This product is an ASHP Learning Center activity.
Accreditation for Pharmacy Technicians
The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education with Commendation.
This self-paced, online professional certificate track is designed for pharmacy technicians who are interested in expanding their knowledge and skills in the advanced concepts needed as a specialty pharmacy technician.
The Specialty Pharmacy Certificate is self-guided, with online learning activities that have been created for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians seeking to expand their skills in specialty pharmacy.
A learner will have completed the Specialty Pharmacy Fundamentals before beginning the Advanced Concepts for Specialty Pharmacy Technician Track.
The learner will take a deep dive into topics and skills needed as a specialty pharmacy technician through the Advanced Concepts for Specialty Pharmacy Technicians Track. These topics and skills include technician administrative duties, complex problem-solving and communication skills, analytics, documentation, and additional information on specialty disease states that is tailored to what technicians need to know.
Professional Certificate Requirement
Once a learner has completed the Specialty Pharmacy Fundamentals and the Advanced Concepts for Specialty Pharmacy Technician Track educational curriculum, they will have the opportunity to complete the track final exam. Once the learner successfully completes the track final exam (minimum 80% passing rate; unlimited attempts permitted), they will earn the professional certificate.
Technician Administrative Duties
ACPE: 0204-0000-23-745-H04-T
2.5 contact hours
Learning Objectives:
- Identify the steps commonly required during specialty patient enrollment.
- Differentiate common insurance types, including and their inclusions and limitations.
- Assess prescription triage to decrease time-to-treat.
- Analyze frequently encountered prior authorization and appeal processes.
- Compare financial assistance options to increase patient therapy starts, including foundation and manufacturer programs.
- Solve patient-specific barriers to care through using team communication tools.
Beyond Dispensing: Advanced Pharmacy Technician Roles
ACPE: 0204-0000-23-746-H04-T
2.25 contact hours
Learning Objectives:
- Compare entry- and advanced-level pharmacy technician roles in specialty pharmacy.
- Assess essential skills required in advanced pharmacy technician roles in specialty pharmacy.
- Identify required education, certification, and experience required in advanced specialty technician roles.
- Develop advanced role preparation in a current job role.
Complex Problem-Solving and Communication for Specialty Patients
ACPE: 0204-0000-23-747-H04-T
1.5 contact hours
Learning Objectives:
- Identify the necessary aptitude and skills for increasing patient advocacy.
- Predict patient communication needs to prevent delays in therapy from shipping and/or storage issues.
- Choose appropriate patient triage for when a patient issue falls outside of the pharmacy technician scope.
Analytics, Documentation, and Other Skills
ACPE: 0204-0000-23-748-H04-T
2.25 contact hours
Learning Objectives:
- Demonstrate the math skills frequently used by pharmacy technicians in specialty pharmacy.
- Summarize appropriate documentation in an electronic health record.
- Prioritize tasks to decrease errors.
- Differentiate pharmacy technician scope inclusions and limitations regarding medication safety and adverse drug events.
Inflammatory and Neurology Overview
ACPE: 0204-0000-23-749-H01-T
1.25 contact hours
Learning Objectives:
- Identify indications, medications, dosage forms, essential chart elements, and manufacturers of inflammatory specialty medications.
- Given a patient case, analyze a chart for a patient with inflammatory disease for completeness.
- Identify indications, medications, dosage forms, essential chart elements, and manufacturers of neurology specialty medications.
- Given a patient case, analyze a chart for a patient with neurologic disease for completeness.
Oncology, Rare Diseases, and Other Specialty Conditions Overview
ACPE: 0204-0000-23-750-H01-T
1.75 contact hours
Learning Objectives:
- Identify indications, medications, dosage forms, essential chart elements, and manufacturers of oncology specialty medications.
- Given a patient case, analyze a chart for a patient taking oncology specialty medications for completeness.
- Summarize characteristics of rare diseases.
- Differentiate other common specialty conditions requiring specialty medications.
- Identify the role of infusions in specialty pharmacy.
Heather McCoy, BA, CPhT-Adv
Pharmacy Compliance Coordinator
UK Specialty Pharmacy and Infusion Services, University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Ashley Nixon-Mongler, PharmD, BCACP
Clinical Pharmacist
University of Missouri Health Care
Columbia, Missouri
Relevant Financial Relationship Disclosure
In accordance with our accreditor's Standards of Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education, ASHP requires that all individuals in control of content disclose all financial relationships with ineligible companies. An individual has a relevant financial relationship if they have had a financial relationship with ineligible company in any dollar amount in the past 24 months and the educational content that the individual controls is related to the business lines or products of the ineligible company.
An ineligible company is any entity producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients. The presence or absence of relevant financial relationships will be disclosed to the activity audience.
- No one in control of the content of this activity has a relevant financial relationship (RFR) with an ineligible company.
As defined by the Standards of Integrity and Independence definition of ineligible company. All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated prior to the CPE activity.
Methods and CE Requirements
This online activity consists of a combined total of 6 learning modules. Pharmacy technicians are eligible to receive a total of 11.5 hours of continuing education credit by completing all 6 modules within this professional certificate track.
Participants must participate in the entire activity and complete the evaluation and all required components to claim continuing pharmacy education credit online at ASHP Learning Center. Follow the prompts to claim credit and view your statement of credit within 60 days of completing the activity.
Important Note – ACPE 60 Day Deadline:
Per ACPE requirements, CPE credit must be claimed within 60 days of being earned. To verify that you have completed the required steps and to ensure your credits have been reported to CPE Monitor, check your NABP eProfile account to validate that your credits were transferred successfully before the ACPE 60-day deadline. After the 60-day deadline, ASHP will no longer be able to award credit for this activity.
System Technical Requirements
System requirements courses and learning activities are delivered via your web browser and Acrobat PDF. Users should have a basic comfort level using a computer and navigating web sites. View the minimum technical and system requirements for learning activities.