| (a) Pharmacy Technician Trainees. Pharmacy technician
trainees are not required to complete continuing education.
(b) Pharmacy Technicians.
(1) All pharmacy technicians shall be exempt from the
continuing education requirements during their initial registration
period.
(2) All pharmacy technicians must complete and report
20 contact hours of approved continuing education obtained during
the previous renewal period in pharmacy related subjects in order
to renew their registration as a pharmacy technician. No more than
5 of the 20 hours may be earned at the pharmacy technician's workplace
through in-service education and training under the direct supervision
of the pharmacist(s).
(3) A pharmacy technician may satisfy the continuing
education requirements by:
(A) successfully completing the number of continuing
education hours necessary to renew a registration as specified in
paragraph (2) of this subsection;
(B) successfully completing during the preceding license
period, one credit hour for each year of the renewal period, in pharmacy
related college course(s); or
(C) taking and passing a pharmacy technician certification
examination approved by the board during the preceding renewal period,
which shall be equivalent to the number of continuing education hours
necessary to renew a registration as specified in paragraph (2) of
this subsection.
(4) To renew a registration, a pharmacy technician
must report on the renewal application completion of at least twenty
contact hours of continuing education. The following is applicable
to the reporting of continuing education contact hours:
(A) at least one contact hour of the 20 contact hours
specified in paragraph (2) of this subsection shall be related to
Texas pharmacy laws or rules;
(B) any continuing education requirements which are
imposed upon a pharmacy technician as a part of a board order or agreed
board order shall be in addition to the requirements of this section;
and
(C) a pharmacy technician must have completed the human
trafficking prevention course required in §116.002 of the Texas
Occupations Code.
(5) Pharmacy technicians are required to maintain records
of completion of continuing education for three years from the date
of reporting the hours on a renewal application. The records must
contain at least the following information:
(A) name of participant;
(B) title and date of program;
(C) program sponsor or provider (the organization);
(D) number of hours awarded; and
(E) dated signature of sponsor representative.
(6) The board shall audit the records of pharmacy technicians
for verification of reported continuing education credit. The following
is applicable for such audits.
(A) Upon written request, a pharmacy technician shall
provide to the board copies of the record required to be maintained
in paragraph (5) of this subsection or certificates of completion
for all continuing education contact hours reported during a specified
registration period. Failure to provide all requested records by the
specified deadline constitutes prima facie evidence of a violation
of this rule.
(B) Credit for continuing education contact hours shall
only be allowed for programs for which the pharmacy technician submits
copies of records reflecting that the hours were completed during
the specified registration period(s). Any other reported hours shall
be disallowed.
(C) A pharmacy technician who submits false or fraudulent
records to the board shall be subject to disciplinary action by the
board.
(7) The following is applicable if a pharmacy technician
fails to report completion of the required continuing education.
(A) The registration of a pharmacy technician who fails
to report completion of the required number of continuing education
contact hours shall not be renewed and the pharmacy technician shall
not be issued a renewal certificate for the license period until such
time as the pharmacy technician successfully completes the required
continuing education and reports the completion to the board.
(B) A person shall not practice as a pharmacy technician
without a current renewal certificate.
(8) A pharmacy technician who has had a physical disability,
illness, or other extenuating circumstances which prohibits the pharmacy
technician from obtaining continuing education credit during the preceding
license period may be granted an extension of time to complete the
continued education requirement. The following is applicable for this
extension:
(A) The pharmacy technician shall submit a petition
to the board with his/her registration renewal application which contains:
(i) the name, address, and registration number of the
pharmacy technician;
(ii) a statement of the reason for the request for
extension;
(iii) if the reason for the request for extension is
health related, a statement from the attending physician(s) treating
the pharmacy technician which includes the nature of the physical
disability or illness and the dates the pharmacy technician was incapacitated;
and
(iv) if the reason for the request for the extension
is for other extenuating circumstances, a detailed explanation of
the extenuating circumstances and if because of military deployment,
documentation of the dates of the deployment.
(B) After review and approval of the petition, a pharmacy
technician may be granted an extension of time to comply with the
continuing education requirement which shall not exceed one license
renewal period.
(C) An extension of time to complete continuing education
credit does not relieve a pharmacy technician from the continuing
education requirement during the current license period.
(D) If a petition for extension to the reporting period
for continuing education is denied, the pharmacy technician shall:
(i) have 60 days to complete and report completion
of the required continuing education requirements; and
(ii) be subject to the requirements of paragraph (6)
of this subsection relating to failure to report completion of the
required continuing education if the required continuing education
is not completed and reported within the required 60-day time period.
(9) The following are considered approved programs
for pharmacy technicians.
(A) Any program presented by an Accreditation Council
for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) approved provider subject to the following
conditions.
(i) Pharmacy technicians may receive credit for the
completion of the same ACPE course only once during a renewal period.
(ii) Pharmacy technicians who present approved ACPE
continuing education programs may receive credit for the time expended
during the actual presentation of the program. Pharmacy technicians
may receive credit for the same presentation only once during a license
period.
(iii) Proof of completion of an ACPE course shall contain
the following information:
(I) name of the participant;
(II) title and completion date of the program;
(III) name of the approved provider sponsoring or cosponsoring
the program;
(IV) number of contact hours awarded;
(V) the assigned ACPE universal program number and
a "T" designation indicating that the CE is targeted to pharmacy technicians;
and
(VI) either:
(-a-) a dated certifying signature of the approved
provider and the official ACPE logo; or
(-b-) the Continuing Pharmacy Education Monitor logo.
(B) Pharmacy related college courses which are part
of a pharmacy technician training program or part of a professional
degree program offered by a college of pharmacy.
(i) Pharmacy technicians may receive credit for the
completion of the same course only once during a license period. A
course is equivalent to one credit hour for each year of the renewal
period. One credit hour is equal to 15 contact hours.
(ii) Pharmacy technicians who teach these courses may
receive credit towards their continuing education, but such credit
may be received only once for teaching the same course during a license
period.
(C) Basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) courses
which lead to CPR certification by the American Red Cross or the American
Heart Association or its equivalent shall be recognized as approved
programs. Pharmacy technicians may receive credit for one contact
hour towards their continuing education requirement for completion
of a CPR course only once during a renewal period. Proof of completion
of a CPR course shall be the certificate issued by the American Red
Cross or the American Heart Association or its equivalent.
Cont'd... |
