Presenter: Jillian Johnson, Public Health Science, Global Public Health Scholars
For my practicum project, I worked as a pharmacy technician at CVS Pharmacy. My responsibilities included filling prescriptions, calling patients about medication reviews, entering prescriptions and running them through insurance and/or coupons, as well as helping patients pick up their prescriptions. Although my favorite part of the job is to fill prescriptions, all of the work had to be done. First, a patient would drop off a prescription or have it electronically sent in by a prescriber. I would enter this prescription into our system to be run through insurance and checked for accuracy by the pharmacist. Then, I would fill the prescription by printing the label, counting the pills/measuring the liquid from our stock bottle, then placing the label on the bottle and giving the filled prescription to the pharmacist to be checked for accuracy. After the pharmacist’s approval, the prescription is sold to the patient. I also performed weekly Patient Care Calls. This involved calling patients to remind them to refill medications, or that their prescription is out of refills and that we will need to obtain more refills from the doctor if needed. Overall, working as a pharmacy technician taught me that communication and collaboration between patients, doctors, insurance, and pharmacy staff is important in ensuring that patients can afford their medication and keep consistent with their regimen.
Thank you for your presentation! I learned a lot about how your work as a pharmacy technician showed you firsthand some of the flaws in our healthcare system that leaves patients vulnerable. When you called customers for their Patient Care Calls, how did you convince them that it was best for their health to take their medications as prescribed if you found evidence that they were skipping doses or cutting pills in an effort to save money? Aside from putting more money into research for more affordable generic medications, what other methods do you think would help make medications more affordable? From a public health perspective, what do you think is the best way to improve communications between patients, doctors,…
I really like the personal connection and your enthusiasm for the job shines through, especially in your verbal presentation. I'd be interested in learning more about public health implications of missed doses and strategies to address health literacy. Patient care calls sounds like a really important step to help keep people educated and able to reach their health goals. You clearly have learned a lot and it fits with your long term career goal.
Hi Alexandra,
Thanks so much! CVS trains you and allows you to schedule to take your exam at a nearby store. However, you have to work 160 hours before you are eligible to take your MD state exam, and you have to pass the exam within 6 months of being hired. From my experience, I did not have to study much for the test because I was constantly learning so much on the job! Let me know if you have any other questions!
I have always been very interested in pharmacy, and I found your presentation to be very informative. Was it a difficult process to become a licensed pharmacy technician?