Article 137-A, Registered Pharmacy Technicians

This article applies to the profession of registered pharmacy technician. The general provisions for all professions contained in article one hundred thirty of this title shall apply to this article.

* NB Effective April 25, 2021

1. A registered pharmacy technician may, under the direct personal supervision of a licensed pharmacist, assist such licensed pharmacist, as directed, in compounding, preparing, labeling, or dispensing of drugs used to fill valid prescriptions or medication orders or in compounding, preparing, and labeling in anticipation of a valid prescription or medication order for a patient to be served by the facility, in accordance with article one hundred thirty-seven of this title where such tasks require no professional judgment. Such professional judgment shall only be exercised by a licensed pharmacist. A registered pharmacy technician may only practice in a facility licensed in accordance with article twenty-eight of the public health law, or a pharmacy owned and operated by such a facility, under the direct personal supervision of a licensed pharmacist employed in such a facility or pharmacy. Such facility shall be responsible for ensuring that the registered pharmacy technician has received appropriate training to ensure competence before he or she begins assisting a licensed pharmacist in compounding, preparing, labeling, or dispensing of drugs, in accordance with this article and article one hundred thirty-seven of this title. For the purposes of this article, direct personal supervision means supervision of procedures based on instructions given directly by a supervising licensed pharmacist who remains in the immediate area where the procedures are being performed, authorizes the procedures and evaluates the procedures performed by the registered pharmacy technicians and a supervising licensed pharmacist shall approve all work performed by the registered pharmacy technician prior to the actual dispensing of any drug.
2. In addition to the registered pharmacy technician services included in subdivision one of this section, registered pharmacy technicians may also assist a licensed pharmacist in the dispensing of drugs by performing the following functions that do not require a license under this article:
   1. receiving written or electronically transmitted prescriptions, except that in the case of electronically transmitted prescriptions the licensed pharmacist or pharmacy intern shall review the prescription to determine whether in his or her professional judgment it shall be accepted by the pharmacy, and if accepted, the licensed pharmacist or pharmacy intern shall enter his or her initials into the records of the pharmacy;
   2. typing prescription labels;
   3. keying prescription data for entry into a computer-generated file or retrieving prescription data from the file, provided that such computer-generated file shall provide for verification of all information needed to fill the prescription by a licensed pharmacist prior to the dispensing of the prescription, meaning that the licensed pharmacist shall review and approve such information and enter his or her initials or other personal identifier into the recordkeeping system prior to the dispensing of the prescription or of the prescription refill;
   4. getting drugs from stock and returning them to stock;
   5. getting prescription files and other manual records from storage and locating prescriptions;
   6. counting dosage units of drugs;
   7. placing dosage units of drugs in appropriate containers;
   8. affixing the prescription label to the containers;
   9. preparing manual records of dispensing for the signature or initials of the licensed pharmacist;
   10. handing or delivering completed prescriptions to the patient or the person authorized to act on behalf of the patient and, in accordance with the relevant commissioner's regulations, advising the patient or person authorized to act on behalf of the patient of the availability of counseling to be conducted by the licensed pharmacist or pharmacy intern; or
   11. performing other functions as defined by the commissioner's regulations.
3. Under the direct personal supervision of a licensed pharmacist, unlicensed persons who are not registered pharmacy technicians may assist licensed pharmacists in performing tasks that do not require licensure in accordance with regulations promulgated by the commissioner and are also described in subdivision two of this section. Unlicensed persons who are not registered pharmacy technicians shall not engage in or assist in compounding.
4. No licensed pharmacist shall obtain the assistance of more than two registered pharmacy technicians in the performance of licensed tasks within their scope of practice or four unlicensed persons, in the performance of the activities that do not require licensure, the total of such persons shall not exceed four individuals at any one time. Pharmacy interns shall be exempt from such ratios, but shall be supervised in accordance with commissioner's regulations. Individuals who are responsible for the act of placing drugs which are in unit-dose packaging into medication carts as part of an approved unit-dose drug distribution system for patients in institutional settings shall be exempt from such ratio, provided that such individuals are not also engaged in performing the activities set forth in subdivision one or paragraph b, c, d, e, f, g, h, or i of subdivision two of this section. The licensed pharmacist shall provide the degree of supervision of such persons as may be appropriate to ensure compliance with the relevant provisions of regulations of the commissioner.

* NB Effective April 25, 2021

As used in this article:

1. "Licensed pharmacist" means a person licensed to practice pharmacy pursuant to article one hundred thirty-seven of this title.
2. "Pharmacy intern" means a person practicing under a limited permit pursuant to section sixty-eight hundred six of this title.
3. "Professional judgment" means professional decision-making by a licensed pharmacist, including, but not limited to, such activities as:
   1. interpreting a prescription or medication order for therapeutic acceptability and appropriateness or engaging in the calculations behind any such formulations;
   2. interpreting and evaluating a prescription or medication order for conformance with legal requirements, authenticity, accuracy and interaction of the prescribed drug with other known prescribed and over-the -counter drugs;
   3. receiving oral prescriptions from prescribers; or
   4. counseling patients.
4. "Compounding" means the combining, admixing, mixing, diluting, pooling, reconstituting, or otherwise altering of a drug or bulk drug substance to create a drug.
5. "Drugs", "pharmacopeia", "labeling" and "sterile drug" shall have the same definitions as set forth in section sixty-eight hundred two of this title.

* NB Effective April 25, 2021

Only a person licensed to practice as a registered pharmacy technician under this article or otherwise authorized shall practice as a registered pharmacy technician or use the title "registered pharmacy technician."

* NB Effective April 25, 2021

To qualify for licensure as a "registered pharmacy technician", an applicant shall fulfill the following requirements:

1. Application: file an application with the department;
2. Education: have received an education, including high school graduation or its equivalent, as determined by the department;
3. Certification from a nationally accredited pharmacy technician certification program acceptable to the department;
4. Age: at the time of application be at least eighteen years of age;
5. Character: be of good moral character as determined by the department; and
6. Fee: pay a fee determined by the department for initial license and for each triennial registration period.

* NB Effective April 25, 2021