How has a lack of funding affected community pharmacy jobs
As well as what effect have the cuts had on ACT’s working community pharmacy jobs?
pharmacies needing to find ways to produce extra cash to stay afloat > more services based models and pharmacists provide most of those
All of these issues means more responsibility being left to ACT’s which also causes workload and time constraint issues, limited funding can result in high workload pressures and time constraints for accuracy checking technicians.
When they have to handle a large number of prescriptions and patients within a limited timeframe, it increases the likelihood of errors or oversights. Inadequate time for thorough accuracy checks can compromise patient safety.
These funding constraints can also have a knockdown effect on staffing and training within a pharmacy, insufficient funding may lead to a shortage of accuracy checking technicians in community pharmacies. When there aren’t enough technicians available, the workload increases for the existing staff, including accuracy checking technicians.
In a similar vein, continuing education and professional development for accuracy checking technicians due to limited funding can impact the accessibility of training programs and resources for accuracy checking technicians. Inadequate funding may restrict their access to training opportunities.
This has caused an issue within community pharmacy, with the market switching with more jobs and a lower supply of ACT’s giving the power back to the candidate when looking for community pharmacy jobs.
So, what does an ACT do when working a community pharmacy job?
In a community pharmacy, an accuracy checking technician (ACT) is a role that involves verifying the accuracy of dispensed medications before they are handed to patients. The primary responsibility of an ACT is to perform a final check on the medication prepared by a pharmacy technician to ensure that it has been accurately dispensed and labelled according to the prescription or medication order.
This will consist of labelling accuracy, the ACT checks the medication label to ensure that it includes all the necessary information, such as patient name, medication name, dosage instructions, and any additional warnings or precautions. They verify that the label accurately reflects the contents of the dispensed medication.
As well as looking after the documentation, checking technicians maintain accurate records of the medications they have checked, documenting any discrepancies or interventions made during the verification process. This documentation is important for accountability, traceability, and quality assurance purposes.
A massive part of the job is quality control, ACTs play a crucial role in quality control within the pharmacy. They help identify and prevent medication errors by thoroughly reviewing each dispensed medication for accuracy and potential safety concerns. They may communicate with the pharmacy team to address any issues or concerns and provide feedback for improvement.
Along with working with the rest of the pharmacy staff fluidly, accuracy checking technicians often work closely with pharmacists and pharmacy technicians as part of a collaborative team. They may discuss any concerns, ask for clarification on prescriptions, or consult with pharmacists on complex or ambiguous medication orders.
