Career Profile: Pharmacy Technicians

Salary and Outlook

According to the US Department of Labor, there are 447,300 people employed as pharmacy technicians in the United States. The median annual salary is $36,740. Entry level employees earn approximately $28,740 per year and senior employees earn approximately $47,580 per year.

Estimates do not include other potential benefits such as health insurance, overtime, or retirement benefits that may be offered by employers.

Job Duties

• Transfer medication from vials to the appropriate number of sterile, disposable syringes, using aseptic techniques.
• Restock intravenous (IV) supplies and add measured drugs or nutrients to IV solutions under sterile conditions to prepare IV packs for various uses, such as chemotherapy medication.
• Supply and monitor robotic machines that dispense medicine into containers and label the containers.
• Deliver medications or pharmaceutical supplies to patients, nursing stations, or surgery.
• Maintain and merchandise home healthcare products or services.
• Price stock and mark items for sale.
• Receive written prescription or refill requests and verify that information is complete and accurate.
• Answer telephones, responding to questions or requests.
• Assist customers by answering simple questions, locating items, or referring them to the pharmacist for medication information.
• Operate cash registers to accept payment from customers.
• Price and file prescriptions that have been filled.
• Mix pharmaceutical preparations, according to written prescriptions.
• Order, label, and count stock of medications, chemicals, or supplies and enter inventory data into computer.
• Clean and help maintain equipment or work areas and sterilize glassware, according to prescribed methods.
• Prepack bulk medicines, fill bottles with prescribed medications, and type and affix labels.
• Compute charges for medication or equipment dispensed to hospital patients and enter data in computer.
• Prepare and process medical insurance claim forms and records.
• Enter prescription information into computer databases.
• Establish or maintain patient profiles, including lists of medications taken by individual patients.
• Maintain proper storage and security conditions for drugs.
• Receive and store incoming supplies, verify quantities against invoices, check for outdated medications in current inventory, and inform supervisors of stock needs and shortages.

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