Regulator says curriculum for pharmacy technicians should focus on patient care

The curriculum used to train pharmacy technicians is out of date and needs to change to reflect the increased role they play in community and hospitals, according to a review commissioned by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). 

In its review of technicians’ training and education standards^[1]
, published on 4 December 2015, the regulator says there should be more emphasis on patient care and patient safety, developing IT skills, clinical decision-making and leadership around dispensing. 

Modules focusing on manufacturing, general science, chemistry, dispensing and aseptic dispensing and general stock control should be phased out, the review says. 

The report highlighted the potential clinical roles which technicians could take on that have traditionally been delivered by pharmacists. These included smoking cessation, patient monitoring of blood pressure and glucose levels, medicines optimisation, more responsibility on hospital wards and taking ownership of the medicines supply chain. 

“There was a general view that the initial education and training standards were outdated since they are very heavy in knowledge, regulation [and] processes, and significantly miss the patient-centred approach,” the report says. 

It added that the curriculum would benefit from “the addition of areas which reflect the current scope of practice of pharmacy technicians and the removal of others”. 

The report also highlighted the disparity in funding available for training pharmacy technicians in the community – which it described as “very limited” – compared to those who trained in the hospital. Hospital training was more structured and there were more financial incentives linked to educating and training the workforce, it said. 

The review – carried out by University College London and London Pharmacy Education and Training – found that the current length and level of initial training and education for pharmacy technicians were currently appropriate but that might need to change as their role developed.

Duncan Rudkin, chief executive of the GPhC, comments: “This report further improves our understanding of some of the key trends, issues and themes in pharmacy technician pre-registration training and will help us with our review of education and training standards for the pharmacy team.” 

“We believe pharmacy technicians have a crucial role to play now and in the future in providing high quality care to patients. It is vital that the standards we set enable pharmacy technicians to get the quality of initial education and training that they need,” he adds. 

Tess Fenn, president of the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK), welcomed the report, saying it “provides for more discussion on the changing roles of pharmacy technicians as they move towards releasing pharmacists to fulfil their clinical role”. 

“Well-defined education at the right academic level is needed to give the public and the profession assurance of a competent practitioner at every level, “ she says. “APTUK are delighted that the report provides excellent benchmarking towards the coming GPhC review of the initial education and training standards.”