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Pharmacy technicians are the backbone of successful pharmacy operations. In health system inpatient pharmacies, they handle complex tasks such as sterile compounding, inventory management, controlled substance security, automation oversight, and handling of hazardous medications. They work tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure patients receive safe and quality pharmaceutical care. The ongoing shortage of qualified pharmacy technicians is a significant barrier to progress in an evolving healthcare landscape in the era of technological revolution.
Over the past decade, almost all states have introduced licensing and national certification requirements for pharmacy technicians. Despite these new requirements, salaries and benefits for these positions have not kept pace, leading to a significant industry lag. The shortage was further exacerbated by increased burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic and a growing workload due to an aging population, stricter regulations around sterile compounding, and increasing complexity of tasks.
In health system inpatient pharmacies, the technician shortage is a major challenge, second only to drug shortages. Recruiting, onboarding, and training technicians are time-consuming processes, and staffing gaps lead to stress, lower morale, and additional vacancies. To address this issue, consider implementing competitive pay and hiring incentives, a career ladder, flexible scheduling, awareness campaigns, and robust training programs.
Competitive Pay and Hiring Incentives: Pharmacy technicians earn between $30,000 and $50,000 annually, with advanced roles reaching $50,000 to $60,000. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 6% increase in job outlook for pharmacy technicians over the next year. Health system pharmacies should partner with local HR teams to conduct a thorough market pay review and implement competitive salaries and benefits to attract candidates. Additional incentives, such as sign-on bonuses and tuition reimbursements, are also effective in drawing more candidates.
Career Ladder: Offering career advancement opportunities can attract high-caliber candidates. These types of candidates are the most productive and committed members at the core of pharmacy operations. Positions like operations coordinator, lead/supervisor, chemotherapy specialist, IT specialist, and quality/regulatory compliance lead are becoming more popular and can attract committed technicians.
Flexible Scheduling: For 24/7 health system inpatient pharmacies, creating schedule flexibility can be challenging. Leaders should review workflow plans to identify opportunities for flexible shift times and adjust schedules to attract candidates who cannot commit to rigid hours. Consider shifting repetitive tasks to more popular hours, such as 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Awareness Campaigns: The shortage is partly due to a lack of public awareness about the career prospects for pharmacy technicians. Use social media, local job fairs, and presentations at high schools and colleges to promote the role and attract interest from potential candidates.
Robust Training Programs: Collaborate with local academic institutions offering pharmacy technician programs. These students often struggle to find hospital sites for their externships, so creating opportunities for them can benefit both the candidates and the department to evaluate if it’s a good fit.
In summary, pharmacy technicians are crucial to running safe and efficient pharmacy operations. Addressing the shortage with these strategies can help ensure a steady supply of skilled professionals.
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Last Fall, Lisa Dyer, director of ambulatory services at UW Northern Illinois, shared with Pharmacy Angle her journey, from managing the outpatient pharmacy to overseeing a wide range of services, including ambulatory care and home infusion pharmacies. She shares her early inspiration from a local pharmacy director, her experience transitioning from retail to hospital pharmacy, and her passion for creating career opportunities through initiatives like the pharmacy apprenticeship program. Highlighting the evolving roles of pharmacists and technicians, she emphasizes the growing opportunities in the field and her excitement for the future of pharmacy services, including potential provider status for pharmacists.
Dawn Rana, a pharmacy executive at Vizient, sat down with Pharmacy Angle to discuss the challenges faced by healthcare facilities, particularly drug shortages and workforce issues. Rana emphasizes the role of Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs) in helping healthcare providers manage these challenges by securing drug supplies and offering support in various operational areas. She also highlights the ongoing efforts to address workforce shortages, particularly for pharmacy technicians, through creative solutions and collaboration with educational institutions.
Joe Pinto, Vice President of Pharmacy Operations at Mount Sinai Health System, shares insights into the unique challenges of managing pharmacy operations across multiple hospitals. Joe discusses the critical role of pharmacists in patient care, emphasizing the importance of standardizing practices while accommodating individual site needs. He also explores the potential of AI and automation in pharmacy, highlighting both the opportunities and risks associated with these technologies.
Arash Dabestani, HCP board member and Dean at Long Island University College of Pharmacy, discusses the importance of advocacy for the pharmacy profession, emphasizing the need for a unified and consistent approach to ensure pharmacists' roles are well-represented and understood. Dabestani also highlights the evolving nature of the pharmacy profession, moving from a commodity-based to a service-oriented field, and the necessity of involving students in this transition to address future healthcare needs.
Industry News
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HORSHAM, PA - Johnson & Johnson announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved TREMFYA® (guselkumab) for the treatment of adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC), a chronic disease of the large intestine in which the lining of the colon becomes inflamed. TREMFYA® is the first and only approved fully-human, dual-acting monoclonal antibody that blocks IL-23 while also binding to CD64, a receptor on cells that produce IL-23. IL-23 is a cytokine secreted by activated monocyte/macrophages and dendritic cells that is known to be a driver of immune-mediated diseases including UC.
"Treatment with TREMFYA resulted in significant improvement in the chronic symptoms of ulcerative colitis, and importantly, normalization in the endoscopic appearance of the intestinal lining," said David T. Rubin, MD, Director, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, University of Chicago Medicine, and lead investigator for the QUASAR program. "Today's approval of TREMFYA builds on the clinical and well-established safety profile of this IL-23 inhibitor and marks a significant step forward in the treatment of this chronic inflammatory disease."
The UC approval is supported by data from the ongoing Phase 2b/3 QUASAR study evaluating the efficacy and safety of TREMFYA® in adult patients with moderately to severely active UC who experienced an inadequate response or who demonstrate intolerance to conventional therapy, other biologics and/or JAK inhibitors.
"There is a significant need for new UC therapies that offer meaningful improvements in symptoms and the promise of remission, both overall clinical remission as well as delivering visible healing of the colon through endoscopic remission," said Christopher Gasink, MD, Vice President, Medical Affairs, Gastroenterology & Autoantibody, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine. "In the QUASAR clinical program, TREMFYA demonstrated high reported rates of endoscopic remission at one year of treatment, continuing to raise the bar for efficacy in the treatment of this inflammatory bowel disease."
For the treatment of UC, TREMFYA® is administered as a 200 mg induction dose intravenously at weeks zero, four and eight by a healthcare professional. The recommended maintenance dosage is 100 mg administered by SC injection at week 16, and every 8 weeks thereafter, or 200 mg administered by SC injection at week 12, and every 4 weeks thereafter. The SC maintenance dose can be self-administered by the patient or administered by a caregiver using TREMFYA® after proper training. Use the lowest effective recommended dosage to maintain therapeutic response.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – When taken at the first signs of a migraine, before headache pain begins, a drug called ubrogepant may be effective in helping people with migraine go about their daily lives with little or no symptoms, according to a new study published in the August 28, 2024, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study focused on people with migraine who could tell when an attack was about to happen, due to early symptoms such as sensitivity to light and sound, fatigue, neck pain or stiffness, or dizziness.
PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA - New research just-published online by JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network finds that for many commonly used treatment regimens targeting metastatic gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, such as FOLFOX, FOLFIRI, or FOLFIRINOX, it is possible to administer 5-FU solely through continuous infusion, minus the bolus (quick-delivery via intravenous push) component, without negatively affecting patient outcomes.
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is set to change how it provides discounts on 340B-eligible drugs, replacing upfront discounts with a rebate system starting October 15, 2024. This shift, affecting drugs like Stelara and Xarelto, has drawn sharp criticism from hospitals and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which argue the move violates federal law and could financially burden hospitals serving low-income communities.