results of assigned pharmacies. Duties include recruiting Pharmacy Managers and Pharmacists, ensuring all pharmacies are in compliance with federal, state and local laws and regulations, and managing overall pharmacy programs.

Pharmacy Technician I - Position Code 050
Under the immediate direction of a licensed pharmacist, fills orders for pharmaceuticals. Types prescription labels, enters information into a computer system. May perform clerical and administrative duties. 0 to 2 years experience as a Pharmacy Technician (if this is a Nuclear Technician - may or may not have completed Nuclear Pharmacy Technician Certificate Program)

Pharmacy Technician II - Position Code 060
Under the direction of a licensed Pharmacist, fills orders for pharmaceuticals. Types prescription labels, enters information into a computer system, maintains computer inventory and records. May act as a lead by training and directing work of non-pharmacist personnel. 2 years or more years experience as a Technician (if this is a Nuclear Technician - has completed a Nuclear Pharmacy Technician Certificate Program, may function as an Assistant Radiation Safety Officer)

DEFINITIONS AND EXPLANATIONS OF TERMS

Annual Revenues are reported for each of the participating organizations. These figures are used in peer group analysis and generally define groups or size classes of companies that would have similar pay policies and practices.

Base Salary is the regular base pay earned as of the survey effective date. It does not include shift differentials, overtime pay, bonuses, incentive payments or profit sharing.

Bonus Paid is an actual payment (usually in lump sum) based on performance (individual, group or company) earned in the most recent period. Typically employees who are eligible for bonus but did not receive a payout are excluded from the summary calculations for actual bonus data.

Company Weighted Average represents an average of all salary figures provided, giving equal weight to each company's data. This information reflects what an average company is paying in the market, regardless of the number of people they employ. This average can be skewed by either an individual company or small number of companies that pay extremely high or low rates.

Employee Weighted Average aggregates the data using the number of employees in each position. Data reported by individual companies is multiplied by the number of incumbents in each position. The results are summed, and then divided by the total number of incumbents in the position. This statistic tends to weight data toward companies who have the most incumbents in a position.

Exempt Employee is exempt from the overtime pay requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), is paid on a salaried basis and typically does not receive overtime.

Financial and Operating Information includes annual net revenues, number of employees, and union affiliation (if any).

Market Adjustments are used by employers to ensure competitive pay relative to the external market and the pay practices of competitor organizations. Typically market adjustments account for general economic conditions as well.

Merit Increases are adjustments to base salaries based on performance measures.

Nonexempt Employee is covered under the overtime pay requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). By law, these employees receive overtime pay at the rate of 1-1/2 times the normal hourly rate for weekly hours worked in excess of 40 hours and/or hours over 8 in a day, depending upon state regulations.

Number of Companies includes the number of survey participants matching to the specific position and/or providing data (e.g., 24 companies may provide data for the Pharmacist but only 12 companies may have paid a bonus in the most recent fiscal year).

Number of Employees includes the total number of employees reported by all participants matching to the specific position. This reflects the number of market jobs represented by the sample.

Number of Facilities includes the total number of distinct worksites reported by all participants matching to the specific position. This reflects the total number of distinct facilities for which employee pay data were reported.

Percentiles show the dispersion of data above and below a measure of central tendency. Multiple incumbent data are summarized prior to analysis so that equal weight is given to each company's data (a large company's data, if they have a large number of employees, would tend to skew the percentiles). To compute a percentile, the data are ranked from lowest to highest. The resulting percentile value is the actual or interpolated data point that a percent of the observations are less than. Percentiles used in this survey include:

• 25th percentile (also known as the first quartile), below which lies 25% of the sample.
• 50th percentile (also known as the median), below which lies 50% of the sample. The median is less affected by extreme high or low values than the average or weighted average.
• 75th percentile (also known as the third quartile), below which lies 75% of the sample.

Regions

• Northeast: Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont
• Southeast: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia
• North Central: Illinois , Indiana , Iowa , Kansas , Michigan , Minnesota , Missouri , Nebraska , North Dakota , Ohio , South Dakota , Wisconsin
• Mountain/South Central: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Wyoming
• West: Alaska , California , Hawaii , Nevada , Oregon , Washington

Sub-Regions

• New England : Connecticut , Maine , Massachusetts , New Hampshire , Rhode Island , Vermont
• Mid-Atlantic: Delaware , District of Columbia , Maryland , New Jersey , New York , Pennsylvania
• Mid-Southeast: Kentucky , North Carolina , Tennessee , Virginia , West Virginia
• Lower Southeast: Alabama , Florida , Georgia , Mississippi , South Carolina
• Great Lakes : Illinois , Indiana , Michigan , Ohio , Wisconsin
• Central Plains: Iowa , Kansas , Minnesota , Missouri , Nebraska , North Dakota , South Dakota
• Mountain: Arizona , Colorado , Idaho , Montana , New Mexico , Utah , Wyoming
• South Central: Arkansas , Louisiana , Oklahoma , Texas
• Pacific Northwest : Alaska , Oregon , Washington
• Pacific Southwest: California , Hawaii , Nevada

Salary Range encompasses the established minimum, midpoint and maximum rates of pay applicable for each position. The ranges are used as guidelines to set individual pay rates. A number of companies participating in the survey did not report established salary ranges for some or all of their positions within their organizations.

Total Cash Compensation is the amount of direct cash earned in the most recent fiscal year including base salary, bonus and all other cash payments. If an incumbent is not eligible to receive a bonus or is eligible to and a bonus is not paid, total compensation is the same as base salary.