ASHP and ACPE Update Pharmacy Technician Accreditation Standards
Press Release
On the recommendation of the Pharmacy Technician Accreditation Commission (PTAC), ASHP (the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists) and the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) boards of directors have updated the Accreditation Standards for Pharmacy Technician Education and Training Programs. The update expands the flexibility of training programs to meet requirements regarding the number and types of student experiential activities that must be performed, requiring at least one and encouraging two different contemporary pharmacy practice experiences. Accredited pharmacy technician education and training programs include didactic education in sterile and nonsterile compounding; accredited programs, however, may now determine whether they provide hands-on training in sterile compounding, nonsterile compounding, or both. These changes will take effect on January 1, 2016.
These refinements to the standards will support the quality of pharmacy technician education and training programs while reflecting the diversity of programs needed to prepare pharmacy technicians for certification and practice in many different patient care settings.
PTAC was established in 2014 by ACPE and ASHP to promote, assure, and advance the quality of pharmacy technician education and training programs in the United States. Accreditation standards are approved by both the ASHP and ACPE boards of directors.
About ASHP
ASHP represents pharmacists who serve as patient care providers in acute and ambulatory settings. The organization’s more than 40,000 members include pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians. For over 70 years, ASHP has been at the forefront of efforts to improve medication use and enhance patient safety. For more information about the wide array of ASHP activities and the many ways in which pharmacists advance healthcare, visit ASHP’s website, www.ashp.org, or its consumer website, www.SafeMedication.com.
About ACPE
ACPE is the national agency for the accreditation of professional degree programs in pharmacy and providers of continuing pharmacy education. In collaboration with ASHP, ACPE accredits pharmacy technician education and training programs. ACPE also offers evaluation and certification of professional degree programs internationally. The mission of ACPE is to assure and advance excellence in education for the profession of pharmacy. ACPE is an autonomous and independent agency whose Board of Directors is derived through the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), and the American Council on Education (ACE). To learn more about ACPE, visit www.acpe-accredit.org or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
