CPhT Role and Responsibilities 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which professional organization offers the CPhT certification for pharmacy technicians?
- ASHP
- PTCB (Correct answer)
- APhA
- NABP
Correct answer: PTCB
The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) administers the CPhT examination.
Question 2: A pharmacy technician is processing a refill request for a Schedule II controlled substance. The technician should know that Schedule II medications:
- Can be refilled up to 5 times within 6 months
- Cannot be refilled; a new prescription is required each time (Correct answer)
- Can be refilled once with prescriber authorization
- Have no refill restrictions under federal law
Correct answer: Cannot be refilled; a new prescription is required each time
Schedule II controlled substances have no authorized refills; each dispensing requires a valid new prescription.
Question 3: During a medication verification step, the pharmacist is temporarily unavailable. A patient urgently requests counseling on a new prescription. The technician should:
- Provide basic counseling to help the patient
- Inform the patient to wait for the pharmacist to counsel them (Correct answer)
- Refer the patient to the package insert only
- Dispense the medication without counseling
Correct answer: Inform the patient to wait for the pharmacist to counsel them
Patient counseling is the pharmacist's sole responsibility; the technician should have the patient wait for the pharmacist.
Question 4: What is the primary purpose of the National Drug Code (NDC) number on a medication label?
- To indicate the drug's pregnancy category
- To uniquely identify the manufacturer, product, and package size (Correct answer)
- To specify the drug's DEA schedule
- To list the drug's approved indications
Correct answer: To uniquely identify the manufacturer, product, and package size
The NDC is an 11-digit code that uniquely identifies the labeler, product, and trade package of every drug.
Question 5: A pharmacy technician is asked to prepare an IV admixture in a non-sterile area due to equipment malfunction. The correct response is to:
- Prepare the admixture carefully using gloves
- Refuse and inform the pharmacist; sterile compounding requires a sterile environment (Correct answer)
- Prepare it and label it as a non-sterile preparation
- Wait until the end of the shift to report the issue
Correct answer: Refuse and inform the pharmacist; sterile compounding requires a sterile environment
USP <797> mandates that all sterile preparations be compounded in a classified, ISO-compliant environment to prevent contamination.
Question 6: Which action by a pharmacy technician would constitute a violation of professional boundaries?
- Verifying a patient's insurance eligibility
- Recommending a specific OTC product to a patient with a new diagnosis (Correct answer)
- Processing a prescription refill request
- Entering patient demographic information
Correct answer: Recommending a specific OTC product to a patient with a new diagnosis
Recommending products based on a diagnosis involves clinical judgment, which is outside the technician's authorized scope of practice.
Question 7: How often must a CPhT renew their PTCB certification?
- Every year
- Every two years (Correct answer)
- Every five years
- Every three years
Correct answer: Every two years
PTCB requires CPhT renewal every two years, including 20 hours of continuing education (1 hour in pharmacy law).
CPhT Role and Responsibilities 3
Which professional organization offers the CPhT certification for pharmacy technicians?