Pharmacy admix training

June 28, 2008

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Trinity Regional Health System are to offer training programs for pharmacy technicians, those who prepare medications and assist licensed pharmacists. Previously, pharmacy technicians have been required to have only a high school education and a clean criminal record. New state laws in both Iowa and Illinois will ensure they require certification.

“This program is all about medication and patient safety when they come into the hospital. More education for staff means increased leadership and quality of standards,” said Amy Descamps, Trinity’s lead pharmacy technician, who will also be the training program’s lead instructor.

A 2006 case involving Emily Jerry, a 2-year-old cancer patient in Ohio, seems to have triggered a nationwide change in laws regarding pharmacy technicians. The girl’s abdominal tumor, which was the size of a grapefruit, had responded to treatment and shrunk. During her last round of chemotherapy, though, a pharmacy technician formulated her medicine at 26 times the level it should have been. The error went unnoticed and the girl died three days later.

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