On The Cover
Elizabeth Briand
Pharmacy technicians have always been integral members of the pharmacy care team, and now, with health care growing more complex by the day and the national shortage of pharmacists showing no signs of abating, technicians are taking on expanded roles in the care of patients and finding new paths forward in pursuit of their own career goals.
Today, there are approximately 490,000 pharmacy techs, including more than 310,000 who are credentialed by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), working in community pharmacies and clinical sites across the United States. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that more than 520,000 pharmacy tech jobs will exist by 2034, making it vitally important that current techs are retained in their roles and new techs are trained to fill those open jobs.
“Due to both labor shortages and the increased demand for patient care, certified pharmacy technicians are taking on an elevated role and expanded responsibilities,” said William Schimmel, executive director and CEO of PTCB. “Highly skilled and motivated pharmacy technicians can handle more complex tasks, reduce errors, and contribute to the overall efficiency of the pharmacy.”
The evolution in pharmacy tech roles accelerated during and after the COVID-19 pandemic when HHS invoked the Public Emergency and Preparedness Act, which authorized technicians to administer COVID-19 and other vaccines. Later, techs were also authorized to give flu vaccines to adults and perform other COVID-19 countermeasures.
“The majority of states, recognizing the value technicians bring to public health, have made these changes permanent, reflecting the industry’s desire for an expanded scope of responsibilities,” said Schimmel.
And those roles and responsibilities may continue to grow. In May 2023, at the annual meeting of the National Association of the Boards of Pharmacy, members approved a resolution emphasizing the necessity for each state to include at least one technician representative on its board of pharmacy—giving techs a stronger voice and higher visibility in future decision-making processes. At the time of the resolution, fewer than half of U.S. states had a pharmacy technician on their board of pharmacy.
“Many employers are acknowledging the career potential of technicians, creating pathways for advancement, and incorporating PTCB credentials into career ladders,” said Schimmel. “Career ladders facilitate internal talent development and create natural progression paths for leadership roles. This internal pipeline of qualified candidates strengthens the entire pharmacy department.”
Taking on new roles
At Eastern Tennessee State University (ETSU) Family Medicine, that recognition of skill led to the addition of a pharmacy technician to the primary care practice. Pamela Scholten, CPhT, has been tasked with working directly with patients at the primary care practice at ETSU to help them with all aspects of medication access.
In her role, Scholten takes on prior authorizations and patient assistance applications, serves as a liaison between the patient, the pharmacy, and the practice, answers questions for patients, and troubleshoots all of the myriad roadblocks that can hinder a patient’s access to medications they need.
“There are often times where we have a patient who has recently lost their insurance, or their insurance has changed, or their situation has changed in some way—they have a new diagnosis, for example,” said McKenzie Highsmith, PharmD, pharmacist at ETSU Family Medicine. “We’ll just bring Pam in to be helpful in all the ways [she can]: doing an assessment of what needs to be done, finding what medications are expensive, talking to the pharmacy, finding out what might be some of the barriers to adherence, and just getting the patient their medication.”
After more than two decades in an independent pharmacy setting, Scholten said she was “excited about taking on new responsibilities and expanding my role.” She added, “Helping people is something I am passionate about. It is extremely rewarding to find ways to access medications for patients who otherwise may not be able to get them.”
She noted that the skills pharmacy technicians possess can prove invaluable in tackling these broader duties and responsibilities.
“We have a solid foundation of skills and training in accuracy and attention to detail, medication knowledge, communication skills, and compliance,” she said. “We can apply those skills to more complex and patient-centered roles in any pharmacy setting. This allows pharmacists to focus on clinical services, which leads to better patient care and outcomes.”
Highsmith can attest to that fact. For a long time, as the pharmacist in a family medicine practice, it was part of her role to advocate for patients’ medication needs.
“It was the piece that was the most challenging for me to keep up with because with patient assistance programs or coverage, formulary changes, policy changes within CMS, there’s a lot while I’m also trying to keep up with the pharmacotherapy and treatment guidelines and things that that. Getting [Pam] on our team was really invaluable.”
The addition of a pharmacy technician to serve as a medication access expert came about in response to significant patient needs.
“We have a largely underserved patient population with quite of bit of Medicare and Medicaid,” said Highsmith. “We also have…a lot of under or uninsured or [people in] government-funded programs. With that comes a huge need for medication access and help in general. Lots of prior authorizations were really bogging down a lot of our front office and nursing time.”
Now, Scholten can work directly with patients to help them overcome those barriers to care.
“So many patients are just so grateful that we have provided this opportunity for them to have somebody that’s on our team, but that can help advocate for them in these other areas of health care, specifically at the pharmacy or with their insurance,” said Highsmith.
ETSU Family Medicine now has three pharmacy techs, one at each of their three clinics.
“Having our pharmacy technicians integrated into the practice [means that] they have relationships with all of our team—front office, nursing, administrative staff, faculty, our physician residents, our pharmacy team. And so it really kind of brings together the patient-centered care. We are bringing all of the resources to the patient,” said Highsmith.
Highsmith noted that Scholten and the other techs made a huge difference for patients in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in 2024, which destroyed hundreds of homes in eastern Tennessee and caused billions of dollars in damage.
“It directly and dramatically impacted our patients,” said Highsmith. “A lot of them lost all their medicine. [Our pharmacy technicians] immediately stepped in to say, ‘Alright, what do we have to do?’ Our front office was pulling reports of where our patients lived and getting addresses together. We had people that literally got maps out and were circling areas and roads that were no longer passable to see, did we have some of our patients in these areas?”
The entire ETSU Family Medicine team, including the pharmacy techs, began contacting pharmacies and patient assistance programs to help get medications back in their patients’ hands as quickly as possible. For people who had lost so much, it meant everything to have that kind of personalized care. The aftermath of the storm, Highsmith said, brought out the best in everyone “and highlighted just how important our pharmacy technicians are.”
And it was another example of the benefits of having a person who knows and understands the access needs of individual patients so well.
“I think this is something that will and should grow as an area of pharmacy,” said Highsmith. “It meets a need for patients, it meets a need in primary care, it meets a need in not having the pharmacist doing all of these things for every single patient.”
She added, “Patients are just so grateful. They become tearful sometimes because our system tends to be really challenging to navigate, especially if you’re low-income or under-resourced. And just knowing that there’s somebody that’s really trying to go the extra mile at all times is so impactful to our patients.”
Next step for techs
For a great many pharmacy techs, the opportunity to do more leads to a desire to advance their careers even further. This can include developing leadership skills through programs like the PTCB’s Leadership Institute for Pharmacy Technicians, a national program developed in collaboration with the Pharmacy Leadership & Education Institute.
“The institute was designed to provide technicians with dedicated space to explore leadership in a way that is relevant, practical, and grounded in real-world pharmacy practice,” said Schimmel.
The program, which includes self-paced learning, interactive virtual sessions, and one in-person session, is offered twice a year.
For other technicians, career growth means taking steps to become a pharmacist. That leap forward can mean a higher salary, more job flexibility, and greater responsibilities—all things that can lead to long-term career satisfaction.
Fortunately, pharmacy schools are working to make their programs more accessible for pharmacy techs, striving to accommodate the needs of adult learners, including many who may think that a PharmD may be out of reach.
The new PharmTech to PharmD Pathway Program at the University of California San Francisco, which debuted last year, is a free, 12-month hybrid initiative that helps guide participants as they prepare to apply for competitive admission to a PharmD program.
“In thinking about the barriers to pharmacy degrees, people need encouragement,” said Sharon Youmans, PharmD, executive vice dean at the UCSF School of Pharmacy.
And they need to understand what is open and available to them.
The program is open to anyone who is currently a pharmacy technician or has worked as one within the past 5 years.
“No academic records are needed, and there is no charge. We’re not doing this program to make money; we’re interested in investing in people,” said Youmans.
Participants meet monthly for 90 minutes and are given an academic assessment and a road map of future coursework. They learn new skills to help them stand out in an applicant pool, including how to write a personal statement. They also get a chance to hear from faculty members and alumni about opportunities available in pharmacy, including in specialty clinics, research, and biotech. They also learn how to apply for scholarships and stipends and find a way forward to their goal, something of special importance given that expense is such a roadblock in higher education.
Participants who finish the program and complete all of their coursework successfully will be guaranteed an interview at the UCSF School of Pharmacy.
The program also represents a chance to recruit people from a broader range of backgrounds.
“We want our grads to reflect our diverse communities in California,” said Youmans. “We want to recruit more individuals from underserved areas,” including Spanish-speaking individuals who can serve Spanish-speaking communities.
Currently, there are 30 people enrolled in the program, ranging in age from 19 to 52 years old. Some participants have been pharmacy techs for just a year or two while others have been in the role for 20 years. All of them are looking ahead to building new opportunities for themselves and for their families.
Given the shortage of pharmacy techs and pharmacists, Youmans noted that “this is a program that can be replicated at any university. It’s a way to get people in the door, to get them interested in what their options are. There is no one way to do this.”
Expanding PharmD pathway
Programs like the 5-year extended PharmD pathway at Pacific University School of Pharmacy in Hillsboro, OR, are also working to make it easier for technicians to take that next professional leap, making it possible for them to earn their degree without leaving their current positions.
“This pathway was created to expand access to pharmacy education for learners who are unable to enroll in traditional 4-year or 3-year accelerated PharmD programs due to work obligations, financial responsibilities, or family and caregiving commitments,” said Marketa Marvanova, PharmD, professor and dean of the Pacific University School of Pharmacy.
Students who enroll in the program are able to keep working between 32 and 40 hours a week, depending on their individual circumstances, through the first 4 years of the program while attending class in person on campus for 2 or 2.5 days per week.
In addition, students pay less per semester because the total cost of the PharmD degree is divided over 5 years instead of three. Classes are also held only in the fall and spring semesters with summers kept free, allowing students to return to full-time employment, if needed, or focus on internships or other career-broadening pursuits. Students also are classified as full-time and remain eligible for full federal and institutional financial aid.
Taken together, these aspects of the program open up the possibility of a pharmacy career to far more qualified individuals who may otherwise have been prevented from pursuing this career path.
The program offers the same benefits as the traditional 3-year PharmD pathway, including access to the same academic and professional opportunities, including student organizations, leadership roles, research, professional development activities, and the university’s joint PharmD/MS in Pharmaceutical Sciences degree.
“Because students are able to offset the cost of their education through ongoing employment, many take out significantly less in student loans—often avoiding the need for Graduate PLUS loans altogether,” said Marvanova. “This helps reduce their overall financial burden and allows them to graduate with greater financial stability and flexibility as they begin their professional careers.”
Although this 5-year pathway is open to a wide range of students, it “was intentionally designed to support pharmacy technicians seeking to advance into pharmacist roles,” said Marvanova.
In addition to ensuring techs can keep working while learning, it “also builds on technicians’ real-world experience, strengthening clinical learning, confidence, and professional identity. The ability to work consistently while studying allows students to apply classroom knowledge into practice weekly, and after the first year, students may also transition into pharmacy intern roles or continue as technicians based on their needs and preferences.”
The school of pharmacy, in collaboration with the university, also works with employers to enhance the program and open doors for even more techs in the future. That includes working to expand employer-based tuition assistance.
“Our longer-term goal is to develop models in which employers fully support tuition for learners who continue working during their studies and remain with the organization after graduation,” said Marvanova. “This approach allows employers to intentionally build a pipeline of well-trained pharmacists while retaining experienced staff.”
Together, Marvanova said, these elements contribute to a stronger, more sustainable pharmacist workforce.
Ultimately, the more opportunities pharmacy techs have to utilize their talents, expand their roles, and pursue higher education the better.
“Empowering pharmacy technicians with expanded responsibilities is a win–win for pharmacy teams, bottom lines, and patient care,” said Schimmel. “Recognizing and utilizing technicians to their fullest capabilities is crucial for building a resilient and responsive health care system.” ■