Community pharmacist perceptions of increased technician responsibility.

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Practice
• Healthcare Workforce Development

Background:

• Community pharmacists face time constraints for clinical activities.
• State regulations are expanding the scope of practice for pharmacy technicians.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify predictors of pharmacists' comfort with technicians performing advanced tasks.
• Assessed comfort with verbal prescriptions, medication therapy management, vaccinations, and prescription verification.

Main Methods:

• National internet-based survey of community pharmacists.
• Utilized the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR).
• Employed multivariable linear regression and repeated measures ANOVA.

Main Results:

• Pharmacist belief in technician ability and perceived technician interest predict comfort.
• Comfort levels varied significantly across the four advanced tasks.
• Inner setting and individual characteristics were significant predictors, not outer setting variables.

Conclusions:

• Pharmacist perceptions and characteristics, rather than regulations, influence comfort with expanded technician roles.
• Pharmacy location and pharmacist education impact comfort levels.
• Focusing on pharmacist beliefs may facilitate technician role expansion.