COMMUNITY PRACTICE

Tech training needs more dialogue, says CCP

After 10 public hearings and reams of written comments, the group that called for a national dialogue on standards for pharmacy technician training and education has concluded that the idea is not ready for prime time.

Unable to reach a consensus, pharmacy needs to continue to hash out just who is a technician and what roles techs play in the profession, according to a statement issued by the Council on Credentialing in Pharmacy (CCP). In November 2002, CCP had asked the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) to initiate a dialogue about the possible development of national standards and an accreditation process for tech education and training. ACPE conducted 10 public hearings and gathered written comments last year.

"CCP believes that additional dialogue is needed to explore whether the present systems of education and training could be improved," CCP said in a press release. "Accordingly, CCP will request that the Joint Commission of Pharmacy Practitioners . . . conduct or commission further exploration and action on the topic."

The call for more talk was apparently a victory for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, National Community Pharmacists Association, and National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, which were not members of CCP. All three had cautioned against any rush to judgment. NABP joined CCP in February and NACDS and NCPA were invited to the CCP meeting to discuss the submitted comments at length.

"NACDS, NABP, and NCPA were part of the discussion, but the decision was not just those folks pushing back," said C. Edwin Webb, director-government and professional affairs, American College of Clinical Pharmacy. "Their views were contributive but not determinative. Hopefully, the profession can decide what next steps to take."

Since the profession is not ready to proceed to credentialing, CCP is basically bowing out of the technician training and education standards discussion. However, the group is willing to remain in a consultancy role on any aspect related to credentialing that may arise, said Richard Bertin, Ph.D., R.Ph., executive director, Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties.

All written comments to ACPE and summaries of testimony at the public hearings are posted at www.pharmacycredentialing.org . Click on "Pharmacy Technician Education Discussion Materials."

Carol Ukens