Pharmacy technicians obtaining medication histories within the emergency department

While studies have demonstrated the positive effect pharmacists have had on the medication reconciliation process, the costs can be prohibitive.1–3 Given their familiarity with medications, pharmacy technicians offer a reasonable solution. There have been published reports describing the use of pharmacy technicians to obtain medication histories.4–6 The use of technicians in a Minnesota surgical clinic’s medication reconciliation program and the legal aspects of this program were recently reviewed.7 In North Carolina, the state board of pharmacy defines a pharmacy technician as “a person who may, under the supervision of a pharmacist, perform technical functions to assist the pharmacist in preparing and dispensing prescription medications.”8 Certified technicians are allowed by North Carolina law to receive new telephone prescription orders and transfer prescription information to or from other pharmacies. Unaddressed in the state rules is the practice of technicians clarifying medication orders with prescribers or other health care professionals, a practice which routinely occurs in community pharmacy settings. We feel that technicians who work within a health system and have undergone proper training should be qualified to obtain a medication history from a patient as a technical function of their job.