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TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—As this issue of Pharmacy Tech News was going to press, a state bill that would require pharmacy technicians to register and train in order to be certified to perform their jobs was headed to the desk of Gov. Charlie Crist for his signature.
Under the bill, passed by Florida legislators, technicians would need to register with the Florida Board of Pharmacy by 2010. Starting in 2011, the legislation would require them to complete one of the following:
• A board-approved training program.
• 1,500 hours of work as a technician under a Florida licensed pharmacist.
• Certification by a program accredited by the National Commission for
Certifying Agencies.
The Florida Society of Health-System Pharmacists secured legislative support for the bill and helped educate state senators and representatives and their staffs on the need for technician registration and training to improve patient safety.
The move is part of a national push for pharmacy technician certification across the country. The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists recently launched an initiative to work with state affiliates to advocate for state laws that require, as a prerequisite for state board registration, completion of an ASHP-accredited pharmacy technician training and Pharmacy Technician Certification Board certification.
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TACOMA, Wash.—Former Bartell Drug pharmacy technician Christopher Day was sentenced in May to four months in prison by a U.S. District Court judge for multiple felony counts of acquiring a controlled substance by forgery and subterfuge, a federal offense.
Day, formerly a Washington state-licensed pharmacy technician, worked
for Bartell Drugs from 2005 through April 2007. According to the charges,
in November 2006, Day began creating phony prescriptions for oxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance, which he then filled and sold to another individual. According to court records, Day created and filled approximately
55 phony prescriptions between November 2006 and April 2007, when
his actions were discovered by Bartell management. Nearly all of the prescriptions were for 60-pill quantities of oxycodone, in 20 mg, 40 mg, and 80 mg strengths.
While noting that the defendant had lost his career as a pharmacy technician as a result of his crimes, U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle stated that a prison sentence was necessary not only to punish the defendant but also to deter other pharmacists and pharmacy technicians from engaging in such crimes. In his decision, Judge Settle noted that the defendant’s actions involved “a serious breach of trust regarding dangerous drugs which pose a serious problem in our community.”
In addition to the prison time, Settle ordered the defendant to perform 40 hours of community service and to pay $8,133 to Bartells—the estimated wholesale value of the drugs Settle diverted from Bartells—as restitution. l
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