CPhT Role and Responsibilities 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A pharmacy technician receives a prescription that appears to have been altered. What is the most appropriate action?
- Fill the prescription as written
- Alert the pharmacist and do not fill until verified (Correct answer)
- Call the prescriber without informing the pharmacist
- Return the prescription to the patient
Correct answer: Alert the pharmacist and do not fill until verified
Any suspected forged or altered prescription must be brought to the pharmacist's attention immediately before dispensing.
Question 2: Which federal agency regulates controlled substances dispensed in a pharmacy?
- FDA
- DEA (Correct answer)
- CDC
- CMS
Correct answer: DEA
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) regulates the handling, dispensing, and record-keeping of controlled substances.
Question 3: A pharmacy technician may perform all of the following EXCEPT:
- Enter prescription data into the computer system
- Count and package medications
- Counsel a patient on drug interactions (Correct answer)
- Process insurance claims
Correct answer: Counsel a patient on drug interactions
Patient counseling on drug interactions is within the pharmacist's scope of practice, not the technician's.
Question 4: When a pharmacy technician discovers a discrepancy in the controlled substance count, the first step is to:
- Recount and document the discrepancy, then notify the pharmacist (Correct answer)
- Assume it was a counting error and move on
- File a DEA report independently
- Inform the pharmacy manager at the end of the shift
Correct answer: Recount and document the discrepancy, then notify the pharmacist
Discrepancies must be documented and immediately reported to the pharmacist, who then determines if a DEA report is required.
Question 5: Under HIPAA, a pharmacy technician may share a patient's prescription information with:
- A neighbor who says they are the patient's caregiver
- The patient's employer requesting medical records
- Another healthcare provider directly involved in the patient's care (Correct answer)
- A friend of the patient who has a signed note from the patient
Correct answer: Another healthcare provider directly involved in the patient's care
HIPAA permits sharing of protected health information with other treating providers involved in the patient's direct care.
Question 6: A pharmacy technician notices a patient profile shows a known allergy to penicillin but the new prescription is for amoxicillin. What should be done?
- Dispense the medication since amoxicillin is different from penicillin
- Alert the pharmacist to the potential cross-reactivity allergy (Correct answer)
- Contact the prescriber directly to change the drug
- Ask the patient if they have taken amoxicillin before
Correct answer: Alert the pharmacist to the potential cross-reactivity allergy
Amoxicillin is a penicillin-class antibiotic, so a penicillin allergy presents a potential cross-reactivity risk that the pharmacist must evaluate.
Question 7: Which statement best describes the role of a pharmacy technician in medication reconciliation?
- Technicians independently reconcile medication lists without pharmacist oversight
- Technicians gather and enter patient medication history data for pharmacist review (Correct answer)
- Technicians make clinical decisions about medication changes during reconciliation
- Technicians are not involved in any aspect of medication reconciliation
Correct answer: Technicians gather and enter patient medication history data for pharmacist review
Technicians support medication reconciliation by collecting and entering patient medication histories, which the pharmacist then clinically reviews.
CPhT Role and Responsibilities 2
A pharmacy technician receives a prescription that appears to have been altered.
What is the most appropriate action?