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Pharmacy technicians work with licensed pharmacists in hospitals, nursing homes, scientific laboratories, mail order services, and retail establishments. They often work with customers, receiving incoming prescriptions, returning filled prescriptions, and completing sales. The person who hands you your medications and asks if you have any questions—that’s probably a pharmacy technician (although it could be a pharmacy aid, a position that works under a pharmacy tech). If you do have questions, it will be the licensed pharmacist who answers them. Supervised by a pharmacist, a pharmacy technician will perform a variety of tasks aimed at making sure medications are dispensed safely and accurately. In addition to serving customers, pharmacy techs label prescription bottles, and count pills. Pills may be counted by hand, by it is increasingly common to use counting or dispensing machines. Pharmacy techs may even mix medications.
The responsibilities of pharmacy techs vary by type of employer. In nursing homes and hospitals, for example, pharmacy technicians actually prepare medications, which the supervising pharmacist checks for accuracy. Pharmacy techs may deal with insurance companies and perform other essential administrative tasks, such as maintaining customer profiles.
A career as a pharmacy technician offers a clean and safe working environment, job security, and interesting work helping people take care of their health.
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