Constructs underlying community pharmacy dispensing functions relative to Florida pharmacy technicians.

OBJECTIVES

To assess pharmacist and pharmacy technician opinions on functions community pharmacy technicians should perform.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional and descriptive.

SETTING

Florida community pharmacies during August and September 2004.

PARTICIPANTS

Random sample of Florida community pharmacists (n = 2,000) and Certified Pharmacy Technicians (n = 2,000).

INTERVENTION

Self-administered mail questionnaire.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Participant attitudes (6-point Likert-type scale: 1, strongly disagree; 6, strongly agree) regarding whether pharmacy technicians should perform 26 community pharmacy dispensing functions. Chi-square difference tests and separate group exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) were conducted.

RESULTS

Pharmacists (n = 383) and technicians (n = 579) agreed that technicians should perform 17 of the 26 (65%) functions. The groups differed significantly on eight items that were focused on patient care and beyond technicians' traditional involvement in processing prescriptions, with technicians having a more expansive view of their roles than did pharmacist respondents. Three similar factors were extracted in both groups from the EFAs: functions typical of pharmacy technicians in current practice, clinical pharmacy knowledge functions, and pharmacist-only functions as specified by law. Additionally, general drug knowledge (technician data only) and pharmacy information evaluation and management skills (pharmacist data only) factors were generated.

CONCLUSION

Generally, pharmacists and technicians agreed on basic functions involving prescription and claims processing; however, technicians, as compared with pharmacists, supported a more expanded patient care role for themselves.