PERMANENT RULES
(Board of Pharmacy)
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: WAC 246-901-061 requires pharmacy technicians to complete ten hours of continuing education (CE) or 1.0 CE unit annually. One hour must be in pharmacy law and the remaining nine hours must be in pharmacy technician related education. The rule mirrors the national CE standards for pharmacy technicians set by the pharmacy technician certification board and the Institute for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 18.64A.020.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 12-10-082 on May 2, 2012.
Changes Other than Editing from Proposed to Adopted Version: Only minor grammatical changes were made to the rule.
A final cost-benefit analysis is available by contacting Kitty Slater-Einert, P.O. Box 47863, Olympia, WA 98504-7863, phone (360) 236-4861, fax (360) 236-4901, e-mail kitty.slater@doh.wa.gov.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: June 7, 2012.
Chris P. Barry, Chair
Board of Pharmacy
OTS-4468.3
NEW SECTION
WAC 246-901-061
Pharmacy technician -- Continuing
education requirements.
(1) A pharmacy technician certified
under this chapter shall complete a minimum of ten continuing
education hours or 1.0 continuing education unit (CEU) every
renewal cycle following their first certification renewal.
One contact hour equals 0.1 CEU.
(2) For each renewal cycle, continuing education must include:
(a) A minimum of one hour of course work in pharmacy law; and
(b) Nine hours in any course work that relates to pharmacy practice.
(3) Approved continuing education credits must be earned through a board approved continuing education program or course. Board approved continuing education includes:
(a) Courses and programs that are accredited or approved by the Accreditation Council of Pharmaceutical Education (ACPE).
(b) Courses and programs as established in WAC 246-861-050, that have been submitted by a pharmacist and approved by the board of pharmacy for purposes of pharmacist education. The course or program must be submitted on a form provided by the board and the course work must be directly related to the scope of practice of a pharmacy technician.
(4) A pharmacy technician must obtain a certificate of participation from a board-approved continuing education program for each course completed. The certificate must be kept for a minimum of four years from the date of course completion. The certificate must contain:
(a) The participant's name;
(b) Course title;
(c) Course date; and
(d) The number of continuing education hours or CEUs.
(5) In lieu of a certificate of participation, approved courses can be verified through the ACPE central repository of continuing pharmacy education monitoring system.
(6) Continuing education hours or CEUs may not be carried over from one reporting cycle to another.
(7) A pharmacy technician may request to be excused from meeting the continuing education requirements if the inability to satisfy the requirements was due to extenuating circumstances. The board determines if the requirement can be waived.
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