Making the Case for New Roadmaps for Pharmacy Technicians

Pharmacy technician turnover is a costly problem — and it will remain one until health systems develop career ladders providing higher pay for advanced training and certification and leadership positions, said presenters at a Tuesday session of the 2024 Midyear Clinical Meeting & Exhibition.

Nationwide, pharmacy technician turnover is greater than 20%, and vacancy rates are as high as 40%, said Diana Broome, program director for pharmacy technician advancement at Harris Health System in Houston, Texas, a co-presenter at Pills to Progress: Developing New Heights in Pharmacy Technician Advancement.

That means hospitals must pay overtime to remaining pharmacy technicians or have pharmacists fill the gaps — both of which are more expensive propositions than keeping technicians in the first place. Estimates show turnover costs $25,000 to $35,000 per technician lost, said Broome.

Broome noted that health systems are losing technicians not only to other allied health fields but, increasingly, to community pharmacy. Broome said community pharmacies have become health-system pharmacies’ biggest competitor for technicians by offering better advancement opportunities and higher salaries.

“This shortage is a burden,” said Broome. “It places a significant burden on our health systems, leads to increased workload for our pharmacists who have to perform technician tasks. … This is not just a staffing issue. It’s a systemic challenge that requires immediate and long-term solutions.”

To create successful road maps to advancement, organizations should focus on education requirements, participation in accredited programs, certification, training, and specialization and leadership opportunities.

Accredited training programs, including those from ASHP, represent a critical piece as they include education, simulation, and experiential components, said Broome. A review of ASHP-accredited programs found that they lead to a 33% increase in the technician workforce and a 50% reduction in onboarding time.

Co-presenter Meghann Voegeli, regional vice president of pharmacy at SSM Health in Waunakee, Wisconsin, described her institution’s efforts to implement a career ladder for its technician workforce. The process began with a review of human resources records on turnover data, including information gleaned from exit interviews, as well a survey of technicians.

Next, the health system designed a new model, reducing the number of technician job profiles from 25 to six, spelling out clear advancement opportunities, and increasing compensation. Under the new model, technicians are promoted on the basis of competency completion and experience. Entry-level technicians aren’t required to be certified or have any competencies.

But if they want to advance to second or third-tier technician positions, they would need to get certified and complete a certain number of competences, among other requirements. Voegeli described the duties involved in each competency, from doing tech-check-tech in acute care to taking medication histories.

Another key step involved creating job descriptions aligned to the new model and completing a market review to establish pay grades. Her team built a financial case to get C-suite support, citing market instability, such as a decrease in pharmacy school applications, and estimating the cost of turnover.

Voegeli said the process is complex and taking longer than initially planned. In response to an attendee who said she’d been trying, unsuccessfully, to institute technician advancement at her health system for 15 years, Voegeli said she could sympathize. But she said pharmacy departments have an excellent case to make for the investment.