CVS Pharmacy Technician Duties 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the correct procedure when a patient requests an early refill of a non-controlled medication but their insurance plan will not yet cover it?
- Deny the refill entirely since insurance won't pay
- Inform the patient of the insurance rejection and offer to fill it at the cash price if they wish (Correct answer)
- Override the insurance reject and fill it anyway
- Contact the prescriber to change the days' supply so insurance will cover it
Correct answer: Inform the patient of the insurance rejection and offer to fill it at the cash price if they wish
Patients always have the option to pay cash for medications; the technician should inform them of the rejection and the out-of-pocket cost as an alternative.
Question 2: Which of the following best describes proper medication storage for a drug labeled 'Refrigerate — Do Not Freeze'?
- Store at room temperature (68–77°F)
- Store in the pharmacy freezer at 0°F
- Store in the pharmacy refrigerator at 36–46°F (2–8°C) (Correct answer)
- Store in a cool, dry place away from sunlight
Correct answer: Store in the pharmacy refrigerator at 36–46°F (2–8°C)
Refrigerated medications must be stored between 36–46°F (2–8°C) to maintain potency without freezing.
Question 3: A customer wants to pick up a prescription for a controlled substance on behalf of a family member. What should the pharmacy technician require?
- No additional verification is needed if the patient is a family member
- The pickup person must show valid photo ID and may need to sign the prescription log (Correct answer)
- The family member must have a notarized letter from the patient
- The prescription must be called in again by the prescriber to authorize the pickup
Correct answer: The pickup person must show valid photo ID and may need to sign the prescription log
For controlled substances, pharmacies require the pickup person to show valid ID and sign for the medication to create an audit trail.
Question 4: What is a 'prior authorization' (PA) in the context of pharmacy dispensing?
- A pharmacist's written approval to substitute a generic drug
- An insurer's required approval before covering certain medications for a patient (Correct answer)
- A prescriber's signature confirming the prescription is valid
- A federal waiver allowing technicians to fill Schedule II prescriptions
Correct answer: An insurer's required approval before covering certain medications for a patient
A prior authorization is a process where a prescriber must obtain the insurer's approval before the plan will cover a specific medication.
Question 5: Under HIPAA, a pharmacy technician may share a patient's prescription information with:
- Any healthcare provider who requests it for any reason
- The patient's employer if they call and identify themselves
- Another treating healthcare provider directly involved in the patient's care (Correct answer)
- A family member without the patient's explicit consent in all situations
Correct answer: Another treating healthcare provider directly involved in the patient's care
HIPAA permits sharing protected health information with other treating providers involved in that patient's care without separate authorization.
Question 6: A pharmacy technician is asked to process a prescription refill, but the original prescription has zero refills remaining. What is the correct action?
- Refill it anyway since it is a maintenance medication
- Contact the prescriber's office to request a new prescription or refill authorization (Correct answer)
- Ask the patient to bring in an old prescription bottle to extend the refills
- Dispense a three-day emergency supply and flag for pharmacist follow-up
Correct answer: Contact the prescriber's office to request a new prescription or refill authorization
When authorized refills are exhausted, the prescriber must be contacted to issue a new prescription before the medication can be legally dispensed.
Question 7: Which of the following is the correct way to handle an expired medication found in active pharmacy stock?
- Mark it with a red sticker and keep it in stock until the next inventory cycle
- Return it to the wholesaler immediately without documenting it
- Remove it from active stock, quarantine it, and follow the pharmacy's expired medication disposal protocol (Correct answer)
- Dispense it only for long-term maintenance patients who have been taking it regularly
Correct answer: Remove it from active stock, quarantine it, and follow the pharmacy's expired medication disposal protocol
Expired medications must be removed from active inventory and disposed of according to established protocols to ensure patient safety and regulatory compliance.
CVS Pharmacy Technician Duties 4
What is the correct procedure when a patient requests an early refill of a non-controlled medication but their insurance plan will not yet cover it?