Effect of a standardized module for training pharmacy technicians to assist with chronic care management services

The role of pharmacy technicians in vaccination services: a scoping review

“…All but one study was published within the last 5 years. [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34] The majority of included studies were conducted in community pharmacies (85.7 %, n ¼ 12) [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]33,34 with one inpatient hospital study 21 and one outpatient hospital study that included vaccination clinics. 32 With the exception of one Canadian paper, 29 all of the included studies took place in the United States (92.8%, n ¼ 13) spanning 8 states.…”

“…32 With the exception of one Canadian paper, 29 all of the included studies took place in the United States (92.8%, n ¼ 13) spanning 8 states. [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][30][31][32][33][34] Eleven studies (78.6%) included quantitative data (including 2 that were mixed methods) [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][30][31][32] whereas the remaining 3 studies collected qualitative data exclusively. 29,33,34 Study duration and data collection periods ranged from 1 day to 3 years.…”

“…[21][22][23][24][25][26]32 All but 2 studies (85.7%) featured a specific training intervention for pharmacy staff, ranging in length from 30 minutes to 7 hours. [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][31][32][33][34] Training modalities included the trainthe-trainer model, 22,23,28 whole-staff training with prerecorded presentations, [24][25][26][27][28] in-person small group training, [31][32][33][34] and self-study modules. 21…”

“…Eight studies (57.1%) characterized pharmacy technicians' involvement in vaccine screening and included identifying eligible patients using electronic medical records, vaccine registries, or other sources of patient information in combination with an electronic or paper-based documentation system. [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] Six of these 8 studies (42.6%) included a role for the technician in providing vaccine-related information to the patient, [23][24][25][26][27][28] whereas the remaining 2 studies (14.2%) had patient engagement performed by nurses and pharmacists after the technician identified the patient as potentially eligible for vaccination. 21,22 Five studies (35.1%) examined the pharmacy technician role in vaccine administration, encompassing the following tasks and responsibilities: vaccine handling and storage, choosing the correct needle and syringe, drawing up the vaccine for injection, vaccine administration, addressing emergency situations, and completing required documentation and reporting.…”

“…Of the 8 studies evaluating pharmacy technicians in a screening role, 6 evaluated outcomes related to training. Training was found to increase vaccine-related knowledge 23,27 and confidence in both identifying patients eligible for vaccines and talking to patients about vaccine needs. 23,26 Three studies demonstrated improvements in completion of a screening procedure after training.…”