Description and comparison of pharmacy technician training programs in the United States

Abstract

Objective: To describe pharmacy technician training programs in the United States and to compare pharmacy technician program characteristics between programs with and without a pharmacist on faculty and between programs with different accreditation status.

Design: Descriptive, cross-sectional study.

Setting: Not applicable.

Participants: United States pharmacy technician programs.

Intervention: Not applicable.

Main outcome measures: Student class size, faculty credentials, coursework components, program length, tuition rates, and admission criteria.

Results: Currently, there are more than 698 pharmacy technician programs across 1114 campuses, with complete data available for 216 programs. Programs varied widely in terms of class sizes, faculty credentials, and admission criteria. Programs with pharmacists on faculty were significantly less expensive than were those without pharmacists (P = 0.009). Accreditation had no impact on tuition prices.

Conclusion: This is the first study of its kind to describe and characterize pharmacy technician training programs. There is relatively little control of technician training by the profession of pharmacy. The quality of these programs in terms of student outcomes is unknown, and it should be explored. Rigorous debate and discussion is needed regarding the future of pharmacy technician roles and the training required for those roles.