Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 38, September 20, 2024
A. By complying with this Section, the
permittee of a retail, institutional, or limited-service pharmacy may implement
a technology-assisted verification of product program that allows a pharmacy
technician licensed under
R4-23-1102
and qualified under subsection (D) to perform final product
verification.
B. Written program
description required. Before implementing a technology-assisted verification of
product program the permittee of a retail, institutional, or limited-service
pharmacy shall prepare a written program description that includes the
following:
1. Responsibility of both the
pharmacist in charge and permittee to ensure compliance with this
Section;
2. Responsibility of the
permittee to design, implement, and monitor a process that ensures the accuracy
and safety of the product dispensed;
3. Duties of a verification
technician;
4. The training
necessary to qualify and remain qualified as a verification
technician;
5. The monitoring and
evaluation procedures to be used to ensure competency of the verification
technician; and
6. Prohibition of a
verification technician performing a final accuracy check of a completed
prescription label.
C.
The permittee of a retail, institutional, or limited-service pharmacy
implementing a technology-assisted verification of product program shall:
1. Post the written program description
required under subsection (B) in the pharmacy area;
2. Provide a copy of the written program
description to the pharmacist in charge and verification technician;
3. Obtain the signature of the pharmacist in
charge and verification technician on a copy of the written program description
and place the signed copy in the personnel file of the pharmacist in charge and
verification technician;
4. Ensure
scanning technology used in the technology-assisted verification program
captures both product and patient information; and
5. Update the written program description as
needed and repeat subsections (C)(1) through (4) after each update.
D. Verification technician
training: The permittee of a retail, institutional, or limited-service pharmacy
implementing a technology-assisted verification of product program shall ensure
a pharmacy technician does not perform the duties of a verification technician
unless the pharmacy technician has the following qualifications:
1. Is licensed under
R4-23-1102;
2. Has at least 1,000 hours of pharmacy
technician work experience in the same kind of pharmacy practice site in which
the technology-assisted verification of product will be performed;
3. Completes a training program that includes
at least the following:
a. Role of a
verification technician in the dispensing process,
b. Legal requirements of a verification
technician,
c. How to use the
technology-assisted verification system,
d. Primary causes of medication errors,
and
e. Identifying and resolving
dispensing errors; and
4. Completes at least four hours of the
continuing education required under
R4-23-1106
on patient safety.
E.
The permittee of a retail, institutional, or limited-service pharmacy
implementing a technology-assisted verification of product program shall ensure
the pharmacy practice site has a computer data storage and retrieval system
that meets the standards in R4-23-408(B).
F. The permittee of a retail, institutional,
or limited-service pharmacy implementing a technology-assisted verification of
product program shall ensure a verification technician verifies only the
following:
1. A product with scanning
technology that identifies product, or
2. A robotically prepared unit-dose
product.
G. The
permittee of a retail, institutional, or limited-service pharmacy implementing
a technology-assisted verification of product program shall ensure a
verification technician does not verify the following:
1. A product that involves a combination of
drugs resulting from compounding or mixing two or more ingredients or
products,
2. A product that
involves or results from an alteration of a drug, or
3. A DEA schedule II controlled
substance.
H. The
permittee of a retail, institutional, or limited-service pharmacy implementing
a technology-assisted verification of product program shall perform an
unannounced evaluation of the competency of a verification technician at least
twice a year and take steps to remediate any deficiencies identified including
removing verification duties from the technician.
I. The permittee of a retail, institutional,
or limited-service pharmacy implementing a technology-assisted verification of
product program shall maintain the following records:
1. Date the pharmacy technician was
designated as a verification technician,
2. Date the pharmacy technician completed the
training required under subsection (D)(3),
3. Dates and results of the evaluations
conducted under subsection (H), and
4. Date and reason for any disciplinary
action against the verification technician arising from performing the duties
of a verification technician.
J. A verification technician shall wear
identification that includes the title "Verification Technician" while on duty.
K. As used in this Section, the
term "verification technician" means an individual who:
1. Is qualified under subsection
(D),
2. Uses a combination of
scanning technology and visual confirmation to verify a product prepared to be
dispensed is the product prescribed and indicated on the prescription label,
and
3. Performs verification of
work performed by other pharmacy technicians before a pharmacist or graduate or
pharmacy intern working under the supervision of a pharmacist performs the
final accuracy check required under
R4-23-402(A).
