Supervising pharmacists’ opinions about pharmacy technicians as immunizers

Bertsch, Taylor G.; McKeirnan, Kimberly C.; Frazier, Kyle; VanVoorhis, Lukas; Shin, Soyoung; Le, Kimberly

doi:10.1016/j.japh.2019.03.008

Cited by 22 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Previous research with immunizing pharmacy technicians in Idaho has described similar results, with a large number of immunizations being given by a small number of pharmacy technicians. The supervising pharmacists' opinions during this project were similar to the results described by Bertsch et al in 2018: pharmacists support implementation of this advanced technician role and would encourage other technicians to participate in training [13]. During this project, federally employed pharmacists at WRSU commented: "I love having technicians on staff who are immunization certified, it allows me to focus on tasks that require a pharmacist and has decreased our wait times," and, "Being certified has helped out the workflow positively and greatly.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

“…During this study, 25 IPTs administered more than 950 immunizations without incident [12]. In 2019, Bertsch and colleagues stated that pharmacists who supervise IPTs believed the technicians were well trained after participating in the WSU Pharmacy Technician Immunization Training Program, having immunizing technicians increased the number of immunizations administered at the pharmacy, and that training technicians to perform this advanced role had a positive impact on pharmacy morale [13]. Additionally, participating pharmacists believed including an immunization-trained pharmacy technician on the pharmacy team improved workflow and stated they would support immunization training for additional pharmacy technicians [14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

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Implementing Immunizing Pharmacy Technicians in a Federal Healthcare Facility

McKeirnan

Sarchet

2019

Pharmacy

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Background: Pharmacy technicians are legally allowed to administer immunizations in specific U.S. states, provided they meet certain criteria, including the completion of an accredited immunization training course. Immunizing pharmacy technicians were incorporated into an Indian Health Services federal facility, Whiteriver Service Unit (WRSU), in 2018. The objective of this research was to gather information about implementing immunizing pharmacy technicians in a federal facility serving a large rural and medically underserved population. Methods: WRSU launched a Pharmacy Technician Immunization Program in June 2018 after seven federally employed pharmacy technicians participated in the Washington State University accredited technician immunization training. The types of vaccinations administered, and the ages of patients immunized by pharmacy technicians, were tracked from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019. Results: Seven immunization-trained pharmacy technicians administered 4394 injections for a total of 4852 vaccinations in one year. Vaccinations were administered to patients ranging in age from 2 months old to 85 years old and included protection against diphtheria, tetanus, polio, hepatitis A and B, H. influenza, human papillomavirus, seasonal influenza, meningococcal, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, pneumonia, and rotavirus. Conclusion: In one year, seven pharmacy technicians administered more than 4800 vaccinations to underserved patients. Pharmacy technicians trained and certified to administer immunizations increase access to vaccination care and have the potential to drastically increase the number of immunizations given and reduce the number of deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Implementing Immunizing Pharmacy Technicians in a Federal Healthcare Facility

McKeirnan

Sarchet

2019

Pharmacy

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“…This research was designed as a two-phase qualitative descriptive study utilizing key informant interviews. The first phase was conducted in 2017 [18]. Pharmacists within one pharmacy chain were contacted to participate in a key informant interview.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One aspect of utilizing pharmacy technicians to administer immunizations that has not been explored is the impact on pharmacy workflow. Bertsch and colleagues showed that pharmacists who supervise immunizing technicians are supportive of this role, would encourage more technicians to become immunization-trained, and believe having immunizing technicians has increased the number of immunizations given at the pharmacy [18]. However, more information about how immunizing technicians are utilized in workflow may encourage the expansion of this new advanced role.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived Benefit of Immunization-Trained Technicians in the Pharmacy Workflow

Bertsch

McKeirnan

2020

Pharmacy

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Clinical community pharmacists have continually restructured their workflow to serve the community by optimizing patient care outcomes. Defining the perceived benefits of having an immunizing pharmacy technician in the workflow can help to redefine the way community pharmacists operate during patient immunization. The purpose of this study is to share the opinions of supervising pharmacists that have an immunizing technician within their workflow model and highlight their contributions. Pharmacists involved in this novel workflow model were interviewed two times, once in 2017 and then in 2020, to gauge opinions over time. Findings in the results of this study included such themes as: (1) Pharmacists’ perceived improvement in workflow flexibility; (2) The choice of the correct technician to immunize within the pharmacy; (3) Pharmacists’ perceived improved workflow time prioritization; (4) Limited available training as a barrier to implementation; and (5) The initial apprehension and later acceptance of pharmacists with respect to the innovation. As technician immunization administration spreads beyond early adopter states, further research into the impact on pharmacy workflow is needed.

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“…Three other studies, Burgess et al, Zahn et al, and Coleman et al all demonstrated that even laypersons exhibited positive safety data when taught to administer their own vaccines [30][31][32]. Bertsch et al surveyed pharmacists who supervise immunizing technicians and showed that opinions revealed positive morale of teams and can help to increase the number of vaccinations given by the pharmacy [33]. Not only has this practice shown safe data, but also has demonstrated another route to increasing public access to vaccines, a highly impactful public health initiative.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moving the Needle: A 50-State and District of Columbia Landscape Review of Laws Regarding Pharmacy Technician Vaccine Administration

2019

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Pharmacy technicians are essential for inner workings of pharmacy teams and their depth of involvement in roles continues to evolve. An innovative role for pharmacy technicians, administration of vaccines, has emerged. With Idaho, Rhode Island, and Utah recently implementing changes that allow pharmacy technicians to safely perform this role, the need arose for a detailed examination of the law climate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. A nine-question survey was sent out to all 51 state boards of pharmacy inquiring to legislative and regulatory environment of pharmacy technician vaccine administration. Additionally, a protocol driven, peer-reviewed process of state-specific regulations and statutes revealed categorized trends pertaining to this topic. Each state was classified per protocol into four different categories. The categorization resulted in identification of nine states in which pharmacy technician administered vaccination may be considered “Not Expressly Prohibited”. A majority of states were categorized as prohibited (either directly or indirectly). Board of pharmacy respondents (43%) reported varying viewpoints on technician administered vaccines. While three states (Idaho, Rhode Island, Utah) have already made changes to allow for pharmacy technician administered vaccinations, opportunities exist for other states to consider changes to statutes or rules.

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Supervising pharmacists’ opinions about pharmacy technicians as immunizers

Cited by 22 publications

References 10 publications

Implementing Immunizing Pharmacy Technicians in a Federal Healthcare Facility

Implementing Immunizing Pharmacy Technicians in a Federal Healthcare Facility

Perceived Benefit of Immunization-Trained Technicians in the Pharmacy Workflow

Moving the Needle: A 50-State and District of Columbia Landscape Review of Laws Regarding Pharmacy Technician Vaccine Administration

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