T.E.A.M.S.Work: Leveraging Technicians to Enhance ABM Med Sync in Community Pharmacies

Pharmacy (Basel). 2020 Mar 27;8(2):51. doi: 10.3390/pharmacy8020051.

Abstract

The expansion of pharmacy technicians' roles in community pharmacies allows pharmacists the opportunity to focus on providing clinical services to patients. This study explores the tasks pharmacy technicians' perform to support Med Sync programs in community pharmacies. Pharmacy staff members at North Carolina pharmacies with more than fifty percent of their prescription volume being dispensed as part of a Med Sync program were recruited to participate in semi-structured interviews. Inductive coding and summary analysis were used to analyze the interview data. Study participants described pharmacy technicians' roles in identifying patients for marketing and enrollment, reviewing patients' medications list, choosing alignment dates based on patient preference, contacting patients in preparation for dispensing and, lastly, engaging in pickup or delivery of medications. This study highlights technicians' vital role in completing tasks that support Med Sync programs in community pharmacies.

Keywords: community pharmacy; medication synchronization; pharmacy technicians; pharmacy workforce.