I am please to inform you that SCSHP has been working diligently to enhance requirements for pharmacy technician education and training in South Carolina. The SCSHP Board of Directors believes that this is an important patient safety initiative. A majority of the SCSHP membership also indicated in a survey conducted earlier this year by ASHP that pharmacy technicians should complete accredited training programs and complete PTCB certification prior to registration. As a result, SCSHP has initiated an action plan to educate important stakeholders in South Carolina on these important issues and to begin building a coalition of support.

 

Key tenets of this position can be read in the SCSHP Positon Statement and the Talking Points on Pharmacy Technicians. Basically, SCSHP will be pursuing legislation in South Carolina to ensure that:

 

 Several important steps have begun in order to initiate this legislative effort:

 

1.      SCSHP is working closely with ASHP regarding this legislative initiative.

2.      SCSHP has hired a lobbyist (Riley, Pope and Laney) to assist us in this effort.

3.      Discussions are underway with other key potential stakeholders in South Carolina to support this initiative (Technical schools, SCHA, AARP, etc.).

4.      Discussions are underway with other pharmacy groups (SCPhA, State Board of Pharmacy, NACDS, etc.)

5.      Discussions are underway with interested legislators to discuss support and sponsorship of proposed legislation.

 

Your support and assistance are requested in order to move this initiative forward. This is a leading edge effort that is receiving national attention. It is vital that we mobilize all available resources to make this a successful effort, including the support of our SCSHP membership. Please feel free to contact me (fbender@ghs.org) if you have any questions or would like additional information on this important project.

 

Fredrick H. Bender, PharmD, FASHP

President, SCSHP